Alexander Hoff ❍

quit my CEO job to build solo. first-time dad. techno-optimist.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

please listen to dessa.

i have never heard anything artificial that sounded so… human.

if you ever doubted that human-ai-relationships were going to be a thing. well. this snippet will convince you otherwise.

[jack @jack]

We believe voice is the most natural way to interact with intelligence, so we created Dessa, the most authentic full-duplex speech model ever built. Talking with it feels like talking with a person…full of emotion, nuance, pauses, and a natural cadence.

https://t.co/r0qFLdvd6c

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@dom_scholz but up 50% followers and comfortably crossing 1k is nice 🥳

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

please listen to dessa.

i have never heard anything artificial that sounded so… human.

if you ever doubted that human-ai-relationships were going to be a thing. well. this snippet will convince you otherwise.

[jack @jack]

We believe voice is the most natural way to interact with intelligence, so we created Dessa, the most authentic full-duplex speech model ever built. Talking with it feels like talking with a person…full of emotion, nuance, pauses, and a natural cadence.

https://t.co/r0qFLdvd6c

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@dom_scholz no i was not super active lately and i had to resubscribe a few days ago so not even sure which impressions count towards it 🫣

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@MsCrappinshitz i initially did not get who’s the ai in the conversation 😅

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@realjoshuareid it’s really overdue to set some code phrases with your friends, family and business partners in case you need to verify its really them.

like in the spy movies “what will the weather be tomorrow?”
“no clue but the sahara is still dry”

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@EmperorMK_01 it will get into everyones hands. better get ready for it.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@saastrash wdym if. jack does not play around.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@Anina_CE whats your take on ai/speech models of the next generation replacing human therapists?

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@ijaack94 access is coming i think. just a demo for now.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@wallstreetb_TTV @jack is it not?

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@kingJamesOG1 @ElevenLabs different business model but what’s more scary is how small the model seems to be. so cost pressure will be crazy.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@Wit____ i think short videos do a pretty good job at that. at least this will be interactive and not just one way.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@0xmigi @jack why intentionally? i guess it was just a limitation of the setup.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@Bata98 @jack it’s apparently so small that you can run it locally on a mac even.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@mablesjoseph does it? i don’t get that at all.
we are so used to polished speech online that we forget how messy human to human interactions actually sound.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@edgedubz 100%. you need to be pretty stable mentally to not “bond” when it starts emphasising with whatever difficult situation you find yourself in.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@pratjoey agreed. dialects will make this even more relatable. will be crazy.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@HesNotTheGuy well that is bound to happen.
you should come up with a secret prompt & response with friends and family that an AI would not know. voice cloning with emotions will be crazy.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@nickwumac i know what you mean but the capabilities are there clearly to have all the nuance of human language. the rest seems to be just dialing it in.

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

funny timing: i've been making sales calls by hand all week, with a little script tool i built.

after this i'm sure: if someone calls you and talks like dessa, there's zero chance you spot it.
https://t.co/DGuEamqT5Q

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

i'm shitty at sales.

yesterday i made my first sale anyway.

never had to do it before. at the lab, other people sold. i built things.

now my new business gründerradar needs customers, and it turns out software doesn't sell itself. somebody has to pick up the phone. that somebody is me.

so i did what i always do when i'm bad at something. i built a tool for it. took 30 minutes with claude.

a call cockpit. runs in my browser and walks me through every call. all in german, my customers are tax advisors in austria.

14 calls so far. one rejection. one paying customer. the rest were super positive.

before the call, 2 minutes of prep.
who i'm calling, their title, their area and the numbers for their area. how they found me: they booked a slot, asked for a callback, scanned the QR code on my letter and went quiet, or they're calling me. everything i type fills in the script. no making up facts mid-call.

during the call.
a script with 119 steps and dynamic paths. secretary picks up? voicemail? "just send me some info"? one tap and the next sentence is there.

92 objections and questions, answered in advance. i jump to one, answer it, and it drops me back exactly where i left off.

their numbers, live. what's a new client worth to them per year, and how long do they stay? the tool turns that into their own benchmark: one client over the years vs. a year of letters for their area.

note fields show up whenever i should write something down.

a running timer and a time budget per stage. opening 1 min, questions 3, solution 1, objections 2, close 2. the questions get the most time.

coaching notes for my worst habits. "slow down." "ask, then wait." "make the offer once, then stay quiet." half of them just tell me to shut up.

after the call.
the log writes itself: who, how they came in, their numbers, every objection in the order it came up, the result, the next step, the duration. one click to copy.

then i fix the script. it's on version 3.2.

builders who hate selling too: what got you through your first calls?

[Alexander Hoff ❍ @axhoff]

@minajculture sure but this one does not do that anymore.