What Happens When One AI Builder Replaces a Product Squad?

Matt Welle, CEO of Mews · Deal With It

Matt Welle (Matthijs Welle) is the CEO of Mews, a hotel software company that runs front desks, payments and operations for about 15,000 hotels worldwide. Mews recently raised $300 million at a valuation of about $2.5 billion. It has made about 14 acquisitions and is often described as Europe's challenger to Oracle in hotel software. Mews is about 13 years old. Welle is Dutch and is known for his frequent, opinionated LinkedIn posts.

Summary

A few months after raising $300 million, Mews cut 170 roles because its teams were using AI but getting stuck in seven layers of management. It replaced traditional product squads with 150 "builders" who talk to customers, design with AI agents and ship on their own. Welle explains how Mews planned the layoffs over three days, why he won't hire people who don't use AI and why European labor rules now make him hesitant to hire there. He spends 20 minutes every week with three top performers, who mostly want faster action on underperformers. These signals are from an interview that Eva de Mol did with Matt Welle on Deal With It.

1. Compartmentalize. Welle says a good entrepreneur has to put problems in boxes and walk away, or they will eat you alive. He takes no calls after 7 p.m., goes to bed at about 9:10 and has invested in his bed to keep a rhythm. Working 60 to 70 hours a week while exercising and sleeping eight hours means something gives. For him that's his social life: he keeps close friends but no longer has a wider circle. ▶ 2:06
   
   Anecdote: The night before the interview, Welle broke his own rule and took a call right before bed, then lay awake thinking about it all night. (Matt Welle, ▶ 2:21)