Two types of AI bets for startups

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If you’re a product leader trying to navigate the shift from single-product focus to a broader portfolio—or wondering how AI is reshaping execution, team design, and strategic planning—this episode is for you.

In this episode of Supra Insider, Marc and Ben sit down with Brian Balfour, CEO of Reforge, to explore how product orgs can expand into multi-product portfolios without losing focus, momentum, or clarity. Brian shares how his team shipped five new products in under a year, what most companies miss when trying to adopt AI, and how to avoid common traps like “Frankenstein workflows” and slow-to-die experiments.

From deciding when to build vs. buy, to managing zero-to-one teams in parallel, to evaluating strategic threats in the AI era—this conversation is packed with practical frameworks and hard-earned lessons. You’ll hear Brian’s candid takes on M&A, cross-functional execution, PM bottlenecks, and the future of product development when language, code, and design start to collapse into one.

Whether you’re expanding your roadmap, building AI-native products, or simply trying to execute faster with fewer resources, this one’s worth a listen.

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Interviewing at Uber, Figma, Stripe, or DoorDash?

If you’re a PM preparing for interviews at Uber, Figma, Stripe, and DoorDash… 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:

* (01:44) The gap between learning and executing—why Reforge moved into tools

* (07:04) How small teams shipped four products in nine months

* (11:26) Brian’s framework for the three biggest AI-era threats

* (17:40) Build vs. buy decisions—and the case for “outsourced R&D”

* (25:21) The three product-market fit expansion paths

* (32:51) How Reforge thinks about startup acquisitions

* (37:56) Detecting burnout and evaluating founder fit

* (50:04) Betting on multiple products instead of a single moonshot

* (57:51) AI Frankenstein workflows—and what’s coming next

* (1:05:22) The blurry future of design, code, and language merging

* (1:13:45) Why copying your product into new platforms doesn’t work

* And more!

Links:

* Reforge: https://www.reforge.com/

* Reforge Build (new prototyping product): https://www.reforge.com/build

* Brian’s Website: https://brianbalfour.com/

* Brian Balfour: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bbalfour/

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

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

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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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