Expert interviews and guides to help you level up as a product leader and creator fast.
The podcast Behind the Craft is created by Peter Yang. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
My guest today is Stephen Chau.Stephen is the co-founder of Cove, a Sequoia-backed startup that lets you interact with AI through a ground-breaking visual interface instead of chat. We had a great chat about why the future of AI is generative UI, how to build great AI products, and how he scaled Uber Eats from $0 to $25B.This episode is brought to you by Merge — Merge gives SaaS companies like Ramp and Drata a single API to launch over 200 product integrations fast. Book a meeting via https://www.merge.dev/peteryang and get a $50 Amazon gift card when you attend.Timestamps: (00:00) The future of AI is generative UI
(01:53) Demoing Cove's visual AI interface for trip planning
(05:02) Beyond chatbots: Co-creating with AI in a natural way
(09:01) Context-aware AI that updates content automatically
(11:11) Putting AI to the test to list premium Japanese snacks
(14:02) Building AI apps directly within your workspace
(16:35) Demoing real world use cases for visual AI interfaces
(27:39) Generative UI and just-in-time AI apps
(31:16) Why chatbots are the "DOS stage" of AI interfaces
(45:44) The secret to building Uber Eats to $25B
(54:51) The best way to build your AI product senseGet the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/he-built-uber-eats-now-pushing-ai-beyond-chat-stephen-chauWhere to find Stephen:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephenchau/Website: https://cove.ai/📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Arvind Jain.
Arvind is the CEO of Glean and believes every employee should have a team of AI agents to help them get work done. We had a great chat about how AI agents will impact work and Arvind’s top lessons from scaling Glean to $100M ARR in 3 years.
This episode is brought to you by Merge — Merge gives SaaS companies like Ramp and Drata a single API to launch over 200 product integrations fast. Book a meeting via www.merge.dev/peteryang and get a $50 Amazon gift card when you attend.
Timestamps:
(00:00) How to find job security with AI
(03:10) Everyone will manage a team of AI agents
(05:53) Is PM well positioned to thrive with AI?
(10:27) How anyone can build powerful AI agents now
(12:28) Three real barriers to enterprise AI adoption
(17:34) How Glean reached $100M ARR in only 3 years
(22:52) Making AI work with messy internal company data
(26:51) Critical skills you need to build to craft AI products
(33:33) Are 5-year plans completely worthless?
(36:12) Glean's vision is to give everyone an AI team
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/100m-company-in-3-years-ai-agents-glean-arvind-jain
Where to find Arvind:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jain-arvind/
Website: https://www.glean.com/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Scott White.Scott is the Head of Product for Claude at Anthropic, and I’m excited to be the first to interview him about the hybrid reasoning AI model Claude 3.7 Sonnet. Scott also gave me a behind-the-scenes look at how Anthropic builds AI products, the most essential skills in the AI era, and how Claude will evolve from assistant to agent.This episode is brought to you by Vanta — Join 9,000+ companies like Atlassian and Quora, and use Vanta to manage risk and prove security in real time. Get $1000 off at vanta.com/peterScott and I talked about:(00:00) How Claude will evolve from assistant to agent(01:58) Inside Claude 3.7: The first hybrid reasoning AI(04:51) How Claude became best in class at coding(08:50) Top 3 ways that Scott uses Claude to build Claude(13:49) PMs can now design and collapse the talent stack(17:00) Will AI models become commoditized, and Claude's personality (22:34) How to work with AI researchers(27:20) Step by step how Scott builds AI product(32:37) Why every PM must master writing AI evals(35:53) If Mike Krieger has brought Instagram's principles to Anthropic(38:41) How to get hired at Anthropic(43:01) Flipping the script on Claude's futureGet the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/inside-the-best-ai-model-for-coding-claude-scott-white Where to find Scott:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottiewhite/Website: https://claude.ai/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Yana Welinder.Yana is the CEO of Kraftful, an AI product that helps 50,000 product teams extract insights from user reviews and surveys. She’s also a power user of ChatGPT and did a live demo of her top AI workflows for Deep Research and Operator.Timestamps:(00:00) At this point, I’m not doing anything without AI(01:38) Live demo of Operator automating product work(08:07) Using Deep Research for competitive analysis(11:05) Unlocking Deep Research to get medical advice(13:29) More everyday use cases for AI you might not know about(19:07) The key problem with AI startups(22:32) What should the PM actually do if AI will do everything?(25:36) The ups and downs of being an AI founder(29:02) How to balance prompting, RAG, fine-tuning, and evals(32:09) The right time horizon to plan for AIGet the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/ai-does-my-work-now-as-a-product-leader-yanaWhere to find Yana:
X: https://x.com/yanatweets
Website: https://www.kraftful.com/📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Eric Simons.
Eric is the CEO of Bolt, the AI coding platform that has exploded from 0 to 3M users in less than a year.
Eric gave me a live demo of building a $2B mobile app from scratch with Bolt, how his “overnight” success was seven years in the making, and how real product teams use Bolt to get work done faster.
This episode is brought to you by Vanta — Join 9,000+ companies like Atlassian and Quora who use Vanta to manage risk and prove security in real time. Get $1000 off at vanta.com/peter
Timestamps:
(00:00) From almost shutting down to $20M ARR in 2 months
(01:20) Watch Bolt build Spotify with a single prompt
(03:59) Live demo of building a $2B mobile app in 15 min
(05:16) How to test your prototypes on mobile with Expo
(10:03) Redesigning UX just by pasting in a screenshot
(15:00) "Vibe coding" secrets straight from Eric
(18:38) How Bolt will solve the AI debugging doom loop
(24:34) The AI prototyping use case that most people aren't thinking about
(27:21) The inside story of scaling Bolt from 0 to 3M users
(41:10) Why AI products are like surfboards in a tsunami
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/building-a-billion-dollar-app-with-bolt-ai
Where to find Eric:
X: https://x.com/ericsimons40
Website: bolt.new
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Ebi Atawodi.
Ebi is the Director of Product for YouTube Studio, the home for 65M creators (including me). Ebi gave me an inside look at crafting Studio’s vision and how to define yourself beyond your job title. Ebi’s super inspiring, and you'll love our chat.
This episode is brought to you by Vanta — Join over 9,000 global companies like Atlassian, Quora, and Factory who use Vanta to manage risk and prove security in real time. Get $1000 off at vanta.com/peter
Timestamps:
(00:00) If I took away your job title, who are you?
