Behind the Craft – Détails, épisodes et analyse

My guest today is Sanchan Saxena, SVP at Atlassian. Sanchan worked directly with 4 of the best founders out there — Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger (Instagram), Brian Armstrong (Coinbase), and Brian Chesky (Airbnb). In our chat, he shares what we can learn from each founder’s superpowers and the 4 traits he always looks for when hiring exceptional PMs. (00:00) The secret product approach that sets Airbnb and Apple apart (01:21) Inside Instagram's early days at 100 employees (03:07) Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger's superpowers (04:54) How "do the simple thing first" led to Instagram Stories' success (07:15) The single common trait shared by the greatest founders (08:50) Brian Armstrong's golden rule, "No decision by committee" (13:36) "Unconstrained thinking" with Brian Chesky at Airbnb (18:21) What Brian Chesky learned from Disney movies and storytelling (23:29) Why obsessing over metrics kills product quality (27:43) Shifting focus to prioritize customers and craft in your company (30:55) Climbing the ladder From PM to product director and VP (33:38) Mastering the yin and yang of product management (42:02) How to set yourself up to get lucky in your career Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/sanchan-instagram-airbnb-coinbase Where to find Sanchan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanchans/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@therealsanchan 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

My guest today is Ben Tossell, founder of Ben's Bites. Ben built a 7-figure business that has taught 10,000+ people how to use AI to save time and automate work. In less than a year, this business has already made more than his last exit (selling no-code platform MakerPad to Zapier). Timestamps: (00:00) AI is your co-pilot, it's not the end to end solution yet (00:56) I scaled to $1M+ by avoiding things I hate doing (03:11) Key drivers of growing to 7-figures in 9 months (10:44) What to automate with AI vs. delegate to teammates (15:30) How to find and hire help online (17:22) Has the community been critical to the business? (22:09) The art of writing great AI prompts (25:42) Ben's bear take on Perplexity (29:36) My defense of Perplexity (33:18) Why all of us are winners from the AI race (36:17) Underrated AI tools for illustrations, videos, and more (40:02) How to build a business to suit your life, not vice versa Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-i-built-a-7-figure-business-with-ai-ben-tossell Where to find Ben: Website: https://bensbites.com/ X: https://x.com/bentossell 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

My guest today is Miqdad Jaffer, ex-head of AI products at Shopify. Miqdad leads enterprise products at OpenAI and was previously Head of AI Products at Shopify. He also teaches Maven’s #1 AI PM course on building AI products inside companies. Miqdad and I spoke about:

-- Why traditional product development doesn't work for AI

- How to build product principles early to manage AI's infinite edge-case problem

- The unconventional ways that Shopify "gets shit done" and ships products fast Timestamps: (00:00) Why building AI products is different (02:10) How Shopify's AI efforts got started (04:48) "Get shit done" product review process (08:13) Building AI products with customers (09:03) How to prioritize AI use cases (11:35) Setting goals for AI products (16:46) The AI tech stack explained (18:25) Protecting user data and privacy (19:49) Prompt engineering and evaluation (23:25) Is it worth training users to submit better prompts? (25:01) Managing AI hallucinations (26:55) Shopify's AI vision (28:41) Principles for building AI products (30:43) Shopify's craft and no meeting culture Where to find Miqdad: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miqdadjaffer/ AI PM course: https://maven.com/product-faculty/ai-product-management-certification Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-shopify-built-generative-ai 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

My guest today is Dan Shipper, co-founder of Every. Dan co-founded Every and hosts a podcast called AI & I, where he has interviewed 25+ AI experts. He also recently launched Spiral, a new AI tool to help writers and creators save time and get more done. We had a great chat about how Dan uses AI to write, the traits that top AI experts have in common, and why “managers of AI models” could be a new career path. Timestamps: (00:00) Using AI to turn rambling thoughts into writing (00:57) Introducing Dan (01:56) Writing before AI existed (05:12) How AI helps in each step of the writing process (07:19) Using AI to summarize content (11:27) AI's role in podcast production (15:23) The common traits across AI power users (16:36) Tips to run your business with AI (18:37) Creating your personal AI coach (19:52) Why people struggle with using AI (22:04) Using AI to build apps without code (25:35) How the AI landscape is evolving (29:10) Managers of AI models as a new career (31:20) 3 steps for beginners to get started with AI Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-to-use-ai-to-write-dan-shipper Where to find Dan: X: https://x.com/danshipper Newsletter and podcast: https://msha.ke/danshipper 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

My guest today is Siqi Chen, co-founder and CEO of Runway. Siqi is a 3x founder who’s an expert at using AI to scale his business and life. We discussed his favorite AI prompts and workflows, building a company where people "give a shit," and how to raise your kids and cheat death in an AI-first world. Timestamps: (00:00) Can AI solve death? (00:55) Introducing Siqi (01:08) The #1 startup lesson after 2 successful exits (04:09) What Runway's "give a shit" value means (06:25) Why "raising the bar" leads to business results (11:32) Why the best time to be a founder is now (15:32) How non-technical people can get started with AI (22:20) Using AI to categorize and filter emails without code (25:09) AI will either solve death or kill all of us (26:57) Encourage your kids to explore AI and take more risks (32:00) Motivating your team in difficult times (35:44) Believe in your vision, but be flexible about how you get there (37:08) How Runway will reimagine financial planning Where to find Siqi: X: https://x.com/blader Website: https://runway.com/ Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/siqi-chen-ai-hacks-from-a-3x-founder 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

