Linda Liukas, the creative mind behind Hello Ruby, is on a mission to transform tech education through play. She discusses her unique playground in Helsinki, where kids learn programming concepts without screens. Linda argues that physical play enhances understanding of abstract tech ideas and encourages creativity. She also highlights the necessity of rethinking education in the era of AI. Plus, her accidental journey to becoming a children's author reveals the magic of storytelling in teaching technology.

Educator, innovator, super-connector, and conference champion Kwaku Aning and I have coffee and discuss a few things that struck us at SXSW, including:Why we’re in a “pre-mainframe” moment in quantum computing — and why you should prepare for what comes nextBioengineering: are we headed for a Westworld-style mix of human musculature and AI?Robot choreography, e.g. how to train a self-driving car to drive non-aggressively (but also should they be allowed to speed?) Mind control via inaudible noises and Severance-style brain implantsWhether or not I had enough breakfast tacos in Austin…Where to find Kwaku:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwaku-aning/Clickpoint podcast: https://clickpoint.transistor.fm/Where to find Dan and get more CRAFTED.:Sign up for the CRAFTED. newsletter: https://www.crafted.fm LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dblums/ Learn how Dan and Modern Product Minds can help you discover, build, and test new products: https://www.modernproductminds.com 

How do you build a system for turning wild ideas into world-changing innovations? Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots at X, The Moonshot Factory, has spent over 15 years leading Google’s audacious innovation lab—the birthplace of Waymo, Google Brain, and other breakthrough projects.In this special episode, recorded live in Austin at SXSW, Astro shares the playbook to create a moonshot factory. You’ll Learn:🐵 The “Train the Monkey First” approach to innovation🚀 Why audacity, humility, and intellectual honesty are key to moonshots 💡 How your org can get more 10x (not +10%) outcomes — and how to avoid the “innovator’s dilemma”  🔴 Why you should “greenlight everything” and then redlight most projects quickly, following kill criteria you’ve agreed to in advance 🌍 Where X is placing bets today, including climate-tech, modernizing the electric grid and bioengineering(00:00) - Introduction (02:12) - "Greenlight everything!" (03:22) - Redlighting is the real work: how to do so quickly and effectively (06:21) - "Train the monkey" — start with the hardest problem (11:00) - Diverse teams are more creative (13:45) - The "factory" — and why that metaphor matters (15:17) - I try to hire Astro to build a moonshot factory for my 200yr old company (19:25) - Avoiding the innovator's dilemma (22:00) - Where X is investing today: bioengineering, modernizing the electric grid, and more (24:00) - Why biology and engineering are merging (27:00) - "AI will be in everything, but it's not the solution to everything" (28:00) - Solving the climate crisis: Astro's optimistic take Links: X, The Moonshot Factory: https://x.company/ The Moonshot Podcast: https://x.company/moonshotpodcast/ Support CRAFTED.Sign up for the CRAFTED. newsletter: https://www.crafted.fm Learn how Dan and Modern Product Minds can help you discover, build, and test 10x products: https://www.modernproductminds.com 

What if we could deliver supplies anywhere, no roads or runways needed?Elroy Air has built a really big drone. One that can carry 300 pounds of stuff 300 miles or more. And it takes off like a helicopter, but flies like a plane, meaning it can get in and out of all sorts of hard to reach places. In this episode, we sit down with David Merrill, co-founder, executive chairman, and former CEO of Elroy Air, to explore how these hybrid-electric, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft are set to transform express delivery, humanitarian aid, and military logistics.David shares the lean prototyping and rapid iteration strategies that helped bring Elroy Air’s vision to life, the biggest technical challenges they’ve tackled, and what the future of autonomous aerial logistics could look like. Plus, we dive into the Jetsons-inspired origins of Elroy Air and whether flying taxis are still on the horizon.What You’ll Learn in This Episode:🚀 How Elroy Air’s Chaparral drone could redefine logistics🔋 Why hybrid-electric propulsion is key to making cargo drones viable🛠️ The power of physical prototypes and rapid iteration in hardware development🌍 How autonomous air delivery could impact e-commerce, disaster relief, and defense💡 What it takes to push the envelope—literally—in aviation innovationEpisode Highlights:00:00 – Introduction01:25 – The game-changing potential of autonomous cargo drones04:30 – How David went from building digital games to big drones07:30 – From concept to takeoff: Prototyping Elroy Air’s Chaparral13:40 – Why hybrid-electric systems beat battery-powered drones for long-haul delivery15:30 – Rapid prototyping of sub-systems19:30 – Why David loves the intersection of hardware and software20:44 – Flying cars, when!?📩 Subscribe to the CRAFTED. newsletter! crafted.fmIf you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share with a friend who loves innovation! 🚁✨

