Most startups bolt AI onto old products. @ravennahq reimagined the entire workflow.
When we first met Kevin Coleman and Taylor Halliday, it was clear they weren’t just chasing the hype cycle. They were pairing AI-native architecture with deep founder-market fit, and rebuilding how internal ops work — from first principles.
Their new company, Ravenna, is going after a $160B+ market dominated by legacy players. But instead of being intimidated by incumbents, they got focused, making some smart moves that more early-stage teams should consider:
At Madrona, we love backing teams that combine ambition with discipline — and Kevin and Taylor are doing just that. In this episode of Founded & Funded, they sit down with Madrona Managing Director Tim Porter and talk through their journey, what they’d do differently the second time around, and how they’re building a durable, agentic platform for internal support.
If you're a founder building in AI, SaaS, or ops — this conversation is full of lessons worth hearing.
Transcript: https://bit.ly/4ju2Cml
Chapters: (00:00) Introduction (00:23) Meet the Founders: Taylor Halliday and Kevin Coleman (02:05) The Birth of Ravenna: Identifying the Problem (03:05) The Concept of Enterprise Service Management (04:02) The Journey from Idea to Execution (04:31) Customer Insights and Market Fit (06:42) Building a Next-Generation Platform (10:43) Slack Integration and AI Automation (14:37) Partnering with Slack: A Strategic Move (17:13) Leveraging Slack for Knowledge Management (20:13) Balancing Focus and Vision (21:07) Discovering ITSM: A Hidden Market (21:40) Expanding Beyond IT: The Universal Help Desk (24:30) ServiceNow and the AI Revolution (27:03) Building a Transparent and Collaborative Culture (29:37) Recruiting Top AI Talent (31:59) Navigating Market Realities and Customer Focus (37:59) Advice for Aspiring Founders