At first glance, building a software company may not seem like it has much in common with the world of hospitality and fine dining. However, one conversation with Abhi Sharma, CEO and co-founder of Relyance AI (an Unusual Ventures portfolio company) will reveal just how interconnected these worlds can be.

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In early 2020, Abhi and his co-founder Leila Golchereh started Relyance AI to focus on privacy and governance challenges amidst the rise of AI adoption in enterprises. They recognized a crucial gap in trust and governance infrastructure, and the need to move organizations from mere checkbox compliance to embedding trust and safety in business operations. This vision resulted in the creation of Relyance AI, a global privacy compliance and data governance platform. The company helps enterprises protect customer data, avoid expensive fines, and build trust by providing visibility and control over all data processing activities.

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We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Abhi to discuss the founding of Relyance AI and the importance of building a strong company culture from day 1. One of the core pillars of Relyance AI’s culture is the concept of unreasonable hospitality, an idea popularized by Will Guidara (former GM of Eleven Madison Park in New York City). By applying the principles of unreasonable hospitality, Relyance has successfully transformed its sales culture, achieving a remarkable 100% POC conversion rate. 

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Below, we highlight three key lessons from this transformation and share Abhi’s insights on what software founders can learn about service from the hospitality industry.

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Focus on improving each component of the customer experience

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One of the key aspects of building an “unreasonably hospitable” sales culture is paying close attention to customers’ needs. Abhi realized that while he and his team “were attentive, they were not paying attention.” For instance, as Abhi explains, asking prospects to sign NDAs without showing value created friction in the customer experience. To overcome this, the team needed to prioritize establishing trust and building a truly customer-centric sales experience. This meant shifting their entire sales strategy to focus on putting customers’ needs first.

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To achieve this, Abhi and his team treated the customer journey as a “systems problem” — they broke down the entire process into individual components. The team analyzed every single component to find immediate enhancements in the customer experience. They continuously questioned and brainstormed improvements until they had explored every possible way to refine each step. 

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Next, Abhi encouraged his team to focus on the “Why” rather than the “What.” Digging into the “Why” allowed for a deeper understanding of the problems customers are facing, and allowed Relyance AI’s sales team to take a more educational approach to sales rather than being “sales-y.” 

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Finally, the company shifted its sales approach to make every customer interaction feel like a partnership rather than a transaction. The team emphasized deeply understanding the customer's needs and providing value, even going the extra mile like sending personalized video walkthroughs to prospects on weekends. This commitment helped customers see Relyance AI not just as a vendor, but as a genuine partner.

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Abhi frequently emphasizes to his team that there is a human being on the other side of every sales conversation, each with a unique perspective and needs. Although they followed their usual patterns and playbooks at each touchpoint, they always kept in mind that “one size fits one.” This approach shifted the team’s perspective from focusing on their personal viewpoints to truly understanding the user’s perspective and how they want to be served. 

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Culture is about what you do, not what you say

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For Abhi, building culture is an active endeavor that requires consistent reinforcement through daily actions. An organization must embody the values of unreasonable hospitality in both its external interactions and internal operations. 

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One of the key lessons that Abhi learned as a second-time founder is that “designing with intention” is essential for startup success. For instance, when it comes to hiring, Abhi discovered that clarity about the cultural attributes you seek in new hires is crucial. Overlooking this aspect can lead to adverse outcomes down the line. As Abhi puts it, if you don’t design your culture with intention from the start, it will “evolve on its own as a system, and never be what you want it to be.” Once established, culture can be difficult and costly to change, so it’s important to be intentional about it. 

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As a second-time founder, Abhi has also internalized the reality that challenges are inevitable, regardless of a startup’s success or smooth operations. People often overlook this truth and forget that overcoming adversity requires the entire company to unite and tackle problems creatively. Instead of dwelling on the difficulties, he encourages viewing them as opportunities for innovation and collaboration. This approach results in a more efficient structure shaped by the necessity to adapt and optimize under pressure.

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Don’t be afraid to set conflicting goals

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Relyance embraces the practice of setting conflicting goals. The company upholds two core cultural values: “Amp it Up with Excellence” and “Unreasonable Hospitality.” The concept of “Amp it Up with Excellence” is about operating with extreme velocity, energy, and intensity, all while maintaining high standards of excellence and doing so at a rapid pace. On the other hand, “Unreasonable Hospitality” focuses on catering to everyone and creating personalized, exceptional experiences. These goals are inherently at odds because it’s challenging to provide the perfect experience while rapidly scaling systems. This tension encourages the team to organically find a balance between these extremes.

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Ultimately, Abhi reminds SaaS founders that they are in the business of providing “software as a service,” making the concept of service fundamental to their success. In an AI-driven world, what truly sets you apart from your competition is the quality of your service, which begins with a strong internal culture. Abhi emphasizes that “your internal culture gets expressed externally,” underscoring the need for your culture to derive authentically from a deep understanding of your industry, customers, and product’s role. To truly stand out and build lasting success, your culture should genuinely reflect your own company and environment, rather than mimicking the values of others.

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