(03:44) Defining the vision for YouTube Studio
(07:30) Tell me what's painful, not what you shipped
(11:18) Transforming a vision into strategic themes
(21:24) What most people don't realize about platform PMs
(28:59) Balancing the needs of big and small creators
(33:23) Why the little moments really matter for creators
(38:01) Why Ebi took time off to make a short film
(43:50) I'm a storyteller, and nobody can take that away
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/this-vision-playbook-will-change-youtube-product
Where to find Ebi Atawodi:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebiatawodi/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6vQTfTejyY
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Amjad Mosad, CEO and founder of Replit.Amjad is the CEO of Replit, an AI coding platform with 34M users that’s making it possible for anyone to build an app in 60 seconds from their phone. In our chat, Amjad shared how you can learn to code with AI and gave me a live demo of Replit’s AI agent. We also discussed the skills that will still matter in AI. This episode is brought to you by Vanta — Join over 9,000 global companies like Atlassian, Quora, and Factory who use Vanta to manage risk and prove security in real-time. Get $1000 off at vanta.com/peter. Timestamps:(00:00) Two paths to tech job security in the AI era
(06:36) The best way to learn to code with AI
(07:41) Building a nutrition tracking app with Replit
(14:07) How to avoid getting stuck on bugs with AI
(18:30) 5 tips to get the most out of AI coding agents
(22:10) Why everyone should build personal software
(24:00) What makes Replit's AI approach different
(27:41) Why traditional roadmaps are dead
(30:40) How Replit uses AI internally to build faster
(34:00) Build an app in 60 seconds from your phone
(36:14) Career advice for tech folks to become AI nativeGet the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/this-ai-tool-lets-you-build-apps-faster-than-googlingWhere to find Amjad:
X: https://x.com/amasad
Website: https://replit.com/📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Colin Matthews. Colin is a rockstar instructor who teaches a popular AI Prototyping for PMs course on building AI apps without coding skills. In our interview, Colin shared how to pick the right AI prototyping tool, what you should do before asking AI to code, and how to build a habit-tracking app step by step in just 20 minutes.
Brought to you by:
Vanta— Automate compliance and scale your security program. Get $1,000 off.
Timestamps: (00:00) Do this before asking AI to code (01:13) How to pick the right AI prototyping tool (05:50) Choosing AI tools for client, server, and database (10:49) Building a habit-tracking app step by step(14:02) Always start with the data model (22:08) Top mistakes to avoid with AI prototyping (27:14) Should you still learn to be technical with AI? (32:13) Avoiding the 70% problem and getting stuck on bugs (33:59) How to learn to code through AI prototyping Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/the-number-one-hack-to-build-with-ai-without-getting-stuck Where to find Colin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinmatthews-pm/
Get $100 off Colin's prototyping course: https://maven.com/tech-for-product/ai-prototyping-for-product-managers?promoCode=peter100 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Mikey Shulman. Mikey is the CEO and co-founder of Suno, the best AI music app available. I’ve had so much fun using it to make songs with my kids. In our chat, Mikey shares how music LLMs work, how Suno builds AI products, and the good and bad futures of music with AI. Timestamps: (00:00) The good and bad futures of AI in music
(03:41) How Suno's music AI actually works
(07:31) Building for personalization without losing humanity
(10:34) Turning text into actual songs
(14:06) Product iteration in uncharted territory
(20:37) Core principles for building AI products
(25:06) How streaming changed everything
(31:35) What's next for AI music in 2025
(32:51) Navigating product management in AI
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/inside-suno-the-ai-music-app-you-wont-stop-listening-to-product Where to find Mikey: X: https://x.com/MikeyShulmanWebsite: https://suno.ai/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Chris Pettigrew. Chris is the co-founder and CEO of Granola, an AI meeting notes app that has become indispensable to me. Granola has 70%+ weekly user retention, almost unheard of for consumer AI. In our interview, Chris shared five hard-won rules for building AI products that users love and explained why AI will fix meetings.
Timestamps:
(00:00) The #1 mistake you can make when building AI products
(01:35) The difference between big tech PM and startup founder
(06:22) Why Chris decided to use AI to solve meetings
(09:26) Don't solve problems that won't be problems soon
(12:44) How can you predict what LLMs can do in the future
(19:09) Why context is king for great AI products
(23:56) How to give your AI product a soul
(28:43) When to listen to user feedback and when to trust your gut(31:39) Closing advice for people who want to build AI apps Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/the-hidden-rules-behind-successful-ai-products-chris-pedregal Where to find Chris:
Website: https://www.granola.ai/
X: https://x.com/cjpedregal
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Aman Khan.
Aman is the Director of Product at Arize AI. Last year, we both heard the Chief Product Officers of OpenAI and Anthropic share that AI evaluations will be the most important skill for PMs in 2025. Aman gave me a crash course on how to build this critical skill in our interview.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Evals force you to get into your user's shoes
(03:42) 5 skills to build right now to become a great AI PM
(07:43) How curiosity leads to better AI products
(10:20) You can build AI without the job title
(17:00) A deep dive into why AI evals are so important
(24:53) Example of running evals for an AI customer support agent
(31:32) When humans need to be in the loop for evals
(35:46) How to get better at writing evals right now
(39:39) My personal prompt and eval for transcripts
(44:23) Catching the AI wave is alot like surfing
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/the-ai-skill-that-will-define-your-pm-career-aman-khan
Where to find Aman:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanberkeley/
Arize: https://arize.com/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Amit Fulay.
Amit is a product VP at Microsoft who previously spent 15 years building products like News Feed (Meta) and Google Meet (Google). In our interview, he reveals the three types of product leaders, how to build trust at each career stage, and what AI means for PMs. He also teaches a popular on leveling up from PM to influential product leader (get $100 off with this link).
Timestamps:
(00:00) The secret to building trust
(01:43) 3 distinct types of product leaders
(03:29) How to influence each type of leader
(09:29) Will AI kill traditional product management?
(16:02) How to build trust in each stage of your career
(20:16) Sunsetting your own without losing trust
(25:31) Speaking the truth to your management chain
(28:55) Inside how Satya Nadella fixed Microsoft
(32:41) What Amit wished he knew when he started as a PM
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/top-1-percent-product-leaders-do-this-amit-fulay Where to find Amit:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afulay/
Course: https://maven.com/amitfulay/toppmleader 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Katia Verresen. Katia is one of Silicon Valley's most sought-after leadership coaches. Her clients include Fidji Simo (CEO of Instacart), Kate Rouch (CMO of OpenAI), Deb Liu (CEO of Ancestry), who all rave about how she transformed their careers. In our chat, Katia shared her proven techniques to help you achieve your goals in the new year. Timestamps: (00:00) How to stop doubting yourself (01:54) The year-in-review ritual top CEOs swear by (06:11) I thought I had a horrible year until I realized this (10:13) Why it's so important to celebrate your wins(15:40) Coaching clients from managers to CEOs (17:57) The power of unlocking your "kind observer" (21:35) How to use emotions to shape your reality (30:18) Imagination is a superpower most leaders don't use (41:18) 3 daily practices to unlock abundant energy Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/make-2025-your-best-year-yet-katia-verresen Where to find Katia: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katia-verresen/ Website: https://www.kvaleadership.com/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Sachin Rekhi.
Sachin scaled LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator to $200M ARR and 500 employees. He then left it all behind to start Notejoy; a team notes app. I had a great chat with him about finding market fit for your product and career in 2025 and how to design work to suit your life, not vice versa.