CRAFTED. host Dan Blumberg will be at SXSW this year. Will you? If so, please reach out! DM me on LinkedIn or go to crafted.fm where you can email me. Let's get a taco!—Software, hardware, and biotechnology are playing an increasingly transformative role in our mental health and wellness. On this episode of CRAFTED., recorded live on the “Next” stage at SXSW 2024, we discuss what investors look for in these new companies and how they separate what’s real — and what’s near-term — from what’s hype. On stage with host Dan Blumberg are:Amy Kruse, General Partner & Chief Investment Officer at Satori Neuro, and a trained neuroscientistMatias Serebrinsky, Co-founder and General Partner at PsyMed Ventures, and the host of Business Trip, which is a great podcast if you want to go even deeper on these topics. Listen at businesstrip.fm Christie Nicholson, Founder of Studio Lumina, and the co-host for this panelWe’ll explore AI-powered tools for mental health, the new area of “enerceuticals” (energy replacing the “pharma”), psychedelics, and why what’s in your gut is so important to your mental state. Hear from investment experts who have a wide view of this growing startup landscape and better understand which new ventures are likely to succeed.— Key Moments:01:38] Recent advances in biotech and why advances in data and AI are helping biology become a more “mature” science[04:00] Why AI is overhyped, but also where it’s not[07:37] Why psychedelics are overhyped, but also where they’re not[10:04] What’s real and amazing: brain-computer interfaces, e.g. humans controlling robotic arms with the minds[11:25] What’s real and amazing: precision psychiatry and neuroscience[14:12] The emerging field of “enerceuticals” -- using energy instead of drugs, e.g. low intensity focused ultrasound[16:17] Neuroplasticity: our brains can change![21:31] Mental health, the gut-brain axis, and food as medicine[32:38] The business models of bio tech startups and how to know when a company is making progress on a years-long effort—CRAFTED. is produced by Modern Product Minds, where my team and I can help you take a new product from zero to one... and beyond. We specialize in early stage product discovery, growth, and experimentation. Learn more at modernproductminds.com Subscribe to CRAFTED., follow the show, and sign up for the newsletter 👉 CRAFTED.fm—Check out Tech Now, the free "podcast mixtape" that host Dan Blumberg curates on Hark. Each week, Dan selects and introduces great moments from other podcasts that speak to the latest on artificial intelligence and its implications, new product innovations, the relationship between the Trump administration and Big Tech, and much more. 

Software is eating the world, right? We've all heard this phrase by now, but inventor and investor Pablos Holman has something important to add: “The world can't eat software.”That’s why Pablos focuses on “deep tech”, i.e. how to invent new solutions to real world problems like energy, water, waste, construction, and sanitation. Pablos says we’re still mostly using version 1.0 technology for these fundamental systems, but recent advances, including AI and the ability to prototype and test in software, are enabling incredible innovation in hardware.Pablos has worked with Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and more. He's kind of a mad scientist and in this episode we’ll discuss things that sound like science fiction, but that Pablos says are coming soon, such as solar panels in outer space that can beam clean energy down to earth, autonomous cargo ships blown by the wind across the ocean, and tiny nuclear reactors buried a mile underground that power the world above.At Deep Future, Pablos is on a mission to solve the world's biggest problems, and he's hoping more people will make the jump that he did from software to hardware and into deep tech, because, as he says, “ all the people who've been building software their entire career, those are the ones who are going to save the world.”—More on Pablos: Deep Future: https://deepfuture.tech/Deep Future podcast: https://deepfuture.tech/podcast-index/ —Support CRAFTED.:Sign up for the CRAFTED. newsletter: https://www.crafted.fmSubscribe to CRAFTED. on your favorite podcast platformShare this episode with a friend or colleague!

