From free tool to paid product and validation

Listen now: Spotify, Apple and YouTube

If you’ve ever considered turning your expertise into a scalable product—or wondered what it actually takes to build and sell a useful AI copilot—this episode is for you.

In this episode, Ben shares the full behind-the-scenes story of how he packaged his product management knowledge into a sellable, high-leverage AI Practice Copilot. From initial validation to prototyping in Claude to vibe coding in Cursor and shipping using various AI tools, he walks through every decision point in the journey. You’ll learn how to pick the right use case, what tools to use at each step, and the key insights that helped him turn his ideas into a real product in the market.

Whether you’re a founder, PM, coach, or subject matter expert, this conversation is packed with actionable tactics to help you create, position, and monetize your own AI-native product.

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Interviewing at Uber, Figma, or Stripe?

Exciting news! If you’re a PM preparing for interviews at Uber, Figma, or Stripe… we think you’re going to love Insider Loops. You can read about it in Ben’s LI post, Marc’s LI post or check out the site directly below.

In this episode, we covered the following topics:

* (02:28) Why Ben built his own AI copilot and the inspiration behind it

* (10:37) How Ben validated interest and clarified the user persona

* (16:40) Validation of the idea and selling via Payhip

* (20:26) The tools stack: from Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and Vercel

* (27:11) How Ben used automations and AI to update the workflow and reduce manual overload

* (32:25) Why the copilot is built the way it is: AI acting as the “Interviewee”

* (46:10) An example of how the copilot responds

* (58:12) How the offering is packaged

* (1:06:09) The evolution of the copilot over time and why was it worth the effort

* (1:10:23) Final thoughts and advice for people building AI-native products

* And more!

Links:

* Ben’s AI Practice Copilot: https://www.benerez.com/copilot

* Marc: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbaselga/

* Ben: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benerez/

* Ep 36 with Tal Raviv:

If you’re a new subscriber, we encourage you to check out some of the recent episodes you might have missed:

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* Preparing for Meta-style PM interviews? Ben's course for Product Sense and Analytical Thinking PM interviews has been selected by Lenny Rachitsky as a Top Course in Product on Maven 🔥. Enrollment for the 10th and final cohort of Ben’s course starts October 14th! Ben’s popular AI Copilot for interview practice is available here, where you can also see a live demo.

* Supra has teamed up with Maven to bring you something special – courses that our own community members have personally curated. And because you’re part of the Supra family, you get $100 off any of these handpicked selections with code SUPRAxMAVEN.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit suprainsider.substack.com