Windmill co-founders Max Shaw and Brian Distelburger are building the AI-powered people platform for how companies develop and manage their talent. Founded alongside Mark Tanner, Windmill replaces the broken, once-a-year performance review with something faster, smarter, and that employees actually love. Since launching in November 2025, they've reached more than 100 customers including Kalshi, The Farmer's Dog, and Rho, and Inspired is so proud to have led their recent seed round. As AI makes every employee more powerful, the companies that win will be the ones that put the best talent in exactly the right role.
What You'll Learn:
Why the current state of performance management is broken
How AI will change the relationship between managers and their teams
What the future of work looks like as companies grow more complex
Why skills assessment is about to become one of the most important things a company can do
Why Max and Brian are optimistic that AI will benefit people at work
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
02:33 Meet Max and Brian
03:44 What Is Windmill
05:38 The State of Performance Reviews
09:20 Where Windmill Is Headed
13:20 AI Coaching for Every Employee
16:15 Why They Chose This Problem
18:33 The Biggest Change Management Moment of Our Lives
24:15 Early Traction and What's Working
27:30 Where the World of Work Is Going
34:55 The IKEA Example
36:16 Skills Assessment and Workforce Redeployment
41:18 Why New York
43:35 Quickfire
Follow Max, Brian, and Windmill:
• Website: https://gowindmill.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gowindmill/
• X: https://x.com/trywindmill
• Max's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-shaw-82287025/
• Brian's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandistelburger/
Follow Inspired:
• Website: https://www.inspiredcapital.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspired-capital-partners
• X: https://x.com/InspiredCap
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/inspiredcapital/
• Substack: https://alexavontobel.substack.com/