Deepfakes are getting easier and easier to make. So, how will we be able to believe that what we see and what we hear is real? And what can software makers do to help?Sam Gregory is an expert on deepfakes, AI, and trust. He advises governments and tech companies on how they can protect human rights and how we can preserve our shared reality. Sam is the executive director of WITNESS, an organization that helps citizens use video to foster social change. WITNESS has trained and supported citizen-journalists since the days of the camcorder through the smartphone era and now into the world of AI. We discuss:How deepfakes are being used to spread disinformation and erode trust in media.How to detect that a piece of media was manipulated and to what degreeWhy audio deepfakes are so perniciousHow deepfakes mostly did not affect the 2024 US Presidential Election, while cheapfakes were very commonThe surprising ways AI is both helping and harming human rights defenders and journalistsWhy “Prepare, Don’t Panic” is WITNESS’s mantra for addressing AI threats.Practical steps software makers can take to design tools that prioritize transparency and ethical use, such as including transparency features in AI-generated content, red teaming to simulate misuse scenarios, thinking beyond Western contexts, and more…Chapters:(00:55) - Deepfakes and the threat they pose human rights and journalism (03:16) - The 2024 US election and how deepfakes, cheapfakes, and audio clones were used (07:35) - Why WITNESS. says “Prepare, Don’t Panic” about AI (11:16) - Recommendation for software builders to prevent — and detect — misuse (13:45) - How to identify that a piece of media was manipulated by AI (17:31) - Red Teaming: The scary questions builders should ask as they deploy new products (22:20) - WITNESS.’s work beyond AI (26:00) - Good news: we’ve preparing for AI and deepfakes for a long time and governments and technologists are working together —Links:Learn more about WITNESS: witness.orgVisit WITNESS’s resources on generative AI: gen-ai.witness.orgLearn more about deepfakes and AI detection: C2PA Coalition—Support CRAFTED.:Subscribe to CRAFTED. on your favorite podcast platformShare this episode with a friend or colleague.Sign up for the CRAFTED. newsletter: crafted.fm

Accounting may not be the sexiest part of running a business, but according to Sasha Orloff, it’s the key to understanding your company’s financial health—and ultimately, its success. At his previous two startups, Sasha was frustrated that he didn’t have a real-time view into his company’s financial health. And he realized the problem wasn’t accounting – but accounting software. So, Sasha founded Puzzle, because “it's hard to set yourself up for success if you don't know when you're about to run out of money.” Sasha is on a mission to make accounting intuitive, real-time, and accessible for founders and finance teams alike. In this episode of CRAFTED., we explore how Sasha is crafting Puzzle, how AI makes this the right moment to challenge QuickBooks, and why he was so confident that the market needed Puzzle that he was undaunted by the five years he estimated it would take to build an MVP. "We’re not just rethinking accounting software—we’re rethinking how founders and CEOs can make data-driven decisions to build enduring companies." Sasha shares:How the frustration he felt at his previous startups led him to Puzzle Why “accounting gets a bad rap”, but it crucial for founders: it’s your financial healthWhy second-time founders are ideal customersWhy it took five years to build an MVP – and why he wasn’t daunted by this expectationWhy the problem was never accounting, but accounting software and the distorted realities it’s built to createWhy AI and modern API’s made now the right time to build PuzzleWhy Puzzle is “poking the bear” and putting highway billboards up near QuickBooks HQ(01:04) - Sasha’s finance frustrations at previous startups (02:15) - Traditional accounting software isn’t made for founders (02:15) - The problem with traditional accounting software (05:01) - What Puzzle does differently: Real-time financial health (07:52) - AI’s role in revolutionizing accounting (10:22) - Why second-time founders are Puzzle’s ideal users (12:48) - Building a five-year MVP: Challenges and conviction (16:41) - Tackling QuickBooks: Bold marketing moves and billboards (19:15) - Understanding edge cases and complexity in accounting (23:07) - The future of Puzzle: Helping startups thrive (27:01) - Hosting the Turpentine Finance podcast Links:Learn more about Puzzle: Puzzle.ioFollow Sasha Orloff on LinkedIn: Sasha OrloffTurpentine Finance Podcast: Turpentine FinanceCRAFTED. is produced by Modern Product Minds, where CRAFTED. host Dan Blumberg and team can help you take a new product from zero to one... and beyond. We specialize in early stage product discovery, growth, and experimentation. Learn more at modernproductminds.com Subscribe to CRAFTED., follow the show, and sign up for the newsletter 👉 crafted.fm

