Email as a Knowledge Graph: Micro CEO Brett on Rebuilding CRM at the Inbox

About this episode

Brett, founder & CEO of Micro, discusses transforming email into a knowledge graph and the future of CRM within the inbox.

Summary Brett — founder & CEO of Micro — joins Nitay and Kostas to share how he’s turning email into a knowledge graph and rebuilding CRM right inside the inbox. He traces a path from Google’s M&A and Allo product team to Clearbit and Launch House, then digs into why most “inbox zero” workflows fail, how interoperability and AI agents shift power to the interface, and what it takes to design an email experience people actually live in. What you’ll learn Why email is a system of record—and how Micro converts threads into people, companies, attachments, tasks, and “updates” The wedge: founders’ real workflows (fundraising, hiring, sales) and why CRM belongs in the inbox Product & UX lessons: skeuomorphic first, flexible theming (consumer vs. enterprise), and copy-the-UI-before-evolving-it M&A realities from Google: talent vs. tech vs. business acquisitions, and why culture kills most deals Burnout and agency: why founders report less burnout than big-company roles The next phase: cross-app “updates” (email, LinkedIn DMs, etc.), Salesforce/HubSpot read–write, and agentic automation Chapters 00:00 Brett's Journey: From Consulting to Tech Innovator 02:41 The Role of…

People in this episode

Hosts: Nitay, Kostas

Guest: Brett

Topics covered

• email as a knowledge graph
• CRM
• interoperability
• AI agents
• product design
• founders' workflows
• burnout

Keywords

• email
• knowledge graph
• CRM
• AI
• interoperability
• founders
• burnout
• product management
• M&A

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Micro, Google, Clearbit, Launch House, Salesforce, HubSpot

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