AI Chatbots and the Future of Customer Service

Richard and Kimon recently interviewed Gonçalo Consiglieri, the co-founder of Visor.ai, a company specializing in AI and automation solutions for customer service teams. Initially focused on chatbots customized for specific industries, Visor.ai has evolved into a prominent player in the field.

Before venturing into entrepreneurship, Gonçalo worked as a consultant, adapting to the corporate structure. However, driven by a desire for a new path, he left Deloitte to establish his first company in Portugal. Facing a less robust entrepreneurial community initially, Gonçalo witnessed its growth over time.

Notably, Gonçalo and his co-founders faced the setback of a failed first company. Undeterred, they chose to persevere as business partners, leveraging the lessons learned for a second attempt. Gonçalo attributes part of their success to a shared passion for the same soccer team and the resilience gained from previous defeats.

Mostly boot-strapped, Visor.ai also secured small rounds of investment from public sources in the EU and various startup incubators. The company, now with around 30 business clients, serves major entities such as the largest private bank in Portugal and a significant insurance company. Visor.ai specializes in creating automated chat tools, both utilizing existing market tools and developing proprietary ones.

While currently focused on the Portuguese market, Visor.ai aims to expand into the Spanish market in the coming year, emphasizing growth and investing in operational expansion.

In the interview, Gonçalo shares insights into his childhood, highlighting his entrepreneurial grandfather as a major inspiration. Despite success in consulting, Gonçalo felt the importance of carving his own path.

As an executive of a company with approximately 60 employees, Gonçalo emphasizes the challenges of ensuring alignment. Delegating responsibility and offering stock options to high-performing employees are crucial aspects of his management strategy. He discusses the enjoyable and challenging aspects of executive roles.

Offering advice on finding investors, Gonçalo suggests avoiding "make or break" funding situations. He values investors who contribute not just financially but also help connect Visor.ai with new customers and experienced business professionals. Knowledgeable investors play a crucial role, especially when expanding into new markets like Brazil.

Gonçalo advocates for embracing failure, viewing it as a valuable lesson. He stresses that solving problems is the key to entrepreneurial success, emphasizing the importance of humility in the face of challenges.

Gonçalo Consiglieri is the COO and co-founder of Visor.ai, bringing over a decade of expertise to the team. Holding an MBA from Universitat de Barcelona, Spain, he previously worked as a Management Consultant at Deloitte and KPMG, specializing in Banking and Insurance where he also had an active role in launching two new banks in Africa. For the past six years, he has been overseeing the financial and operational aspects of the venture initiated with co-founders Gianluca Pereyra and Bruno Matias.

Richard Lucas is a business and social entrepreneur who founded, led and/or invested in more than 30 businesses.

Kimon Fountoukidis is the founder of both Argos Multilingual and PMR. Both companies were founded in the mid 90s with zero capital and both have gone on to become market leaders in their respective sectors. Kimon was born in New York and moved to Krakow, Poland in 1993. Listen to his story here.