This New Way

Ryan Carson, founder and entrepreneur, shares his journey from coding on an Apple IIe to becoming Builder-in-Residence at Sourcegraph's AMP. He reveals his take on why AI tools struggle financially, emphasizing the importance of token economics. They discuss the exciting rise of vertical AI businesses tailored for niche markets. Ryan outlines a practical approach to software development with AI agents, stressing the need for structured planning and self-testing. Finally, he offers advice for raising AI-native kids in this transformative tech era.

Aydin sits down with Filip Skrzesinski, co-founder of Subframe, to unpack how AI and code-native design tools are collapsing the classic PM → design → engineering handoffs. Filip explains why “pictures to code” is an unfair ask of engineers, shows how Subframe lets teams design directly in the same material as production code, and demos building a Fellow feature—from screenshot → design system match → working prototype—without access to Fellow’s codebase. They close on what’s next: organizations training their own “house models” to reflect product taste, patterns, and constraints so more people across the company can truly build.Key takeawaysDesign in the same material as code: Subframe treats UI work as editable code, eliminating fidelity loss from design handoffs.Fewer stages, faster loops: PMs, designers, and engineers collaborate in one artifact; prototypes look and behave like the real app.AI as a trained teammate, not a slot machine: Teams will shape models with system prompts, snippets, and feedback—like mentoring a junior designer.Front-end ownership shifts: Designers can own front-end structure and components; engineers wire up backends and complex logic.Prototype to PRD: High-fidelity prototypes beat docs for alignment, user testing, and speed.Timestamps00:00 - Introduction 01:00 Fil's path: audio engineering → CS → design → startup co-founder03:48 Builders everywhere: from Dreamweaver → Webflow → Shopify → now “apps”04:01 What Subframe is: a design tool rooted in code05:48 Bridging LLMs (great at code) with visual design context08:09 The architect vs. printer analogy for product design12:23 Back to the show: “The new way” is collapsing steps and handoffs14:07 “Five-year” vision (sooner than you think): design → code with agents in the loop16:31 Training models on your org’s taste: like raising a puppy—examples & theory19:15 Today’s demo plan: build a Fellow feature in Subframe without codebase access21:04 Recreating Fellow’s UI: import colors/typography; screenshot → layout23:07 Don’t fight the AI: let it rough-in, then designers perfect in visual mode24:11 Why prototypes should look native (not “off-brand” sandboxes)26:07 Syncing components to codebases; where Subframe stops (front-end) and engineers continue (backend)28:33 Programmatic (deterministic) UI code & generative for visuals30:00 PMs in the tool: prompt to add a Share dialog with transcript and video context35:08 Exploring multiple design variations; mix-and-match patterns (“snippets”)37:57 From design to interactive prototype via annotations (“do this on click…”)45:22 First build runs: working Share flow; alert updates after sending47:02 Export code → Cursor/GitHub; hand off real components48:08 The next 12 months: more ideas shipped, more makers, less gatekeepingTools & technologies MentionedSubframe — Code-native design tool for building UI/UX; designs directly edit the underlying code; syncs components to your repo.Fellow.ai — AI meeting assistant with privacy controls; accurate summaries, actions, decisions; broad SaaS integrations.Cursor — AI-assisted code editor; good for continuing from exported Subframe code to production.GitHub — Repo hosting and collaboration for shipping the generated/edited UI code.AI code agents — Used by engineers to wire front-end to backend services and data.Squarespace / Webflow / Dreamweaver — Prior waves that democratized web creation; backdrop for today’s “apps layer.”Shopify — Example of no-code/low-code e-commerce; analogy for app building’s democratization.Lovable / Bolts / V0 — AI code/prototyping tools referenced as peers for generating working app scaffolds.Slack / Asana / HubSpot / Salesforce / Linear / Jira / Confluence — Systems Fellow integrates with to push notes, actions, and records.Subscribe at⁠ thisnewway.com⁠ to get the step-by-step playbooks, tools, and workflows.

JD Fiscus, an innovative developer behind nerding.io, shares his journey of creating a widely-used MCP integration for n8n. He discusses the explosive growth of his late-night hack and demonstrates practical workflows for indexing YouTube channels. JD delves into the Agentic Commerce Protocol, revealing how it reshapes marketing strategies and security aspects, including potential pitfalls. He also highlights the importance of designing intuitive MCP servers, the shift to OAuth for authentication, and his hands-on teaching approach at the Vibe Coding Retreat.

Kieran Klaassen, CTO of Cora and a former film composer, shares his unique journey towards founding an AI-first startup. He delves into 'Compound Engineering,' promoting the idea of treating tasks as investments to boost efficiency. Kieran demonstrates live how Cora’s AI Gmail layer simplifies email management. He discusses the importance of capturing feedback patterns for future automation and why managers are key to orchestrating AI agents. The conversation is packed with insights on how to prototype rapidly using AI—truly revolutionizing work processes!

Emily Kensley, a content marketer and video lead at Fellow, reveals her innovative workflow for crafting marketing-ready videos in no time. She shares insights on transforming audio with Podcastle and capturing screen demos using Screen Studio. Tune in to learn how any team can create polished tutorials quickly. Emily also discusses the magic of AI voices and the benefits of scripting with ChatGPT. Her enthusiasm for future AI advancements hints at even more exciting content creation possibilities on the horizon.

Eddie Yoon, Senior Director at NP Digital, specializes in AI-driven growth and product design. He reveals how CMOs can generate a full creative campaign in just 30 minutes using a rapid three-tab workflow: competitive research, strategy prompts via GPT, and instant mood boards with Reeve. The discussion touches on AI's role in accelerating company growth and the emergence of solo billionaire founders. Eddie also examines Netflix's pioneering use of data in content creation and envisions future trends in stylized, monetizable media.

Alexandra Sunderland, VP of Engineering at Fellow and an expert in remote engineering, shares her innovative approach to automation. She discusses how coding agents in Cursor fix bugs during meetings and how specialized agents like Claude streamline report generation in seconds. Alexandra emphasizes making conversations computable, showcasing workflows that transform meeting transcripts into actionable insights and daily briefs. Her vision includes automating help docs and enhancing productivity through interconnected tools, all while teams sleep.

Cassy Aite and Emil Aite, co-founders of Hoppier and Postbeam, are on a mission to revolutionize content creation with AI. They explain how tools like Postbeam can transform podcasts into engaging LinkedIn posts, effectively boosting productivity for small teams. The duo discusses leveraging AI for personalized content strategies and enhancing collaboration across teams. Hear their vision of tiny teams achieving mighty outcomes with innovative technology and their insights on building authority through content remixing!

Join productivity consultant Marquis Murray, renowned for his Asana tutorials on YouTube, as he unveils how AI is revolutionizing daily work. He demonstrates using Claude with Asana to automate project creation, draft emails, and generate executive reports. Discover the power of AI teammates that streamline project management, triage requests, and improve efficiency. Murray emphasizes that embracing these tools can transform how teams collaborate, pushing manual processes to the past—don’t get left behind!

In this discussion, Ali Pourshahid, the Chief Engineering Officer at Solace, shares how he integrates AI into his role. He reveals his daily 'AI deep hour' routine and showcases tools that generate professional presentations from scratch. Ali talks about automating customer support and streamlining meeting logistics with AI. He also emphasizes building a culture of innovation through 'AI champions' in the workplace, highlighting the potential of event-driven architecture for enhanced communication among AI agents.