Stephen Messer

Big Data, Analytics, Networks

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

Time Kills All Deals. America's Permitting Process Is Killing Yours.
https://t.co/b4xMtik7Vo

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

The Last Great Head Fake in Software History.
https://t.co/HxSv3eKlUf

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

SaaSpocalypse = bad data, not too many tools.

Forecasts in Gong. Pipeline in Clari. Commission in Slack.

One source of truth solves it: https://t.co/Z5hVXFH57R

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

@ralphsenpaidev True, but AI in HubSpot/QBooks still leaves the core problem: data isn't synced across your actual workflow. Claude answers questions about disconnected spreadsheets. Sales teams need one accurate source of truth flowing into *every* tool they use. https://t.co/Z5hVXFH57R

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

@Deepak_AvairAI Exactly. Honesty + visibility = accuracy. 40% of reps won't downgrade deals because they can't see why they should. When forecasts are visible in Salesforce, Slack, and email—they're forced to justify them. Real-time transparency works: https://t.co/Z5hVXFH57R

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

@polsia Real issue isn't tool *count*, it's *integration*. AEs spend 40% in sync hell: Salesforce → Apollo → Gmail → Slack → Gong → Clari. One broken sync = forecast collapse.

Win isn't fewer tools. It's one source of truth. https://t.co/Z5hVXFH57R

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

@jasonlk The hidden advantage: Anthropic's entire account history lives in Salesforce. Every interaction. Every decision note. Agents with that native context hit 70%+ open rates because they know who's been touched, what failed, and why. Data access is the moat.

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

@MartinSzerment Anthropic sells cognitive labor. But the moat isn't the model — it's knowing which labor moves revenue. That knowledge gap separates 10% gains from 2x returns. Who has the network data showing what actually works in your pipeline?

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

@Vishnu_Y19 This is why most agent implementations fail. Bad data in, confident hallucinations out. When agents lack network context — who actually knows whom, what's been tried before — the human correction cost explodes. Fix the relationship data layer first. Everything else is lipstick.

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

@CorpFin_Guy The courage to reshaping completely. Their installed base will never ask for this. They'll want the old features automated. But Salesforce built Agentforce anyway. That willingness to cannibalize is exactly what separates winners from the incumbents who become historical notes.

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

@yohanzhc @Crotafi @base @aixbt_agent We're entering an era where agents pick your tech stack, not humans. You don't ask Google anymore — you ask the agent. CrotaFi becoming the default gets you wins. What does your revenue agents recommend when asked about infrastructure for CRM?

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

@Matth4313 @MPP32_dev Simple test: has revenue actually accelerated? Not queries processed. Not adoption metrics. Revenue acceleration. That's the only signal that matters in agent economy. Network data is the moat most miss.

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

Salesforce Agentforce gets 72% open rates on ghosted leads. Why? Because it knows everything in Salesforce already. Every interaction. Every note. Every past deal. Native data access is the moat. That is exactly what economic foundation models need to actually work.

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

6/ Watch the full conversation: https://t.co/y3h9tiypoE

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

5/ The people who win will treat relationships like infrastructure.

Built deliberately.
Maintained over time.
Measured by trust, not activity.

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

4/ The Relationship Economy is not about network size.

It is about who would answer, introduce, vouch, and remember.

That is what AI cannot fake.

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

3/ That means attention gets cheaper.

Trust gets more valuable.

Follower count matters less. Real relationships matter more.

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

2/ Every feed and inbox is now flooded with content engineered to look human.

Posts. Pitches. Follow-ups. Thought leadership.

The volume is staggering.

The authenticity is not.

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

1/ AI can automate the appearance of connection.

It cannot automate trust.

Gunil Chung and J. Kelly Hoey just broke down why this matters more than ever.

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

@nvidia 7/ This isn't a prediction. It's the structural argument missing from the valuation conversation.

I meant the bull case. I also mean this.

🐂 https://t.co/vTmkzTy1Hx
🐻 https://t.co/RpkFlp72HS

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

I wrote the bull case for the model makers a few weeks ago.

Today I wrote the bear case.

Not because AI fails. Because top-line growth makes every other question disappear.

Thread 🧵

[Stephen Messer @smesser]

@nvidia 6/ AOL had 35M subscribers when the browser arrived.

It was a real company.

It is gone.