# Mark Hughes

> Mark Hughes is the Irish co-founder and CEO of Solidroad, an AI training company for customer-facing teams. A former Intercom sales employee and Chargify EMEA leader, he previously co-founded the graduate mentorship platform Gradguide, acquired by Native in 2022. Solidroad joined Y Combinator’s Winter 2025 batch, announced a $6.5 million seed round in 2025 and a $25 million Series A in 2026, and retired its QA product in September 2026 to focus on conversation and system simulations.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Solidroad
- **Organizations:** Solidroad, Gradguide, Intercom, Chargify (now Maxio)
- **From:** Malahide, Ireland
- **Nationality:** Irish
- **Education:** Bachelor of Business Studies, First Class Honours, Trinity College Dublin, HEC Paris, Y Combinator
- **Known for:** Built Gradguide into a mentorship and recruitment network; Native acquired it in 2022., Co-led Solidroad through Y Combinator Winter 2025., Solidroad announced a $6.5 million seed round led by First Round Capital in June 2025.

## Career timeline

- **2017** — Joined Intercom after receiving help from a mentor.
- **2019** — Founded Gradguide, initially as a side project.
- **2020** — Left Intercom for Chargify and helped establish its European operations; led EMEA sales, support and customer success.
- **2021** — CluneTech announced a majority investment and €2 million backing for Gradguide.
- **2022** — Gradguide was acquired by Native late in the year.
- **2023** — Co-founded Solidroad with Patrick Finlay; incorporated in February.
- **2025** — Participated in YC Winter 2025; Solidroad announced a $6.5 million First Round Capital-led seed round on June 5; moved full-time to San Francisco in September, according to his later interview.
- **2026** — Solidroad announced a $25 million Hedosophia-led Series A on April 16; retired AutoQA in September and focused on training and System Simulations.

## Achievements

- Built Gradguide into a mentorship and recruitment network; Native acquired it in 2022.
- Co-led Solidroad through Y Combinator Winter 2025.
- Solidroad announced a $6.5 million seed round led by First Round Capital in June 2025.
- Solidroad announced a $25 million Series A led by Hedosophia in April 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — An October 13 company update confirms AutoQA was retired in September; Solidroad now focuses on AI training for CX teams.
- **2026-10** — Appeared on The Entrepreneur Experiment, episode 525, published October 1, discussing founder-led sales, YC, moving to San Francisco and working faster.
- **2026-09** — Announced the decision to sunset QA and introduced System Simulations.
- **2026-04** — Solidroad announced a $25 million Series A led by Hedosophia.

## Links

- Website: https://www.solidroad.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-hughes-a36915a7/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/MarkHuqhes

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/mark-hughes
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-26