From Research to Real World AI

From a farm in Adelaide to the front lines of AI-powered personalization.

Tullie Murrell, CEO and co-founder of Shaped, shares how he went from researcher to founder and built a platform helping businesses deliver the kind of intelligent recommendations once reserved for big tech.

We explore the mindset shifts, technical leaps, and founder lessons that shaped his path—from Meta’s AI labs to democratizing personalization for everyone else.

Key Takeaways

• The best founders know when to trade technical depth for go-to-market mastery. Tullie learned that 70% of startup success lives outside the codebase.

• Real personalization is no longer just for Meta, Amazon, or TikTok—new model architectures are closing the gap for everyone.

• Flexibility early in your career opens unexpected doors. Choosing Meta over Google gave Tullie room to explore and evolve.

• AI research isn’t just about papers—it’s about transforming how people experience products and decisions in real time.

• The future of personalization sits at the intersection of generation and intent—content created and adapted for each individual moment.

Timestamped Highlights

00:35 — What Shaped does and how it’s redefining AI-driven recommendations

03:00 — From a farm in Australia to computer science and a path to Silicon Valley

07:30 — Why joining Meta offered more freedom than Google

13:25 — The insight that sparked Shaped: how Meta’s personalization drove massive engagement

19:00 — Leaving Big Tech, embracing discomfort, and starting over as a founder

22:45 — The moment he realized go-to-market mattered more than code

29:00 — How new AI breakthroughs are rewriting what’s possible in personalization

33:55 — Real-time generation meets personalization: where we’re headed next

A standout moment

“Most founders think success is 70% product and 30% go-to-market. I learned it’s the other way around.”

Pro Tip

If you’re a technical founder, study go-to-market strategy as hard as you studied your first programming language. It’s the difference between a great product and a great company.

Call to Action

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