Building with AI #6 Interview with a Venture Capital Director : Hugo

In this sixth article of Building with AI we had the chance to interview Hugo which is the director of the found “Intuition”.

Here is the entire interview, enjoy !

Click here to see the fund

Hello Hugo, thank you for taking the time for this interview.

As I mentioned, this discussion is part of my article research, where I explore how entrepreneurs, investors, and startup builders integrate Artificial Intelligence not just as a technology, but as a partner in designing, scaling, and managing digital businesses.

Given your experience both as a builder with The Family and now as an investor with Intuition, I would like to explore with you how you see AI’s current and future role in startup building, team structures, decision-making processes, and even the founder’s mindset.

Everything you share will remain confidential and anonymized if you prefer.

Would it be okay if I record this conversation to help with transcription?

Thank you. Let’s begin.

• When I had the chance, I noted down a few questions. I actually discovered you through the podcast you did with Hugo, it was really cool. I noticed we had a lot in common, especially your love for music, your work with The Family, and how you helped develop it. I thought, “this guy is really on point, I need to reach out to him.” So, thanks again.
• By the way, did you already follow Hugo’s podcast before?

• Not really, actually. I listen to a lot of podcasts, like “Sans Permission” and a few others on YouTube, because I’m really into the startup world. I love that universe. I had already seen an episode with Alice, I think, and one or two others Hugo did. But then I saw the thumbnail of the one with you about The Family and I was intrigued. In the end, I had a great time listening to it, so congrats – it was really cool.
• Yeah, good clickbait, right?
• Exactly! So, during this 15-minute call, I’d love to get your point of view. I won’t take much of your time because I guess you’re super busy. I’m currently writing my thesis about how AI could become the ideal cofounder for entrepreneurs or help grow online businesses and startups. Given your experience with The Family, where you said your role was to listen to startups and decide whether to invest or not, I’d like to ask: based on your experience with cofounders and associates, have you noticed key traits that help determine if a cofounder is a good match? And do you see how AI could eventually play that role of complementarity or support in this context?
• That’s a tough one, but I get it. You’re exploring how humans do cofounder matching and how that could work with AI. The thing with humans is that when they start companies together, there are always complementarities and tensions – things that work and things that don’t. But with AI, since it can personalize and hyper-personalize itself to you, that friction becomes less relevant. You know what I mean? Like, for me with my cofounders or even the founding team of The Family, it was always the same: people need to have certain characteristics – they need to be integral, excellent, etc. That’s the baseline. But what I often see in partnerships, even in couples, is that it’s like a tree: roots, trunk, and leaves. People often fit into these types. It’s not spiritual; it’s just characteristics. Some are more grounded, more into structuring, reflecting, and listening. Others are the “trunk” type – they push forward, go fast, take action, but sometimes overdo it. And then you have the “leaves” – people like me, always in the clouds, creative, thinking about the future, but if they don’t balance it, they end up overthinking and underdoing. So, you see, it’s about finding that mix.
• So, in your case, since you see yourself more as the “leaf,” you’d use AI more to help you structure or frame your work?
• Exactly. It’s about balance, not transformation. Helping me turn reflection into action. That’s where AI can be a partner.
• Nice. My second question is: when you look at the typical steps of developing a startup, from crafting an offer, finding your first client, building an MVP, commercializing, do you see specific tasks or responsibilities that should ideally be delegated to AI as soon as possible? Or does it depend entirely on the company?
• Also, as an investor with Intuition, do you have key focus areas where you insist the founder needs to apply AI early on, whether it’s for deliverability, marketing, or distribution? Do you see specific responsibilities that should be delegated sooner than others?
• It’s changed a lot. Five years ago, you could ask this question: what tasks can you automate? And you’d get a list from podcasters and creators about the same basic stuff. But now, the scope is so much bigger. Back then, you’d delegate only non-core tasks. Now, even the most core tasks – the things that make you exceptional as a founder, AI can help make you even better at them. Before, it was: “automate boring stuff, LinkedIn outreach, etc.” Now, it’s not about delegating to AI but working with AI, even on creativity, reflection, etc.
• I won’t lie, one of the most core things we do is investment thesis building. Like, what do we see that others don’t ? What’s the arbitrage? Why are we the best suited to make this bet? And even for that, I use ChatGPT. So yeah, that’s a big shift.
• Yeah, I get that. At the beginning, everyone used ChatGPT for operational stuff, writing texts, outreach, etc. But now, with voice features, you can just talk for 2 minutes, explain your context, and get help even for strategic vision. That’s powerful.
• Yeah, exactly.
• And you, as an investor with your partner, do you have green flags that you always look for in startups? I saw you aim for around 30 companies, investing about €100,000 each. Do you have a checklist you use? I know you value the human side a lot, the creator side, but do you also look at AI or structural green flags?
• Yeah, we do have a framework, and it’s been the same for a long time because it’s open enough. I don’t know if I said it on the podcast, but basically, it’s three things:
• Passion/Obsession: the founder has no choice. It’s not strategic; it’s do or die.
  Depth of insight: they need to sit on secrets. Constantly mining new ones.
  Clarity of vision: the founder should be able to talk very practically about their next six months. Even if the plan changes monthly.
• Those are the three big ones. Beyond that, yes, intuition plays a role, but if you unpack it, it always comes back to these three points. There are probably more, but those are the core.
• And then there’s a silly green flag: if the founder replies within 2 minutes to every email or text, that’s a huge green flag for me. It’s dumb, but those are often the crazy ones.
• That’s funny. And on a more personal note, Intuition is your first fund, right? How do you approach supporting the companies you invest in? Do you set limits? Do you do strategy sessions? Monthly calls? What’s your style?
• It depends. Some founders want monthly calls, and I’m happy to do it. But if after two months I feel like I’ve given them all I could, I’ll stop. The best founders often only need you once or twice a year. I meet people all the time, so I’ll ping them with things I see, like “Hey, this might interest you.” But it’s not active support unless they ask.
• And last question, I saw you had a first company helping artists grow their careers. I make music myself. Do you see AI tools or trends I could leverage more, for content creation, production, distribution, etc.?
• Yeah, especially for distribution. For example, I tried using AI to turn photos into videos, like making myself do a backflip from a photo. It didn’t work for me, but some people are doing crazy stuff. Have you seen those viral videos where they make Messi move from a still photo? That blew up. I think there’s a big opportunity to use that for music content, taking a photo linked to your song or vibe and making it move in unexpected ways. Like, I don’t know, Jacques Chirac suddenly dancing in sync with your beat. That could make great TikToks. We’re really at the point now where AI can animate images properly.
• Yeah, cool, I’ll look into that. By the way, I recorded this conversation for personal use, just so I can re-listen to some of the insights you shared. I hope that’s okay.
• No problem. Thanks for your time, good luck with your next meetings. Keep sharing what you do at Intuition, so few funds communicate openly.
• Yeah, but I won’t do building in public. That’s not really my thing. I might do more French podcasts. But I mainly invest in the US, so I need to do it in English, even if I’m less fluent. I need to get comfortable with that.
• For sure. Thanks a lot again, Hugo. I’ll keep you updated.
• Cheers.

