We all know the statistics: 9 out of 10 startups fail. But what about the 10% that succeed? What makes them different? In each episode, I sit down with founders of early-stage startups that I believe have the vision, execution, and market fit to be part of that successful minority.

In this episode of The 10 Percent, I sit down with João Santos, CEO and co-founder of Tilect, a startup building an AI-powered platform that helps large companies optimize pricing strategies without massive implementation costs or bloated timelines.João previously helped build a €30B/year AI pricing engine at BMW. Now he’s taking those insights to a broader market with Tilect, a conversational, collaborative pricing tool designed for business users—not just data scientists.We talk about:Why most companies are still stuck on outdated cost-plus pricing;How Tilect’s AI “agentic” platform works in real-world scenarios;What it takes to land clients representing €1.7B in annual revenue—just months after launching;The value of starting with technical founders;And why João believes Tilect has what it takes to be part of the 10 percent of startups that succeed.Whether you’re building in AI, SaaS, or B2B enterprise, this episode is packed with strategic insights you won’t want to miss.