Take Notes in the Real World, We are hiring! (YC W26)
- Tweets 92
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- Followers 10,044
- Likes 663
Pocket retweeted
Apple has the curse of building general purpose products for their 3B Users
Mildly useful to a massive user base, but rarely deep enough to kill the best product in the category.
>Apple Notes vs Notion/Obsidian
>Spotlight vs Raycast
>Apple Call Notes vs Pocket
Many such cases
So apple's new siri audio intelligence just killed @AkshayNarisetti Pocket?
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Why have most AI hardware devices been largely unsuccessful, so far?
Pocket cofounder @akshaynarisetti:
"They primarily died because they were trying to replace the whole smartphone."
"They were going against real-world workflows. People don't want all these other things, like ordering Uber Eats through AI."
"All they want is for the AI to fit into their existing workflows."
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Pocket cofounder @akshaynarisetti found PMF in one of the most unintuitive ways.
When customers didn't like his recording app, he made a hardware device to do what the app does. Now he has 300,000 users.
"Convenience beats intentions. So if your users have the intention to record, and you don't make it convenient enough, they will not record."
"But if you actually make it convenient enough to record, and they want to record even a little bit, they'll 100% record."
He explains how he figured all this out:
"We actually went and asked these people, 'Why are you using the device 10x more than the app?'"
"One of the users was using a different phone that he bought specifically for recording conversations. And he had a battery attached to the phone, on top."
"That's kind of what Pocket ended up being. By just watching how people use these recording apps on the phone, there are a lot of limiting factors for recording."
"There are people who get incoming phone calls all the time. So if you're recording something, and you get an incoming phone call, it interrupts the recording. If you take the call, your recording stops essentially."
"Apart from all of these technical reasons, the real reason is actually that the people who take 10, 15 meetings a day — doctors, consultants — a patient goes out, another comes in — the client goes out, the client comes in — and there's 10-15 back-to-back meetings, they feel awkward in the first few seconds to take out their phone and start recording. They have to unlock their iPhone, set up the recording, and hope the operating system doesn't kill apps running in the background."
"So people just felt that, this is much more reliable. A quick-access thing that can immediately start recording. And I don't need to feel awkward placing it on a desk. So it doesn't take attention away from the meeting, like, 'Why is this guy looking at his phone? We just met.'"
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Pocket retweeted
The most important thing we’ve built at Pocket isn’t the product. It’s the team.
Great things aren’t built by individuals. They’re built by great people who make each other better.
That’s what Pocket is. A group of people creating something together that none of us on our own.
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Pocket just crossed $100M in Annualized Run Rate.
$1M → $100M in just 7 months, making Pocket the fastest YC hardware company to reach this milestone.
And there are now 270,000+ Pocket devices out in the world.
We’re just getting started.
Pocket just crossed $100M in Annualized Run Rate.
We went from $1M → $100M in just 7 months, making us the fastest YC hardware company to reach this milestone.
There are now 270,000+ Pocket devices out in the world.
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Pocket retweeted
Pocket just crossed $100M in Annualized Run Rate.
We went from $1M → $100M in just 7 months, making us the fastest YC hardware company to reach this milestone.
There are now 270,000+ Pocket devices out in the world.
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Pocket retweeted
We’re hiring an exceptional video editor at @HeyPocket.
If you study Apple’s launch films, obsess over every cut, and want millions of people to watch your work, we should talk.
Come do the best work of your career.
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Pocket retweeted
Another tool added into the GTM stack, cant wait to dive right in!
Unbox my @Heypocket with me 📦
(fascinated with the card btw how did yall make that)
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The future of AI isn't about spending more time with technology.
It's about spending more time with people.
Meet Pocket: The Future of AI for the Real World.
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Pocket retweeted
We are hiring for a Backend Engineer at @HeyPocket.
$120k–$185k + meaningful equity. SF.
If you have strong product intuition and naturally think through edge cases before they happen, apply.
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Pocket retweeted
Introducing Pocket. Officially.
Take Notes in the Real World.
160,000 devices shipped later, we're just getting started.
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Technology shouldn't ask for more of your attention.
It should give your attention back.
We're excited to introduce Pocket to everyone discovering us for the first time.
Introducing Pocket. Officially.
Take Notes in the Real World.
160,000 devices shipped later, we're just getting started.
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Pocket retweeted
We're hiring a designer with strong expertise in design systems for @HeyPocket (YC W26). If you're passionate about building scalable, high-quality design systems, send me a DM.
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The most important professional conversations and the best ideas rarely happen in front of a screen. They happen in the moments between meetings, over the phone and across tables. Yet many of the tools we rely on to capture them were built for a desk-bound world that doesn't reflect how most people actually work. As a result, follow-ups are forgotten, information stays siloed, and great ideas can slip away.
@Heypocket solves this. Built by co-founders @AkshayNarisetti and @gabrieldymowski, Pocket is a dedicated AI device that helps people stay present. Elegant enough that you don’t have to remember to bring it with you and capable enough that it captures everything you need it to. Joining the Pocket journey as we participate in the Seed round, we’re looking forward to supporting the team as they reimagine the way people reflect, recall and work.