The interview with Hugo, first employee at The Family and now venture capitalist at Intuition, provides a macro-level yet highly nuanced perspective on the integration of Artificial Intelligence within the startup ecosystem. Hugo’s testimony reveals a shift in the way AI is no longer confined to peripheral or operational tasks but is increasingly infiltrating the core processes of entrepreneurship, from investment thesis design to strategic reflection.

Hugo describes a significant evolution compared to the early days of The Family, where AI, if used, was typically limited to automating repetitive or non-core tasks such as LinkedIn outreach or basic operations. Today, he emphasizes that AI is capable of contributing to the most strategic, creative, and even identity-defining elements of company building, supporting founders not only in execution but also in ideation, thesis validation, and strategic vision refinement.

Nonetheless, Hugo remains clear on the irreplaceable role of the founder’s human qualities passion, depth of insight, and clarity of vision which, according to him, continue to be the essential ingredients of a successful entrepreneurial journey, regardless of how advanced AI becomes. His framework for evaluating founders has not fundamentally changed, even in an AI-driven era: obsession, unique insights, and the capacity to articulate a concrete, short-term vision remain the pillars of his investment thesis.

Hugo also highlights that while AI may hyper-personalize itself to complement the founder’s weaknesses acting, for example, as a balancing force for over-creative or overly reflective profiles it will never replace the founder’s intuition, drive, or storytelling ability, which remain central not only to team leadership but also to market positioning, investor relations, and community building.

Moreover, Hugo stresses that AI should be seen as a sparring partner rather than a co-founder, reinforcing the notion explored throughout this thesis that AI, while capable of augmenting founders’ abilities, should not replace the human dimension of leadership, decision-making, and narrative construction.

His reflections also underline an important tension: the risk for startups to over-rely on AI and lose their human-led differentiation in the process, especially as AI becomes democratized and widely accessible to all entrepreneurs.

Finally, Hugo’s insights into the creative industries, particularly music and content creation, echo this same balance: AI can help create disruptive formats and accelerate production workflows, but the spark, the storytelling, and the emotional resonance that drive virality and brand love remain deeply human.In conclusion, Hugo Amsellem’s interview strengthens the central argument of this thesis: AI is evolving into a critical business partner for entrepreneurs, not only for operational tasks but increasingly for strategic and creative support. However, the human dimensions of leadership, vision, and storytelling remain irreplaceable assets in the startup building process. His experience as both an ecosystem builder and an investor underscores the need for founders to embrace AI as an amplifier of their strengths, while ensuring they do not compromise the authenticity, intuition, and emotional intelligence that remain at the heart of successful entrepreneurial endeavors.