Timestamps: (00:00) I got my dream PM job then realized I didn’t want it (02:19) The MVP is dead (08:02) Execution is NOT the only thing that matters (09:40) A proven loop to achieve product-market fit (14:18) Better ways to validate your product than MVPs (20:01) How to even measure product-market fit (26:03) Why Sachin opted out of the path to VP (29:16) Aligning your career with your zone of genius (36:18) I saw the small team trend coming (40:38) Use explore-exploit to find your dream career (44:01) Closing tips to design your life with purpose
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/rethink-your-pm-career-in-2025-sachin-rekhi Where to find Sachin: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachinrekhi/ Website: https://www.sachinrekhi.com/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Deb Liu. Deb is the CEO of Ancestry, former VP at Meta, and writer of Perspectives. But for our interview, I wanted to talk to Deb about a more personal topic: How to survive and thrive as a busy working parent with your spouse, aging parents, and kids. In our interview, Deb shared her best advice on building a 60-60 relationship with your spouse, raising resilient kids, caring for aging parents, and dealing with grief. Timestamps: (00:00) How to stop parenting through guilt
(01:19) Building a 60-60 relationship with your spouse
(03:05) Choosing your marriage swim lanes
(05:41) A simple ritual for authentic family conversations
(09:51) Why the world isn't set up for two working parents
(12:24) How to solve stressful mornings
(17:29) The sandwich generation and dealing with grief
(21:38) How to build your modern village
(27:49) Raising resilient kids as a busy parent
(35:19) Closing words of advice for balancing career and family Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-to-survive-and-thrive-as-a-busy-working-parent Where to find Deb:
Newsletter: https://debliu.substack.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahliu/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Mike Knoop, co-founder of Zapier. Mike co-founded Zapier and started the ARC Prize to accelerate progress towards open AGI. We had a great chat about how Zapier works, how PMs and marketers can use AI to automate even more work, and why LLMs won’t reach AGI by themselves. Timestamps: (00:00) There are two types of AI automation (01:57) How Zapier automation works (05:14) I quit being Zapier's CPO to do AI research (07:54) I gave employees a week off to just use AI(11:57) How PMs can use AI agents to save time (14:03) We saved $100K by using AI agents in marketing (21:28) Robotic process automation might be better than APIs (26:30) Most definitions of AGI are wrong (30:45) Why LLMs won't get us to AGI and what might work instead Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/zapier-co-founder-ai-agents-10x-productivity-mike-knoop Where to find Mike:X: https://x.com/mikeknoopWebsite: https://mikeknoop.com/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Jiaona Zhang, CPO of Linktree. JZ is the Chief Product Officer of Linktree and a guest lecturer at Stanford. We had a great chat about AI’s impact on PM managers and super ICs, the shift towards PM specialists, and whether becoming a creator can help advance your PM career. (00:00) Find what makes you happy in your PM career (01:44) AI's impact on PM managers and super ICs (04:03) How to balance strategy and execution (08:24) Streamlining PM tasks with AI (13:28) Creating strategy docs and PRDs that work (16:50) Your career is your most important product (22:55) The shift from PM generalists to specialists (23:58) Exploring JZ's Career Odyssey framework (25:49) Why you shouldn't just optimize for comp and title (31:12) Does the creator economy actually work? (44:19) Can being a creator help advance your product career? Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-the-product-manager-role-is-changing-jiaona-zhang Where to find Jiaona: Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiaona/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Niels Hoven, founder and CEO of Mentava. Niels founded Mentava, an education startup teaching 2-year-olds to read at the 2nd-grade level. We had a great chat about why K-12 education is broken for high-achieving kids, whether AI will unlock personalized learning, and how his software teaches 2-year-olds to read. Timestamps: (00:00) Our schools don't work for high-achieving kids (01:26) The problem with K-12 education in the US (03:08) Why California banned 8th grade algebra (10:11) Never be ashamed of advocating for your kids (14:21) How Niels homeschooled 3 kids during COVID (19:25) Teaching 2-year-olds to read like 2nd graders (25:24) Rethinking how we teach kids math (28:44) Will AI replace teachers? (30:34) Will elite college credentials still matter? (35:29) Tips for parents to raise high-achieving kids Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/why-education-is-broken-for-high-achieving-kids-niels-hoven Where to find Niels: X: https://x.com/NielsHoven Website: https://www.mentava.com/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Aravind Srinivas, CEO and co-founder of Perplexity.
Aravind is the CEO of Perplexity, the AI answer engine disrupting online search. Aravind gave me an inside look at how Perplexity builds products, how it scaled to 100M queries a week, and how it’ll deliver better ads than Google’s ten blue links.
Timestamps: (00:00) We don't do product reviews (01:22) The secret to Perplexity's incredible shipping velocity (05:16) Giving feedback as a user instead of as the CEO (07:01) How Perplexity decides what to build next (10:56) Perplexity's "7 friends in 10 days" metric (14:02) How Perplexity uses AI to build Perplexity (17:30) How to get a great job without traditional credentials (21:50) Key drivers behind Perplexity's growth to 100M queries (27:50) The future of search ads and why 10 blue links are dead (35:56) Closing advice to get what you want out of life Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/inside-how-perplexity-is-disrupting-search-aravind-srinivas Where to find Aravind: X: https://x.com/AravSrinivas Website: https://www.perplexity.ai/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Cem Kansu. Cem is the Head of Product at Duolingo. Over 8 years, he helped Duolingo grow to 100M+ monthly active users and $500M+ in annual revenue. I had a super fun chat with Cem about Duolingo's unhinged product culture, the top drivers of Duolingo's user and revenue growth, and whether AI will democratize education. Timestamps: (00:00) We love being unhinged with our owl (01:26) Duolingo is a game and this is our core loop (03:46) The top 3 drivers of Duolingo's growth to 100M users (05:55) Passive-aggressive push notifications work! (08:12) How Duolingo onboards new users to maximize retention (13:11) Our winding path to $500M+ in revenue (17:25) We've figured out how international expansion works (21:13) Will AI kill Duolingo? (26:20) We made Lily an AI emo teenager on purpose (32:41) How to A/B test without sacrificing quality (37:09) What the best PMs at Duolingo have in common Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/inside-duolingo-unhinged-growth-to-500m-cem-kansu Where to find Cem: X: https://x.com/cemkansu LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cemkansu/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Satish Mummareddy, ex-product leader at Meta.
During his 6 years at Meta as an IC7 product leader, Satish interviewed 200+ PM candidates and mentored 100+ PMs. We had a great chat about how to crack the PM interview, choose the right job offer, and find strong mentors.