Welcome to the Accel family, Pocket! Read more from Cecilia Wang and Matt Robinson ⬇️ accel.com/news/the-device-th…
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Pocket retweeted
We've raised $11 million from Accel (@Accel), Peak XV (@peakxvpartners), Guillermo Rauch (@rauchg), Mati Staniszewski (@mati), Gokul Rajaram (@gokulr) and Kaz Nejatian (@nejatian).
We're happy to share that Pocket has crossed 100,000 devices in eight months.
This funding will allow us to invest deeply in hardware R&D and build Pocket's next generation of interfaces.
We're hiring across research, engineering, and design: ycombinator.com/companies/po…
8 months ago, we shipped the first Pocket. Today, 100,000 people use it to be present in their most important conversations.
Grateful to have @Accel, @peakxvpartners, @ycombinator, @rauchg, @mati, and @nejatian behind us for what comes next.
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Pocket retweeted
8 months ago, we shipped the first Pocket. Today, 100,000 people use it to be present in their most important conversations.
Grateful to have @Accel, @peakxvpartners, @ycombinator, @rauchg, @mati, and @nejatian behind us for what comes next.
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Pocket retweeted
If you are affected we are hiring across senior engineering and design roles.
DMs open
This is an email I sent earlier today to all employees at Coinbase:
Team,
Today I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce the size of Coinbase by ~14%. I want to walk you through why we're doing this now, what it means for those affected, and how this positions us for the future.
Why now
Two forces are converging at the same time. We need to be front footed to respond to both.
First, the market. Coinbase is well-capitalized, has diversified revenue streams, and is well-positioned to weather any storm. Crypto is also on the verge of the next wave of adoption, with stablecoins, prediction markets, tokenization, and more taking off. However, our business is still volatile from quarter to quarter. While we've managed through that cyclicality many times before and come out stronger on the other side, we’re currently in a down market and need to adjust our cost structure now so that we emerge from this period leaner, faster, and more efficient for our next phase of growth.
Second, AI is changing how we work. Over the past year, I’ve watched engineers use AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks. Non-technical teams are now shipping production code and many of our workflows are being automated. The pace of what's possible with a small, focused team has changed dramatically, and it's accelerating every day.
All of this has led us to an inflection point, not just for Coinbase, but for every company. The biggest risk now is not taking action. We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native. We need to return to the speed and focus of our startup founding, with AI at our core.
What this means
To get there, we are not just reducing headcount and cutting costs, we’re fundamentally changing how we operate: rebuilding Coinbase as an intelligence, with humans around the edge aligning it. What does this mean in practice?
- Fewer layers, faster decisions: We are flattening our org structure to 5 layers max below CEO/COO. Layers slow things down and create coordination tax. The future is small, high context teams that can move quickly. Leaders will own much more, with as many as 15+ direct reports. Fewer layers also means a leaner cost structure that is built to perform through all market cycles.
- No pure managers: Every leader at Coinbase must also be a strong and active individual contributor. Managers should be like player-coaches, getting their hands dirty alongside their teams.
- AI-native pods: We’ll be concentrating around AI-native talent who can manage fleets of agents to drive outsized impact. We’ll also be experimenting with reduced pod sizes, including “one person teams” with engineers, designers, and product managers all in one role.
In short: AI is bringing a profound shift in how companies operate, and we’re reshaping Coinbase to lead in this new era. This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs.
To those who are affected
I know there are real people behind these decisions — talented colleagues who have poured themselves into this company and our mission. To those of you who will be leaving: thank you. You’ve helped build Coinbase into what it is today, and I am sincerely grateful for everything you've done.
All impacted team members will receive an email to their personal account in the next hour with more information, and an invitation to meet with an HRBP and a senior leader in your organization. Coinbase system access has been removed today. I know this feels sudden and harsh, but it is the only responsible choice given our duty to protect customer information.
To those affected, we will be providing a comprehensive package to support you through this transition. US employees will receive a minimum of 16 weeks base pay (plus 2 weeks per year worked), their next equity vest, and 6 months of COBRA. Employees on a work visa will get extra transition support. Those outside of the US will receive similar support, based on local factors and subject to any consultation requirements.
Coinbase prides itself on talent density. Our employees are among the most talented people in the world, and I have no doubt that your skills and experience will be highly sought after as you pursue your next chapters.
How we move forward
To the team that is staying, I know this is a difficult day. We’re saying goodbye to colleagues and friends you've been in the trenches with. But here’s what I want you to know as we move forward together:
Over the past 13 years, we have weathered four crypto winters, gone public, and built the most trusted platform in our industry. We’ve made it this far by making hard decisions and by always staying focused on our mission. This time will be no different – nothing has changed about the long term outlook of our company or industry. And most importantly, our mission has never been more important for the world. Increasing economic freedom requires a new financial system, and we’re building it.
The Coinbase that emerges from this will be more capable than ever to achieve our mission.
Brian
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