My guest today is Nat Eliason, one of my favorite writers online. Nat is the author of Crypto Confidential, a real-life thriller about how he made and lost millions in crypto. We also talked about how Nat uses AI to edit his writing, why he pushes himself to do hard things like writing a sci-fi novel, and his advice for aspiring creators on avoiding the dark side of the creator economy. Nat is a personal inspiration to me. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast and check out Nat's new book: https://www.nateliason.com/crypto-confidential Timestamps: (00:00) Prove to yourself that you can do hard things

(00:56) Introducing Nat

(02:06) Using AI to edit his non-fiction writing

(08:03) Why Nat is writing a sci-fi book

(11:42) 3 ways Nat is using AI to write his sci-fi book

(17:33) Using AI to fill in details about a sci-fi setting

(19:22) Novel Crafter as an advanced AI writing tool

(22:57) Why Nat got into crypto with a new baby coming

(26:50) Nat's lowest moment in crypto losing $35,000 in one night

(30:27) Why you must push yourself to do hard things

(34:36) How Nat keeps motivated through small wins

(38:26) The dark side of the creator economy

(41:43) How to avoid making content that you hate

(45:47) Advice for aspiring creators Where to find Nat: X: https://x.com/nateliason Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/do-hard-things-ai-nat-eliason 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

My guest today is Lane Shackleton, Chief Product Officer of Coda. Lane has interviewed hundreds of product teams from Figma, Uber, Spotify, and more as the chief product officer of Coda. He shared with me his favorite rituals from these interviews for crafting a vision, running product reviews, and making decisions. Timestamps:

(00:00) Cathedrals, not bricks to craft a great vision

(03:41) Moving beyond the 1-line vision with powerful artifacts

(06:46) Translating vision to roadmap with quarterly plus OKRs

(13:26) Why most product reviews fall short

(16:08) How the Catalyst meeting makes reviews better

(22:50) Two way write-ups to avoid the highest-paid person's opinion

(26:31) How to learn by making, not talking

(30:46) The trait that leaders and builders respect the most Get the templates for each ritual: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/rituals-and-templates-of-great-product-teams Where to find Lane: https://x.com/lshackleton 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

My guest today is Robbie Crabtree, founder of Competitive Storytelling. Robbie is a top storytelling coach who has helped hundreds of founders raise $600M+ through this skill. Before that, he perfected his storytelling craft as a trial lawyer who oversaw 100+ criminal cases. We talked about: - How to craft a great story - The two stories that every leader must have - How to deliver your story in a compelling way I’ve struggled with storytelling myself, and Robbie’s tips were incredibly helpful. If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast. Timestamps: (00:00) The U-shaped approach to tell a great story (01:29) The essence of a great story in one line (02:46) Connecting personally with your audience (03:56) Why impromptu storytelling is a myth (05:26) The five-part storytelling framework (05:52) Defending a murder case example (10:44) Crafting a story in 10 words (22:17) The two essential stories every leader needs (28:09) Deliver a story people will never forget (32:12) Proven tactics to tell better stories Where to find Robbie:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robbiecrab/Website: https://www.competitivestorytelling.co/ Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/unlock-your-storytelling-superpower 📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

My guest today is Josh Miller, CEO of the Browser Company.

Josh and his team built Arc, an AI-first browser that users can’t stop raving about. To take on Google Chrome, they’ve raised $550M from top investors such as LinkedIn’s Jeff Weiner and Figma’s Dylan Field. In our chat, Josh gives us an inside look at how the Browser Company crafts great products and hires top talent.

Timestamps:

(00:00) The #1 thing we look for to hire great talent (01:29) Why Josh wants to re-invent the browser (04:41) How to find and hire great people (08:11) Build with the community on day 1 (12:01) Inside crafting browser that uses AI to browse for you (15:18) Turn it up to 100 on just one thing (19:47) We only have 12-24 months to win (24:30) Balancing craft with time to market (30:18) How Arc thinks about monetization (35:45) Addressing publisher concerns with AI search (41:04) The secret to feeling fulfilled in your career

Where to find Josh:

X: https://x.com/joshm Website: https://thebrowser.company/

Get the interview takeaways:

https://creatoreconomy.so/p/josh-miller-inside-ai-browser-product

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

My guest today is Dave Kline.

David led teams at Bridgwater for 20+ years, working directly with billionaire Ray Dalio. Since then, he’s coached 1000s of leaders through his course and newsletter.

We spoke about:

- His journey from leader to solopreneur

- How to manage up well

- How to delegate and help others grow

If you enjoy our conversation, please like and subscribe to support the podcast.

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/dave-kline-how-to-manage

Timestamps:

(00:00) The #1 mistake that new managers make

(01:40) Top lesson from working with Ray Dalio

(04:25) Dave's journey from leader to solopreneur

(09:36) How to manage up without screwing up

(14:42) Asking for constructive feedback the right way

(19:01) Taking a strategic approach to getting promoted

(25:39) Why you should create a personal brand at your company

(26:18) The importance of delegating until it hurts

(30:29) Managing high and low performers

(35:16) A personal story of when harsh feedback forced Dave to grow

Where to find Dave:

Newsletter: https://mgmt.beehiiv.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkline/

📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!