Timestamps:
(00:00) How not to let rejection get you down
(01:53) Hot takes after interviewing 200+ PMs at Meta
(05:14) Why experienced PMs often struggle in interviews
(09:13) 3-month plan to crush interviews at top tech companies
(15:05) How to uplevel your product thinking skills
(20:10) Why interview frameworks aren't enough
(27:31) How to avoid getting down-leveled
(30:01) Choosing the right company to join
(36:24) 3 steps to find great mentors and sponsors
(40:25) Deliberate practice, career arcs, and mental fitness
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/meta-product-leader-cracking-the-pm-interview-satish
Where to find Satish:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/satishmummareddy/
Course: https://maven.com/crossing-career-chasms/product-thinking
:pushpin: Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Tomer Cohen, Chief Product Officer at LinkedIn. Tomer gave me an inside look at LinkedIn’s growth from 100M to 1B+ users by transforming its feed. He also shared his best advice on growing AI products and advancing your PM career. Finally, I had to ask him about r/LinkedinLunatics. 🙂 Timestamps: (00:00) 3 must-have principles for building AI products (02:55) Revamping the LinkedIn feed for knowledge-sharing (06:15) Why it's so hard to be a feed PM and how Tomer overcame doubts (11:09) r/LinkedInLunatics and the role of humor on LinkedIn (13:18) How newsletters and videos can succeed on LinkedIn (18:24) "Thinking fast and slow" as an AI PM (22:22) How to deal with AI's non-deterministic nature (24:49) "Founder mode" and traits that the best PMs have (27:52) How to design an org to reward impact more than optics (31:29) The best way to land your dream job isn't to apply to everything Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/linkedins-cpo-on-growing-to-1b-with-ai-tomer-cohen Where to find Tomer: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomercohen/ - Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/34ScXLvdmBeZ2Yza7ZWtLi 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Sanchan Saxena, SVP at Atlassian. Sanchan worked directly with 4 of the best founders out there — Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger (Instagram), Brian Armstrong (Coinbase), and Brian Chesky (Airbnb). In our chat, he shares what we can learn from each founder’s superpowers and the 4 traits he always looks for when hiring exceptional PMs. (00:00) The secret product approach that sets Airbnb and Apple apart (01:21) Inside Instagram's early days at 100 employees (03:07) Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger's superpowers (04:54) How "do the simple thing first" led to Instagram Stories' success (07:15) The single common trait shared by the greatest founders (08:50) Brian Armstrong's golden rule, "No decision by committee" (13:36) "Unconstrained thinking" with Brian Chesky at Airbnb (18:21) What Brian Chesky learned from Disney movies and storytelling (23:29) Why obsessing over metrics kills product quality (27:43) Shifting focus to prioritize customers and craft in your company (30:55) Climbing the ladder From PM to product director and VP (33:38) Mastering the yin and yang of product management (42:02) How to set yourself up to get lucky in your career Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/sanchan-instagram-airbnb-coinbase Where to find Sanchan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanchans/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@therealsanchan 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Ben Tossell, founder of Ben's Bites. Ben built a 7-figure business that has taught 10,000+ people how to use AI to save time and automate work. In less than a year, this business has already made more than his last exit (selling no-code platform MakerPad to Zapier). Timestamps: (00:00) AI is your co-pilot, it's not the end to end solution yet (00:56) I scaled to $1M+ by avoiding things I hate doing (03:11) Key drivers of growing to 7-figures in 9 months (10:44) What to automate with AI vs. delegate to teammates (15:30) How to find and hire help online (17:22) Has the community been critical to the business? (22:09) The art of writing great AI prompts (25:42) Ben's bear take on Perplexity (29:36) My defense of Perplexity (33:18) Why all of us are winners from the AI race (36:17) Underrated AI tools for illustrations, videos, and more (40:02) How to build a business to suit your life, not vice versa Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-i-built-a-7-figure-business-with-ai-ben-tossell Where to find Ben: Website: https://bensbites.com/ X: https://x.com/bentossell 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Marily Nika, AI Product Lead at Google. Marily built AI products at Meta and Google for 12+ years after getting a PhD in machine learning. She's also a top AI instructor who has given talks at TED, Harvard, and through her top-rated AI course and newsletter.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Anyone can be an AI PM (01:22) A crash course on core AI concepts (01:51) AI algorithms and applications map (06:38) Traits that the best AI PMs have in common (09:53) How to get leadership buy-in for AI products (11:37) A day in the life as an AI PM (14:51) How to break into AI product management (20:25) How to avoid the retention problem for AI products (23:08) A live demo of ChatGPT Voice (33:39) How Marily uses AI in her personal life Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-to-break-into-ai-product-management
Where to find Marily:
Newsletter: https://marily.substack.com/
Course: https://maven.com/marily-nika/ai-pm-bootcamp 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Justin Welsh, a 7-figure solopreneur and creator. Justin burned out from startups in 2019 after suffering from a panic attack. Since then, he’s built an $8M one-person business and an audience of millions. His new course, Creator MBA, is one of the highest value-to-time courses I’ve ever taken. Timestamps: (00:00) The specific path to build an $8M solo business (01:47) Leaving the career ladder after a panic attack (05:53) How to build a side hustle while employed (08:41) An exercise to take back your time (12:59) Finding your niche and unique value proposition (16:12) Validating your business idea with real customers (19:02) Creating a movement and identifying your "enemy" (23:00) A simple creator funnel to scale solo businesses (27:01) Changes that led to big growth in Justin's business (27:29) How Justin uses AI to optimize his funnel (31:23) Specific vs generic paths to succeed as a creator (39:22) Closing advice for tech people to take back control of their careers Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-i-built-an-8m-solo-business-justin-welsh Where to find Justin: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwelsh/ Newsletter: https://www.justinwelsh.me/newsletters 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Shishir Mehrotra, co-founder and CEO of Coda. Shishir is the co-founder and CEO of Coda and was YouTube's Chief Product Officer. We had a great chat about what I think is the best framework to grow your career, how a PM applied it to build a 0 to $1B product in 18 months, and other rituals to level up your strategy and leadership.Brought to you by: - Amplitude: Get their North Star playbook for free: https://bit.ly/4fPxUmg Timestamps:
(00:00) From 0 to $1B in just 18 months
(01:27) Introducing Shishir
(01:41) The best career growth framework you've never heard of
(03:35) Scope is the wrong metric to evaluate PMs
(07:12) Why PSHE applies to all functions(10:13) Breaking into PM at Google using PSHE
(17:34) Solving obvious problems without stepping on toes
(24:23) The most underrated skill for PMs
(26:16) The WOW framework for strategy and planning
(31:26) The $100 exercise to get teams to think beyond their scope
(35:17) Have you seen small teams move faster?
(37:20) PSHE framework for small vs. large teams
(41:53) Selfless leadership and the trillion-dollar coach
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/the-best-framework-for-career-growth-shishir
Where to find Shishir:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shishirmehrotra/
X: https://x.com/shishirmehrotra
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Jon Lax, former VP of Design at Meta. Jon is a 25-year design veteran who most recently led design for Meta’s Reality Labs (e.g., Ray Ban glasses, Quest, and more). Before Meta, Jon ran his own design firm for 12 years. He’s got many hot takes on product development and design that I’m excited to dig into.