AI democratizes things. It's enabling designers to be developers, and developers to be designers… And in this episode, Aaron Walter and Eli Woolery explain how AI “changes the game” for designers. As co-founders of Design Better, Aaron and Eli advise companies on how to incorporate AI into their design process. We’ll explore how AI can help designers explore a problem more thoroughly, as well as some pitfalls to watch out for. (Hint: speed is not always a good thing.)Aaron and Eli are also hosts of the popular Design Better podcast, where they’ve interviewed some of the world’s most creative people. Featuring software designers, as well as famous musicians, artists, architects, and more, the duo explore the creative process. And there are some striking similarities across disciplines.For more on Aaron and Eli and to subscribe to the Design Better podcast and newsletter, see DesignBetterPodcast.com ***CRAFTED. is produced by Modern Product Minds, where CRAFTED. host Dan Blumberg can help you take a new product from zero to one... and beyond. We specialize in early stage product discovery, growth, and experimentation. Learn more at modernproductminds.com Subscribe to CRAFTED., follow the show, and sign up for the newsletter 👉 crafted.fm

Amir Nathoo is reimagining the future of education by building products that put students at the center of their learning experience. As the Founder and CEO of Outschool, Amir has created a marketplace for remote, personalized, interest-based learning that’s challenging traditional K-12. In this episode of CRAFTED., we explore how Amir founded and grew Outschool, including the 15x spike in usage during the pandemic. Post-pandemic, alternative education and homeschooling continues to rise. As Amir says: “The idea that a single institution could fulfill all of your kids' needs or all of all kids' needs is completely unrealistic…. Mass personalization is needed.” And he sees Outschool as the integration layer for all those teachers, students, and institutions. You will learn a ton from Amir’s approach to product development and disruption. Key takeaways for product builders: 1. Start with a Niche Audience, Then ExpandAmir and Outschool began by targeting a specific group—secular homeschoolers—who had unmet needs in education. By serving this niche well, they achieved product-market fit before scaling to a broader audience. 2. Co-Creation, FTWOutschool's initial product was shaped through customer co-creation and iterative development, testing small features before scaling them. 3. Solve Real Problems, But Keep Early Stakes LowWhile Outschool addressed a critical need (supplemental education), they started with interest-based, "low-stakes" classes. This allowed them to test and refine their offering without the pressure that would’ve come with offering “core” classes. 4. Build a Two-Sided Marketplace with BalanceCreating a thriving marketplace like Outschool required balancing teacher supply with student demand. Amir emphasized solving the “chicken and egg” problem by manually curating both sides early on. 5. Pay Attention to the Market and Adapt QuicklyWhen the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Outschool responded quickly by offering free training sessions for schools who needed to understand remote learning, scaling their platform, and adding free classes to serve families in need. ***Never miss an episode! Subscribe to CRAFTED. in your favorite podcast app and sign up for the newsletter at crafted.fmCRAFTED. is produced by Modern Product Minds, where CRAFTED. host Dan Blumberg and team can help you take a new product from zero to one... and beyond. We specialize in early stage product discovery, growth, and experimentation. Learn more at modernproductminds.com