Behind the Craft

Join Colin Matthews, a seasoned product and engineering instructor, as he dissects the journey from prototype to production-ready SaaS app. Discover the seven crucial components every SaaS app needs, plus the essential differences between client-only prototypes and full-stack apps. Colin reveals how to integrate secure payment systems and enforce authentication. Learn why using templates is superior to starting from scratch, and why AI shouldn't modify databases directly. Gain practical steps to ship your app and understand why real-world experience trumps tech credentials!

Wade Foster, co-founder and CEO of Zapier, dives deep into the reality of AI workflows versus agents. He provides a practical demo of his AI tool that triages over 100 emails down to 10 key messages. Wade argues that many requests for 'agents' are better served by automation modules and shares insights on building specialized agents. His thoughts on the current AI landscape emphasize the importance of human oversight, while debunking myths about Zapier's relevance, showing that it remains essential for effective automation in businesses.

Akshay Kothari, co-founder of Notion, and Ryan Nystrom, AI lead, dive into the fascinating world of Notion's AI agents. They reveal the two-year journey filled with challenges to create agents that can autonomously build databases and respond to Slack. Akshay shares how he now creates documents by just speaking to the AI 90% of the time. They discuss personalization, quality control measures, and the significance of real user feedback in perfecting these tools. Prepare to be amazed by live demos showcasing remarkable agent capabilities!

Josh Woodward, VP at Google Labs, shares insights on fostering a startup culture within Google. He showcases Gemini and NotebookLM, demonstrating how these tools can transform multiple sources into engaging content in minutes. Josh reveals how Flow TV was rapidly launched and emphasizes the importance of small teams and quick iterations. He predicts a future where AI transcends typing, enabling voice and vision interactions. Their chat highlights the evolving role of AI as a proactive assistant, ready to help with everyday tasks and projects.

Ryan Carson, a serial founder known for creating the 3-file AI coding workflow, discusses his innovative approach to coding and app development. He explains how structured prompts enhance AI output and demonstrates adding new features using a live coding session. Ryan dives into test-driven development techniques and shares insights on how AI can serve as a coding tutor. He also touches on why addressing niche problems, like divorce support, can be golden opportunities for startups, offering unique perspectives on solo entrepreneurship.

Hamel Husain, an expert in AI evaluation methods, shares his vast experience training PMs and engineers at top tech firms. He breaks down how to effectively analyze real production traces, emphasizing the power of binary pass/fail ratings over complex scoring systems. Hamel explains common pitfalls in evaluation metrics and introduces practical tools for continuous monitoring. Listeners gain insights into building simple annotation tools and the importance of grounding evaluations in real problems to drive meaningful improvements.

Meaghan Choi, design lead for Claude Code at Anthropic, merges design with engineering by actively shipping code. In this chat, she reveals why shipping to production feels both "terrifying and magical." Discover her top three design workflows using Claude Code and learn how designers can collaborate with engineers for effective coding. Meaghan also showcases a live demo transitioning from Figma to working code in minutes, shares clever shortcuts, and discusses the evolving landscape of design roles in an AI-driven world.

Cat Wu, the product lead for Claude Code, shares fascinating insights into the operations of an AI-native team. Discover how they gather user feedback every 10 minutes and prioritize prototyping over documentation. Cat explains how designers contribute directly to coding and the importance of internal communication in development. She also offers her top three tips for maximizing the Claude Code experience and hints at exciting future features on the horizon for the product.

In this episode, Alex Finn, founder of the "Claude Life" operating system and Creator Buddy, shares his innovative approaches to automating life with AI. He discusses how Claude Code streamlines research and curates AI news, saving hours in productivity. Alex reveals the secrets to using custom commands for personal efficiency. He emphasizes the importance of brain dump analysis for content creation and identifies essential skills needed for the future. Tune in for insights on transforming daily tasks with AI!

In this discussion with Nan Yu, Head of Product at Linear, the talk ranges from the astonishing scalability of a two-PM team to a ranking of essential PM skills in the AI era. Nan dives into how AI disrupts strategic roles and the necessity for new skills like context and agent management. He shares insights on Linear's unique 10% rule for rapid shipping and demonstrates how AI agents can streamline tasks, transforming project management into a futuristic collaboration of humans and machines.