If You’re Still Chasing Customers, You Haven’t Found It Yet.
That’s the thought that hit me like a lightning bolt during an evening hosted by Antler, London AI Hub, and Databricks, featuring a conversation with one of the UK’s most quietly iconic founders: Husayn Kassai.
If you’re unfamiliar with Husayn’s story, here’s the TL;DR:
- Co-founded Onfido while still at the University of Oxford
- Raised $200M+, scaled to 650+ employees, and pioneered AI-based identity verification before it was cool
- Ultimately exited with an acquisition by Entrust
- Now? He’s building Quench.ai — an AI-native platform that surfaces what you don’t know you don’t know in a sea of noisy, low-signal content. A wildly relevant idea in an age of infinite feeds and zero clarity.
The room was filled with high-agency operators — exactly the kind of people Antler’s Next-Gen (ANG) community was built for.
Antler is building a global network of operators who have the conviction and potential to become the VC-backed founders of the future.
Through ANG, members gain early access to a like-minded community where they can test ideas, find a co-founder, and explore the leap to entrepreneurship before quitting their day jobs.
For the most exceptional builders, Antler offers a clear path to transition into full-time company building — with funding, support, and an unmatched founder network.
It was in that room, surrounded by future founders, that Husayn dropped a line I haven’t stopped thinking about since:
“Measuring product-market fit is simple: Are you chasing customers, or are they chasing you?”
It’s deceptively simple — but brutally honest. And if you’re building anything right now, especially in AI, this might be the question that saves you months of wandering.
1. Determination Pays Off (Eventually)
In Husayn’s first startup, it took a year to land a single paying customer.
But that one customer was enough to spark conviction and keep the team going. The next year? Momentum.
Sometimes, just staying in the game long enough is the difference between quitting and winning.
2. Don’t Fall in Love With Your Idea
In his second venture, it took 18 months and three pivots before they found a truly burning problem worth solving.
Don’t marry your idea. Date it. Test it. Move on fast if it’s not “the one.”
In today’s world of AI tools and lightning-fast MVPs, you don’t need six months to ship. You need 6 days and a willingness to kill your darlings.
3. Your Network Is Your First GTM Motion
Before you hire a growth team or buy Google Ads, look around: Who already knows you?
Your network is your first distribution channel — and your first unfair advantage.
And if your network’s too shallow? Go dig deeper. Attend events. Send cold DMs. Build real relationships before you need them.
4. Your Team Is Your Greatest ROI Multiplier
Great co-founders don’t just tell you when you’re wrong. They help you fix it.
Be unreasonably picky when hiring. The right people aren’t just productive — they’re multipliers.
A tiny team of problem-solvers beats a bloated team of résumé-collectors every time.
5. The UK Tech Ecosystem Is Quietly Winning
Everyone’s obsessed with Silicon Valley. But with sky-high salaries, brutal competition, and visa headaches, the real opportunity might be right here.
The UK has one of the world’s densest pools of technical talent — and you don’t need a $20M seed round to build something meaningful anymore.
AI is leveling the playing field. You just need a sharp idea, fast iteration, and a strong team.
6. The Secret to a Great AI Startup Idea? Start with a Clone.
Most founders think: “That startup already exists. Guess I’m too late.”
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But in AI? You’re still early. Most “first movers” in this space aren’t incumbents — they’re experiments. No moat. No distribution. Sometimes not even a working product.
And in a gold rush, the first guy with a shovel doesn’t get rich. The one who figures out where to dig does.
That’s the mistake new founders make:
They chase originality — and build something nobody wants.
Here’s the better play:
- Start with something that already works.
2. Take the core idea, the wedge, the customer.
3. Then level it up:
- Make it 10x better
- Verticalize it
- Add workflows
- Add distribution
- Make it sticky
Remember: Google wasn’t first. Neither was Facebook. Neither was Zoom.
Being early feels exciting. But being right wins markets.
TL;DR
Husayn’s story isn’t just a case study — it’s a compass. A reminder that:
- Staying in the game matters
- Team > solo genius
- Customers > cool ideas
- Distribution > disruption
- And in AI… copying smartly beats inventing blindly
So the next time you’re wondering if you’ve got product-market fit?
Ask yourself: Are you still chasing customers… or are they chasing you?
If this resonated or got you thinking about your next big move, let’s connect. Always down to jam on product, GTM, and AI.
