Zero to one million in nine months
What it actually takes to build a generative-AI product that European retailers trust — told from the CTO's seat.
The number gets quoted a lot: zero to a million in ARR in nine months. It’s true, and it’s also the least interesting part of the story.
The interesting part is everything that had to be in place before the number was possible — and how much of it is unglamorous.
Build with an eye on revenue
The developer-at-heart, VC-in-mind framing isn’t a slogan for me. Every architectural decision at Frontnow gets weighed against whether it shortens the path to value for a retailer. That bias kills a lot of fun-but-pointless work.
The fastest way to a million is to refuse to build the things that don’t get you there.
Trust is a feature
Selling AI into European retail means selling trust before you sell capability. Latency, languages, data handling, the ability to explain a recommendation — these aren’t nice-to-haves, they’re the product.
What I’d tell earlier me
Pick the smallest stack that can still surprise people. Ship it where your users are. Measure the boring things. Repeat.
More soon.