Brought to you by:
- Amplitude: Get their north star playbook for free: https://bit.ly/4fPxUmg Timestamps: (00:00) Why delight comes last
(01:31) Introducing Jon
(01:56) Why Jon stopped doing vision decks and north stars
(05:49) The right time scale for designers to operate in
(11:13) 3 miracle problems have killed many products
(15:14) Make it useful first, then beautiful
(23:38) MVP vs. minimum lovable product is the wrong framing
(25:37) The single trait that all the best teams at Meta share
(26:29) How to build a shared definition of done
(31:19) The one question I ask to bring clarity to promotions
(36:22) How to climb the ambiguity and autonomy curve
(40:01) Is AI the end of peak design jobs?
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/ex-meta-vp-reveals-his-top-design-lessons-jon-lax Where to find Jon: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-lax-900b5a293/Blog: https://jonlax.framer.ai/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Sharmeen Chapp, Head of Product for Revenue and Finance Automation at Stripe. In 2021, Sharmeen was diagnosed with breast cancer after becoming a Senior Director at Meta and a new mom. She shared lessons on leading with empathy through cancer, growing from IC to VP in 6 years, and Stripe’s unique product culture.
Brought to you by:
- Amplitude: Get their North Star playbook for free https://bit.ly/4fPxUmg Timestamps: (00:00) Empathy starts with leaving your ego at the door (01:59) I basically product-managed my breast cancer (03:22) Silver lining of sharing my journey publicly (05:54) Balancing work, family, and cancer treatment (12:20) Why empathy and excellence are not mutually exclusive (17:34) Operating high and low on vision and execution (22:05) Transitioning to PM and overcoming doubts (25:03) Growing from IC to VP in 6 years (27:56) Why I deprioritized my own product (36:59) Stripe PM culture of user-first and humility (41:55) Remember to give yourself grace Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/leading-with-empathy-through-cancer-sharmeen-chapp
Where to find Sharmeen:
X: https://x.com/luckiesharms
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharmeenchapp/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Mihika Kapoor, product lead at Figma. Mihika and team built Figma Slides from just an idea to a featured product at Config this year. She shared with me how anyone can build 0 to 1 products inside large companies - from building internal excitement to getting leadership buy-in to shipping on time. She also shared why she no longer writes any PRDs. Timestamps: (00:00) What it really takes to build 0-1
(01:42) How Figma Slides came from Figma and Figjam
(04:23) Convincing other PMs that this was an idea worth pursuing
(06:38) Talking gets nowhere, here's what works instead
(11:04) How designers can get PM buy-in for their ideas
(16:18) Breaking all the rules for product development
(22:29) Getting leadership buy-in on your vision
(30:25) Aligning a 0-1 product with company goals
(32:29) Find your "first follower" to build your 0-1 team
(37:14) The hardest thing about building Figma Slides
(42:30) 4 rules for anyone building new products
(47:23) Be careful about setting goals for 0-1 products
(52:15) Why Mihika doesn't write PRDs Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/anyone-can-build-0-1-products-mihika-kapoor
Where to find Mihika: X: https://x.com/mihikapoor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mihikakapoor/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Lee Robinson, VP Product at Vercel. Lee has built products and great developer experiences for over a decade and has written some of the most clear-sighted content about how to get developers to adopt your product that I’ve ever read.
We chatted about what makes a great developer experience, what resonates with developer marketing, and how to appeal to this no-bullshit customer segment. Timestamps: (00:00) A cycle to guarantee developers love your product (01:15) How developers decide whether to use a new tool (03:45) 3 pillars of a great developer experience (08:34) Trust in open vs. closed source AI models (10:52) Why most developer documentation sucks (17:02) The future of AI-powered interactive docs (23:25) Developer marketing tactics that actually work (27:30) How to balance hype and reality (30:42) Build with developers to gain their trust (32:06) How to recover from losing developer trust (37:01) Mastering the art of writing (42:08) Talk to them, listen carefully, and actually fix their problems Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/lee-the-ultimate-guide-to-developer-marketing
Where to find Lee:
X: https://x.com/leeerob
Website: https://leerob.io/ 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Chris Jones, partner at Silicon Valley Product Group. Chris and Marty Cagan wrote the best-selling book Empowered based on their 30+ years of experience working with 200+ companies. Their definition of “empowered vs. feature product teams” has created controversy, so I knew I had to chat with them.
Chris and I had a heart-to-heart chat about empowered vs. feature teams, how to avoid becoming a feature factory, and how to take back control of your career. Timestamps:
(00:00) What empowered really means (01:13) The difference between empowered and feature teams (04:58) Why companies stop being customer-focused (06:12) OKRs, processes, and bureaucracy (13:47) Be the go-to person to build trust with leaders(18:13) Quarterly metric targets lead to bad trade-offs (21:40) The trend towards small teams (23:00) Does empowerment matter in wartime (Airbnb)? (27:24) 3 types of product operating principles (30:23) Is Google still empowered? (33:40) How to avoid product review hell(36:15) The right way to push back on execs (41:08) Take back control of your career
Where to find Chris:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisjonessvpg/
Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/empowered-vs-feature-product-teams-chris-jones 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Miqdad Jaffer, ex-head of AI products at Shopify. Miqdad leads enterprise products at OpenAI and was previously Head of AI Products at Shopify. He also teaches Maven’s #1 AI PM course on building AI products inside companies. Miqdad and I spoke about:
-- Why traditional product development doesn't work for AI
- How to build product principles early to manage AI's infinite edge-case problem
- The unconventional ways that Shopify "gets shit done" and ships products fast Timestamps: (00:00) Why building AI products is different (02:10) How Shopify's AI efforts got started (04:48) "Get shit done" product review process (08:13) Building AI products with customers (09:03) How to prioritize AI use cases (11:35) Setting goals for AI products (16:46) The AI tech stack explained (18:25) Protecting user data and privacy (19:49) Prompt engineering and evaluation (23:25) Is it worth training users to submit better prompts? (25:01) Managing AI hallucinations (26:55) Shopify's AI vision (28:41) Principles for building AI products (30:43) Shopify's craft and no meeting culture Where to find Miqdad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miqdadjaffer/ AI PM course: https://maven.com/product-faculty/ai-product-management-certification Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-shopify-built-generative-ai 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Dan Shipper, co-founder of Every. Dan co-founded Every and hosts a podcast called AI & I, where he has interviewed 25+ AI experts. He also recently launched Spiral, a new AI tool to help writers and creators save time and get more done. We had a great chat about how Dan uses AI to write, the traits that top AI experts have in common, and why “managers of AI models” could be a new career path. Timestamps: (00:00) Using AI to turn rambling thoughts into writing (00:57) Introducing Dan (01:56) Writing before AI existed (05:12) How AI helps in each step of the writing process (07:19) Using AI to summarize content (11:27) AI's role in podcast production (15:23) The common traits across AI power users (16:36) Tips to run your business with AI (18:37) Creating your personal AI coach (19:52) Why people struggle with using AI (22:04) Using AI to build apps without code (25:35) How the AI landscape is evolving (29:10) Managers of AI models as a new career (31:20) 3 steps for beginners to get started with