A Conversation with TechCrunch
Nick Frosst, the co-founder of $5.5 billion Canadian AI startup Cohere, has been a musician his whole life. In this conversation with TechCrunch, he shares his passion for music and how it intersects with his work at Cohere.
From Musician to Entrepreneur
Frosst told TechCrunch that once he started singing, he never shut up. That’s still true today. In addition to his full-time job at Cohere, Frosst is also the front man of Good Kid, an indie rock band composed entirely of programmers.
Good Kid isn’t just a group of friends jamming on the weekends in someone’s garage. The band has 2.3 million monthly Spotify listeners and recently played at Lollapalooza. It was nominated for the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences breakthrough group of the year at the Juno Awards this year and opened for the band Portugal. The Man when it toured Canada last fall.
The Formation of Good Kid
Good Kid was formed at the University of Toronto in 2015 as a hobby, Frosst told TechCrunch. All of the members were in the computer science program except one, guitar player David Wood, but they all convinced him to switch. Good Kid launched its first single, Nomu, at the end of 2015.
Nomu’s musical medley sounds like a nod to indie pop rock group Two Door Cinema Club, with Frosst’s vocals ringing out in a style that could be compared to Bloc Party front man Kele Okereke. Both Bloc Party and Two Door Cinema Club are inspirations for the group.
"We didn’t really have high hopes for it," Frosst admits about releasing that first single. "We just wanted to create something that we liked, instead of recording a bunch of songs. It did much better than we thought it would."
Good Kid dropped a handful more singles until releasing its first self-titled EP in 2018. The band has gone on to release four more albums, the latest of which came out earlier this year.
The Intersection of Music and AI
About a year after the band’s debut album came out in 2018, Frosst launched Cohere with Aidan Gomez and Ivan Zhang. Cohere has since grown into a top-watched startup offering AI models for enterprises. The company has raised more than $970 million in venture capital from backers like Salesforce, Nvidia, Cisco, and Oracle, and is currently valued at $5.5 billion.
Although Good Kid’s profile has continued to grow, Frosst said that he’s privileged to be able to be a musician at that level, but Cohere and working in AI is his real career.
"Cohere is my life’s work," Frosst said. "I spend the vast majority of my time [on] Cohere. Music is just something I love doing on the side."
Balancing Act
Frosst spoke about how he balances his dual roles as musician and entrepreneur, saying: "It’s a lot of juggling, but it’s worth it because I get to do two things that I’m passionate about. It’s not always easy, but it’s definitely rewarding."
The Benefits of Interdisciplinary Pursuits
Frosst also discussed how his experience in music has influenced his work at Cohere. "I think being a musician and an entrepreneur have helped me be more creative and open-minded," he said. "It’s allowed me to approach problems from different angles and think outside the box."
A Lucky Break
When asked about what inspired him to start Good Kid, Frosst replied: "I was just lucky enough to find a group of people who shared my passion for music. We all clicked, and it just worked out."
He continued: "I’m very lucky to have found myself in this situation where I get to do two things that I love. It’s not something that you can plan or expect; it just happens sometimes."
Conclusion
In conclusion, Nick Frosst is a shining example of how passion and creativity can intersect with entrepreneurship and innovation. His journey from musician to co-founder of Cohere serves as an inspiration to anyone looking to turn their passions into a career.
As Frosst said, "I’m very lucky to have found myself in this situation where I get to do two things that I love."
