Behind v0 (Top AI Prototyping Tool): Tutorial and Story from the CPO
Product Growth Podcast
Intro
This chapter explores the rapid success of VZero, an AI prototyping tool by Vercel, which has attracted nearly 2 million users and facilitated over 2.5 million deployments. It discusses the transformative role of AI tools in product development, particularly for product managers and designers.
“My whole Product, design, and engineering team has v0 licenses.”
That’s what Jeremy Epling, CPO at Vanta, said in a recent episode.
So, I went straight to the source.
I sat down with the CPO of Vercel to unpack why v0 is becoming the tool for modern product and engineering teams alongside vibe coders.
We cover:
- The future of AI prototyping for PMs and designers
- How v0 builds product
- A full tutorial of v0
Whether you’re a PM trying to stay ahead, a founder rethinking velocity, or a builder curious about what’s next, this episode is for you.
Brought to you by:
WorkOS: Your App, Enterprise Ready
Jira Product Discovery: Build what matters to business and users
The AI Evals Course for PMs & Engineers: You get $800 with this link.
Product Faculty: Get $500 off the AI PM certification with code AAKASH25
Timestamps:
Preview – 00:00:00
The Agenda – 00:01:07
Live Demo 1: Cloning LinkedIn Newsfeed – 00:03:01
Live Demo 2: Personalized Apollo Homepage (Based on User Behavior) – 00:04:50
Ad 1: WorkOS – 00:09:50 A
d 2: Jira Product Discovery – 00:11:O2
LinkedIn Demo Continued – 00:11:58
Live Demo 3: Grok-Powered Post Composer – 00:14:04
What He’s Building with v0 – 00:15:34
The Feature Factory Problem – 00:24:16
Team Size Behind v0 – 00:27:25
Ad 3: AI Evals Course by Hamel & Shreya – 00:29:39
Ad 4: AI PM Course by Product Faculty – 00:30:39
Team Size Behind Vercel – 00:31:26
Competing with Bolt, Lovable, Replit & Others – 00:34:18
His Reflections on Creating React – 00:35:39
Demo Updates and What’s Changed – 00:37:57
How Vercel Builds Products – 00:43:45
How v0 Team Uses v0 Internally – 00:48:37
How PMs Should Think About Prototyping – 00:50:26
From Integration Idea to Shipped Feature: Thought Process – 00:53:04
Buying v0 Licenses for the PM Team – 00:57:37
His Journey: From Engineer to CPO – 00:59:32
How He Landed the CPO Role at Vercel – 01:03:56
The Future of AI for PMs – 01:11:19
Closing Thoughts – 01:14:37
Key Takeaways
1. The prototype is the new PRD. You don’t need a 5-page document to explain an idea anymore. A working prototype - even if imperfect - communicates 10x more. And with tools like v0, you can build one in minutes.
2. Building speed doesn’t eliminate the need for strategy, it amplifies it. When anyone can ship, the most important job becomes deciding what’s worth building. Product discernment is more valuable than ever.
3. v0 isn’t just for engineers. Designers, PMs, and even salespeople are now building working apps without touching code. The line between "builder" and "non-builder" is disappearing.
4. Internal use cases drive innovation. The most successful v0 features didn’t come from competitive analysis, they came from real internal needs. If it solves your own team’s pain, it’ll likely solve others’.
5. Prototyping is now a cross-functional superpower. PMs can validate hypotheses instantly. Designers can test flows without waiting on devs. Sales can create tools for prospects on the fly. Every role levels up when they can build.
6. Fast iteration doesn't mean reckless shipping. The team behind v0 deliberately avoids becoming a “feature factory.” Speed is a tool, not a reason to skip prioritization or problem framing.
7. Your first user is you. This is the core ethos behind v0. If your own team doesn’t use the thing you’re building, something’s wrong. Internal conviction leads to better external adoption.
8. AI won’t be a separate feature, it’ll be the fabric. In the near future, no one will ask “What’s your AI roadmap?” It’ll just be how products get built, used, and improved - quietly running underneath everything.
9. Small teams can ship big things. The v0 team is under 14 people, yet they’ve built a tool that’s enabling thousands to build faster. Size is no longer a limiting factor — clarity and leverage are.
10. The future of product roles is hybrid. Expect to see more design-engineers, PM-builders, and AI-augmented contributors. Tools like v0 are collapsing boundaries — and giving everyone a chance to ship.
Check it out on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.
Where to Find Tom
LinkedIn: Tom
Website: www.tomocchino.com
Company: vercel
v0: v0.dev
Related Podcasts:
Tutorial of Top 5 AI Prototyping Tools
Complete Course: AI Product Management
We Built an AI Agent to Automate PM in 73 mins (ZERO CODING)
We Built an AI Product Manager in 58 mins (Claude, ChatGPT, Loom + Notion AI)
We Built an AI Employee in 62 mins (Cursor, ChatGPT, Gibson, Crew AI)
Up Next
I hope you enjoyed the last episode with Brett (where we discussed how he built a $2M/y one person productized agency and how you can too). Up next, we have episodes with:
Aman Khan - AI PM @ Arize AI, Spotify, Cruise
John Beckmann - Head of Meetings Product, Zoom
Tanguy Crusson - Head of Product, Jira Product Discovery
Finally, check out my latest deep dive if you haven’t yet: AI Evals: Everything You Need to Know to Start.
If you want to advertise, email productgrowthppp at gmail.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.news.aakashg.com/subscribe
The AI-powered Podcast Player