AI Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-to-use-ai-to-write-dan-shipper Where to find Dan: X: https://x.com/danshipper Newsletter and podcast: https://msha.ke/danshipper 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Siqi Chen, co-founder and CEO of Runway. Siqi is a 3x founder who’s an expert at using AI to scale his business and life. We discussed his favorite AI prompts and workflows, building a company where people "give a shit," and how to raise your kids and cheat death in an AI-first world. Timestamps: (00:00) Can AI solve death? (00:55) Introducing Siqi (01:08) The #1 startup lesson after 2 successful exits (04:09) What Runway's "give a shit" value means (06:25) Why "raising the bar" leads to business results (11:32) Why the best time to be a founder is now (15:32) How non-technical people can get started with AI (22:20) Using AI to categorize and filter emails without code (25:09) AI will either solve death or kill all of us (26:57) Encourage your kids to explore AI and take more risks (32:00) Motivating your team in difficult times (35:44) Believe in your vision, but be flexible about how you get there (37:08) How Runway will reimagine financial planning Where to find Siqi: X: https://x.com/blader Website: https://runway.com/ Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/siqi-chen-ai-hacks-from-a-3x-founder 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Nat Eliason, one of my favorite writers online. Nat is the author of Crypto Confidential, a real-life thriller about how he made and lost millions in crypto. We also talked about how Nat uses AI to edit his writing, why he pushes himself to do hard things like writing a sci-fi novel, and his advice for aspiring creators on avoiding the dark side of the creator economy. Nat is a personal inspiration to me. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast and check out Nat's new book: https://www.nateliason.com/crypto-confidential Timestamps: (00:00) Prove to yourself that you can do hard things
(00:56) Introducing Nat
(02:06) Using AI to edit his non-fiction writing
(08:03) Why Nat is writing a sci-fi book
(11:42) 3 ways Nat is using AI to write his sci-fi book
(17:33) Using AI to fill in details about a sci-fi setting
(19:22) Novel Crafter as an advanced AI writing tool
(22:57) Why Nat got into crypto with a new baby coming
(26:50) Nat's lowest moment in crypto losing $35,000 in one night
(30:27) Why you must push yourself to do hard things
(34:36) How Nat keeps motivated through small wins
(38:26) The dark side of the creator economy
(41:43) How to avoid making content that you hate
(45:47) Advice for aspiring creators Where to find Nat: X: https://x.com/nateliason Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/do-hard-things-ai-nat-eliason 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Lane Shackleton, Chief Product Officer of Coda. Lane has interviewed hundreds of product teams from Figma, Uber, Spotify, and more as the chief product officer of Coda. He shared with me his favorite rituals from these interviews for crafting a vision, running product reviews, and making decisions. Timestamps:
(00:00) Cathedrals, not bricks to craft a great vision
(03:41) Moving beyond the 1-line vision with powerful artifacts
(06:46) Translating vision to roadmap with quarterly plus OKRs
(13:26) Why most product reviews fall short
(16:08) How the Catalyst meeting makes reviews better
(22:50) Two way write-ups to avoid the highest-paid person's opinion
(26:31) How to learn by making, not talking
(30:46) The trait that leaders and builders respect the most Get the templates for each ritual: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/rituals-and-templates-of-great-product-teams Where to find Lane: https://x.com/lshackleton 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Robbie Crabtree, founder of Competitive Storytelling. Robbie is a top storytelling coach who has helped hundreds of founders raise $600M+ through this skill. Before that, he perfected his storytelling craft as a trial lawyer who oversaw 100+ criminal cases. We talked about: - How to craft a great story - The two stories that every leader must have - How to deliver your story in a compelling way I’ve struggled with storytelling myself, and Robbie’s tips were incredibly helpful. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast. Timestamps: (00:00) The U-shaped approach to tell a great story (01:29) The essence of a great story in one line (02:46) Connecting personally with your audience (03:56) Why impromptu storytelling is a myth (05:26) The five-part storytelling framework (05:52) Defending a murder case example (10:44) Crafting a story in 10 words (22:17) The two essential stories every leader needs (28:09) Deliver a story people will never forget (32:12) Proven tactics to tell better stories Where to find Robbie:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbiecrab/Website: https://www.competitivestorytelling.co/ Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/unlock-your-storytelling-superpower 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Josh Miller, CEO of the Browser Company.
Josh and his team built Arc, an AI-first browser that users can’t stop raving about. To take on Google Chrome, they’ve raised $550M from top investors such as LinkedIn’s Jeff Weiner and Figma’s Dylan Field. In our chat, Josh gives us an inside look at how the Browser Company crafts great products and hires top talent.
Timestamps:
(00:00) The #1 thing we look for to hire great talent (01:29) Why Josh wants to re-invent the browser (04:41) How to find and hire great people (08:11) Build with the community on day 1 (12:01) Inside crafting browser that uses AI to browse for you (15:18) Turn it up to 100 on just one thing (19:47) We only have 12-24 months to win (24:30) Balancing craft with time to market (30:18) How Arc thinks about monetization (35:45) Addressing publisher concerns with AI search (41:04) The secret to feeling fulfilled in your career
Where to find Josh:
X: https://x.com/joshm Website: https://thebrowser.company/
Get the interview takeaways:
https://creatoreconomy.so/p/josh-miller-inside-ai-browser-product
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Dave Kline.
David led teams at Bridgwater for 20+ years, working directly with billionaire Ray Dalio. Since then, he’s coached 1000s of leaders through his course and newsletter.
We spoke about:
- His journey from leader to solopreneur
- How to manage up well
- How to delegate and help others grow
If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/dave-kline-how-to-manage
Timestamps:
(00:00) The #1 mistake that new managers make
(01:40) Top lesson from working with Ray Dalio
(04:25) Dave's journey from leader to solopreneur
(09:36) How to manage up without screwing up
(14:42) Asking for constructive feedback the right way
(19:01) Taking a strategic approach to getting promoted
(25:39) Why you should create a personal brand at your company
(26:18) The importance of delegating until it hurts
(30:29) Managing high and low performers
(35:16) A personal story of when harsh feedback forced Dave to grow
Where to find Dave:
Newsletter: https://mgmt.beehiiv.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkline/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Scott Belsky, Adobe’s Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of Design and Emerging Products.
Scott has also advised 100s of startups and writes a popular newsletter called Implications.
I spoke to Scott about:
Why the talent stack is collapsing and what you can do about it
How to improve the first-mile experience of your product
The 4P framework for building generative AI products
Scott is a leader who obsesses about customer empathy and keeping high performing teams as small as possible. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Why empathy must come before vision
(02:02) How the talent stack is collapsing
(04:50) How employees can prep for smaller teams and AI
(07:00) The ideal design to PM relationship is they’re the same person
(13:50) Improve the first-mile experience of a product
(19:00) Principles for building AI products at Adobe
(22:47) How to talk to people who are anti-AI
(25:25) The 4P framework for navigating AI products
Where to find me:
Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Ethan Evans, former VP at Amazon.
Ethan rose to VP at Amazon over 15 years and then retired to make $700,000 teaching product leaders while only working 20 hours a week.
