Build Club Spotlight Series - Thorsten Schaeff

Welcome to the Build Club Spotlight Series, where we feature some of the most exciting AI startups and engineers redefining industries!

How an Accomplished AI Engineer Made the Jump from Supabase to ElevenLabs

This week, we’re chatting with Thorsten "Thor" Schaeff, a software developer with an impressive career spanning software engineering, developer relations, and technology innovation. Having worked at prominent tech companies like Stripe and Supabase, Thor is now helping build the developer platform for AI-powered audio at ElevenLabs.

Thor’s journey in tech started early. Growing up in Germany near SAP’s headquarters, he attended a summer camp at age nine to learn web development. By high school, he had founded a web development group experimenting with PHP, MySQL, and content management systems.

His passion for teaching and mentoring emerged when he later became a lecturer at the same summer camp, guiding young developers in web development. This led to his personal tagline: "I help developers build."

After studying computer science and media and interning across Europe, Thor joined Google Maps' sales engineering team in London. He initially planned to pursue a master’s degree in Ireland but dropped out to join Stripe ($95B valuation - FinTech). At Stripe, he helped developers integrate payments, worked with enterprise customers, and later built developer relations across the Asia-Pacific region.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Thor was introduced to the founders of Supabase. He contributed to the open-source project, mentored developers, and eventually joined the company full-time. At Supabase ($816M Series C Valuation, Sep 2024 - B2B SaaS Backend Service), he focused on developer relations, helping AI developers integrate and scale their projects using Supabase.

Recently, Thor transitioned to ElevenLabs, where he is building a developer platform for AI-driven audio. This move brings him back to his love for music and media, combining AI with digital audio innovation.

👉 See more details about Thor’s upcoming hackathon here! [Link]

What Made You Jump from Supabase to ElevenLabs?

After five years contributing to Supabase, Thor had built a strong foundation in its open-source community. He played a crucial role in strengthening the Supabase-Stripe relationship and creating a widely used SaaS subscription starter template.

Despite Supabase’s continued growth, Thor believed in the German saying, "Man soll gehen, wenn es am schönsten ist" ("One should leave when it's at its best"). With his goals at Supabase fulfilled, he was ready for a fresh challenge.

What Tech Stack Do You Use?

Thor’s tech stack has evolved across his career, reflecting the diversity of modern software development.

• At Stripe: Full-stack JavaScript, primarily using Next.js and React.

• At Supabase: Expanded into Elixir for real-time applications.

• At ElevenLabs: Diving deeper into Python for AI-driven audio while maintaining his JavaScript and full-stack expertise.

He also sees exciting possibilities in React Native, conversational AI agents, real-time WebSockets, WebRTC, and client-side AI processing.

What Advice Would You Give to Aspiring AI Professionals?

• Don’t be intimidated by AI’s complexity. Much of AI development today is applied rather than purely research-driven.

• Embrace AI’s accessibility. Many AI capabilities are available via APIs, making them easier to integrate.

• Learn by building. AI development involves APIs, authentication, real-time WebSockets, and WebRTC—skills that blend naturally into modern software development.

• Use AI as a tool. Treat AI as an extension of your workflow and product development.

Thor’s key message: Don’t be intimidated—embrace AI, experiment, and build!

How Would You Describe Your Job to…

An AI Engineer?

"I work on the intricacies of voice cloning and AI-driven audio, ensuring that developers can seamlessly integrate our technology. ElevenLabs' AI models can replicate voices accurately—even improving language proficiency. My own voice clone speaks better German than I do!"

Someone Non-Technical?

"I make AI-powered voice tools easier for developers to use. Think of it as a voice translation system that can mimic anyone’s voice in different languages."

ElevenLabs specializes in natural-sounding speech synthesis. This technology has the potential to revolutionize communication across language barriers and enhance digital voice assistants.

Thor also highlights the ethical considerations of voice cloning, emphasizing AI safety while enabling innovative applications across industries.

Ultimately, his role is about bridging the gap between cutting-edge AI and real-world applications, empowering developers to build the future of AI-powered audio.