Ethan and I talked about:
The magic loop to level up at any company and how to get unstuck
How to systematically build trust with leadership
How to build a $700K+ business while working part time
Ethan is an incredible career coach and product leader. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Why trust is built more in negative events
(02:11) The Magic Loop framework to grow your career
(04:46) Where people get stuck in the Magic Loop
(07:09) How to ask your manager for constructive feedback
(11:02) The #1 thing that leaders need to do well
(16:38) How to build a strong relationship with your manager
(22:51) How Ethan built trust by taking a risk to disagree with his SVP
(29:41) How NVIDIA succeeded by simply surviving
(31:28) How Ethan recovered from failing Jeff Bezos
(37:39) Making $700K a year in retirement as a creator
(44:31) Every tech person should be doing this
Where to find me:
Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Paul Adams, Chief Product Officer of Intercom.
When ChatGPT launched, Paul and the Intercom team blew up their roadmap to go all in on AI. Since then, they’ve built an AI-first customer service suite that can provide accurate answers to customers 24/7.
Paul and I spoke about:
1. How PMs and designers can skill up on AI and get hired to work on AI products
2. Why you may not want to start with the problem when building AI products
3. How Intercom blew up its roadmap to build an AI chatbot that can resolve 50% of support queries without a human
Paul is a thoughtful product leader – be sure to subscribe if you enjoy our conversation.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Will AI make us dumber and lazier?
(01:32) How PMs and designers can skill up on AI
(05:05) AI will further separate great vs. mediocre PMs
(09:00) The rise of “AI PMs” and how to learn without the BS
(13:44) What Paul looks for when hiring people to work on AI
(16:32) How building AI products is different
(21:05) Why is customer support so terrible
(26:48) How AI will transform customer support
(31:03) Will AI hurt customer support jobs?
(33:00) Why AI products challenge “start with the customer problem”
(38:26) Think big, start small, ship to learn
(46:08) Closing words for advice for building in the age of AI
Where to find me:
Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Alex Cornell, Director of Design at Meta AI.
Alex is one of the best product designers I’ve ever worked with. He helped design Facebook, Substack, Linear, and an app for family and friends called Cocoon.
We talked about:
- Lessons from designing at Meta, Substack, and Linear
- How interface design will change with generative AI
- How anyone can start learning design right now
This interview is a must-watch if you’re interested in design at all. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.
Timestamps:
(00:00) How to build good design taste
(01:44) The #1 mistake that designers make
(04:09) How to start designing a new product
(15:02) Lessons from designing Substack and Linear’s mobile apps
(23:35) Ideal design environment - big companies or startups?
(26:17) Balancing North Star vs. what’s shipping next
(32:42) How Alex uses AI in his personal life
(39:17) 3 ways for anyone to learn how to design
Where to find Alex:
https://twitter.com/alexcornell
https://www.alexcornell.com/
Get the takeaways:
https://creatoreconomy.so/p/alex-cornell-best-designer-that-i-worked-with
My guest today is Yuhki Yamashita, Chief Product Officer of Figma.
Yuhki and I talked about how Figma:
- Created a culture where employees love their craft
- Builds AI products to solve real user problems
- Plans to make design accessible to everyone
Yuhki is a great storyteller and shares an inside look at how Figma’s amazing product culture works. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/yuhki-inside-how-figma-built-figjam-ai
Timestamps :
(00:00) How PMs should collaborate with designers
(04:00) How to hire people who care about craft
(05:20) Balancing craft with moving metrics and optics
(07:43) Tips to get better at storytelling
(10:52) How Figjam evolved from Figma
(12:45) Why fun is a pillar for Figma products
(16:59) Evaluating AI use cases for Figjam
(19:01) Quality is everything with AI products
(24:31) How to balance power user and new user needs
(29:24) Best way for PMs to learn design
(31:45) Embracing AI in work and creativity
Where to find me:
Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Dan Siroker, CEO of Limitless.
In just 24 hours after launch, Dan and team sold over 10,000 AI pendants to help people augment their memory with what they’ve seen, said, and heard - making Limitless arguably the fastest growing AI wearable in the market.
In this short interview, Dan and I talked about:
- His journey to create the world’s most wearable AI
- How the team ships fast without compromising quality
- How he manages his time with 3 kids
Dan also co-founded Optimizely and is one of my favorite entrepreneurs to follow. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Why Dan started Limitless
(02:19) Dan’s experience of losing his hearing
(03:12) Exploring the idea maze of personal AI
(04:55) Why the team decided to build an AI wearable
(06:40) How someone’s life could change with Limitless
(11:10) How to ship fast but still keep a high quality bar
(13:34) How to decide what scope to focus on
(15:45) How to attract and hire great talent
(17:47) Why you should hire slow
(19:12) Dan’s thoughts on product management
(20:55) Balancing entrepreneurship and family
Where to find me:
Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon
My guest today is Wes Kao, co-founder of Maven, a very popular online course platform.
Wes and I talked about how to create, market, and teach an online course and make $20,000 or more per cohort. I especially love Wes’ frameworks about how to:
Build a spiky point of view to stand out with real examples
And use the state change method to keep people interested
Timestamps:
00:00 Spiky point of view
01:11 Introducing Wes Cao and the Power of Online Courses
01:42 Wes Cao's Journey: From Marketing to Maven Co-Founder
04:00 The Rise of Cohort-Based Learning with Maven
06:16 Empowering Operators to Share Their Expertise
10:03 Creating Your Course: Market Demand Meets Passion
13:51 The Essence of a Spiky Point of View
18:51 Leveraging Spiky Points of View for Course Creation
21:31 Unlocking Creative Writing: Beyond Traditional Controls
22:00 The Power of Risk in Sharing Bold Ideas
22:07 Content Creation: The Unpredictable Success of Authenticity
22:20 Decoding the Secret Formula of Viral Content
22:26 A Decade of Blogging: The Evolution of a Writer
22:50 Marketing First, Building Later: A New Approach
23:03 Case Study: Shivani Berry's Path to Course Success
24:24 Expanding Reach: Leveraging Other Audiences
27:39 Selling While Teaching: The Subtle Art
29:38 Engaging Cohort Courses: The State Change Method
32:18 Simplifying the Creator's Journey: Focus and Strategy
38:33 Closing Advice and Resources for Aspiring Creators
Where to find me:
Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Brian Balfour, CEO of Reforge. Brian and I did a deep dive into how 4 of the best AI products grew so fast.
We spoke about:
Why ChatGPT is investing in custom GPTs
How Midjourney grew to $200M ARR despite an interface that relies on Discord
How Perplexity is competing with Google Search
How LinkedIn collaborative articles combine AI and user growth loops
Brian is one of the best growth leaders out there so I hope you enjoy our conversation. Consider subscribing for more great interviews every week.
Timestamps:
[00:00] The decline of Google Search [02:13] Why no one should try to copy ChatGPT's growth [04:33] Many AI products struggle with retention [07:39] Why OpenAI is investing in custom GPTs [13:56] How Midjourney grew to $200M ARR off Discord [21:22] Hardcore AI users vs. casual AI users [21:49] Perplexity's challenge to Google Search [25:12] The SEO industry is a mess [29:22] Growth loops fueling LinkedIn's collaborative articles [35:08] How AI will impact the growth profession
Where to find me:
Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guest today is Jackie Bavaro, author of Cracking the PM Career and Cracking the PM Interview, two of the most popular books on product management out there. Jackie was also head of PM at Asana.
I spoke to Jackie about:
1. How to be more strategic
2. How to define a great vision and strategy for your team
3. How to communicate your strategy to the rest of the company
There are so many misconceptions about strategy, but Jackie makes everything crystal clear. Consider subscribing for more great interviews every week.
Chapter timestamps:
[00:00] Three parts of a great product strategy
[02:56] A personal story on why strategy matters
[07:05] Vision, strategic framework, and roadmap
[10:29] When to start thinking about strategy
[13:35] How to bring your vision to life
[16:47] Breaking down the strategic framework
[17:13] Master the framework for market domination
[22:04] Think of a roadmap like a charcuterie board
[25:09] A checklist is not a strategy
[29:11] How to get exec buy-in for your strategy
[31:54] Communicate principles to guide decisions
Where to find me:
Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
My guests today are Sanchan (ex-general manager at Airbnb), Nickey (Product Director at Duolingo) and John (Senior Director at Toast).
We talked about:
1. How the PM role is changing
2. Our favorite PM use cases for AI
3. How to avoid PM title envy to pick your own path
Over 200 people tuned into this conversation live so I think you’ll love it too.
Chapter Timestamps
[00:00] Less internal shenanigans, more customer focus
[03:30] Why companies are tired of product managers
[07:44] Thoughts on Airbnb merging products with marketing
[10:25] How Airbnb builds products using narratives
[13:09] Designing the right incentives for PMs
[17:03] How Duolingo incentivizes PMs to focus on customer obsession
[18:34] Why more PMs should pursue building vs. manager
[22:01] How the PM and design relationship is evolving
[26:08] Getting hired in today's tough tech jobs market
[29:41] How to ramp up on AI and get your hands dirty
[32:55] Favorite AI use cases for PM
[36:25] How to think about what you want in the PM career ladder
[41:15] How to talk to users to get useful feedback
[42:25] How to be a great product leader in post-ZIRP era
[45:27] Your number one career skill is how to smell out orgs
Where to find me:
Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
Elena Verna is a solopreneur who has served as head of growth at Dropbox, Amplitude, Miro, and more. Elena and I talked about: 1. Why she left a full-time role to work for herself 2. The five laws of growth and how they can be applied to careers 3. Her advice for people who want to explore solopreneurship Elena is incredibly inspiring and I think you’ll love our conversation. Brought to you by: • Amplitude – Get the free product-led growth guide: https://bit.ly/498xoLz Chapter timestamps:
[00:00] Make imposter syndrome your superpower
[01:10] Elena's journey from entry-level to executive
[03:00] Finding exponential growth paths in your career
[07:00] What led Elena to explore solopreneurship
[09:59] The benefits of advisory roles
[12:33] Step by step on how to get started advising
[15:18] Pitching to a company why advising is better than full-time
[18:19] How Elena applies growth loops to her business
[22:18] The five laws of growth and how they apply to your career
[26:48] Learn how to fail to learn how to win
[28:31] Build career optionality to not be at the whim of companies
[31:29] Your business needs clear positioning ("why you?") Where to find Elena: X: https://twitter.com/ElenaVerna LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenaverna/ Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/elena-verna-growth-to-solopreneur
Kaz Neyatian is the Chief Operating Officer of Shopify. Kaz and I spoke about about: 1. Why traditional career ladders are broken 2. Why strategy is the least important part of building products 3. Why Shopify canceled all recurring meetings. I think this interview will feel like therapy if you’ve worked at big tech companies. Brought to you by: • Figma–My favorite design suite for creators and teams https://psxid.figma.com/qyj56p0lygjt Chapter timestamps: [00:00] Nobody ever dreamed of sitting in meetings [01:15] The difference between crafters and managers [02:31] Traditional career ladders just don't work [04:36] Our job is to rage against being a big company [05:43] Strategy is the least meaningful aspect of product [07:15] People misunderstand how great products are built [09:57] We're not an OKR company [11:23] Why there are so few good product managers [12:25] Operation Chaos Monkey to remove meetings [15:26] Why managers need to value their personal craft time [16:06] Why there are always no meeting rooms available [18:22] How to reduce meetings on your calendar [21:02] Just because someone else does it is a bad reason [23:33] The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing Where to find Kaz: X: https://twitter.com/CanadaKaz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasranejatian/ Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/kaz-coo-shopify-craft-and-no-meetings Try Figma for free: https://psxid.figma.com/qyj56p0lygjt 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
Fareed Mosavat is a growth veteran who has worked at Reforge, Slack, Instacart, Pixar, and other top companies. We had some real talk about how to: 1. Cross the chasm from product manager to product leader 2. Not confuse the work behind the work with the actual work 3. Look beyond traditional job titles to chart your own career path Fareed is one of my favorite product leaders and I think you’ll love our conversation. Brought to you by: Figma–My favorite design tool for creators and teams: https://psxid.figma.com/qyj56p0lygjt Chapter timestamps: 00:00 Focus on the work that actually matters 02:17 The PM to product leader chasm 06:21 The manager death spiral 08:49 Rethinking PM roles 10:44 How small teams can achieve big results 16:17 Why PM performance theater needs to end 19:29 Designing the right incentives for PM orgs 24:34 Why Fareed chose impact over titles 28:33 How to find work that you love 34:19 Why external exec hires often don't work out 39:00 How to be your own customer Where to find Fareed: X: https://twitter.com/far33d LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fareed/ Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/fareed-real-talk-about-the-pm-career 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
Claire Vo is the Chief Product Officer of LaunchDarkly and ex-CPO of Color and Optimizely. Claire believes that it’s never been a better time to be a strong IC PM and has built a career ladder where the best individual contributors report directly to the C-suite. We spoke about: 1. Why PM performance theater needs to end 2. How to pursue the super IC PM career path 3. How IC PMs can use AI to excel at their job Claire had so many hot takes throughout and I think you’ll love our interview. Chapter timestamps: 00:00 Welcome Claire 01:39 The Importance of the IC Path 04:08 The Limitations of Frameworks 05:20 Designing a Better Ladder for PMs 09:39 The Changing Landscape for PMs 11:55 Why Fast Beats Right 16:20 The Coaches, Captains, and Players Framework 19:16 Traits of Great ICs 23:55 Protecting Craft Time 28:48 The Chat PRD and AI Journey 33:13 The Future of PMs with AI Where to find Claire: X: https://twitter.com/clairevo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clairevo/ Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/claire-vo-why-its-time-for-ic-product-manager Try Figma for free: https://psxid.figma.com/qyj56p0lygjt 📌 Subscribe to this channel - more videos coming soon!
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.