Behind the Craft

By Peter Yang

Expert interviews and guides to help you level up as a product leader and creator fast.... more

· Technology

5

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FAQs about Behind the Craft:

How many episodes does Behind the Craft have?

The podcast currently has 44 episodes available.

Behind the Craft episodes:

January 12, 2025 The AI Skill That Will Define Your PM Career in 2025 | Aman Khan (Arize)
My guest today is Aman Khan.
Aman is the Director of Product at Arize AI. Last year, we both heard the Chief Product Officers of OpenAI and Anthropic share that AI evaluations will be the most important skill for PMs in 2025. Aman gave me a crash course on how to build this critical skill in our interview.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Evals force you to get into your user's shoes

(03:42) 5 skills to build right now to become a great AI PM

(07:43) How curiosity leads to better AI products

(10:20) You can build AI without the job title

(17:00) A deep dive into why AI evals are so important

(24:53) Example of running evals for an AI customer support agent

(31:32) When humans need to be in the loop for evals

(35:46) How to get better at writing evals right now

(39:39) My personal prompt and eval for transcripts
(44:23) Catching the AI wave is alot like surfing

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/the-ai-skill-that-will-define-your-pm-career-aman-khan

Where to find Aman:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanberkeley/
Arize: https://arize.com/

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47min
January 05, 2025 This is What Top 1% PMs Do Differently | Amit Fulay (VP Microsoft)
My guest today is Amit Fulay.
Amit is a product VP at Microsoft who previously spent 15 years building products like News Feed (Meta) and Google Meet (Google). In our interview, he reveals the three types of product leaders, how to build trust at each career stage, and what AI means for PMs. He also teaches a popular on leveling up from PM to influential product leader (get $100 off with this link).
Timestamps:
(00:00) The secret to building trust
(01:43) 3 distinct types of product leaders
(03:29) How to influence each type of leader
(09:29) Will AI kill traditional product management?
(16:02) How to build trust in each stage of your career
(20:16) Sunsetting your own without losing trust
(25:31) Speaking the truth to your management chain
(28:55) Inside how Satya Nadella fixed Microsoft
(32:41) What Amit wished he knew when he started as a PM
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/top-1-percent-product-leaders-do-this-amit-fulay
Where to find Amit:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afulay/
Course: https://maven.com/amitfulay/toppmleader
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...more
40min
December 29, 2024 Make 2025 Your Best Year Yet With This Ritual | Katia Verresen
My guest today is Katia Verresen.
Katia is one of Silicon Valley's most sought-after leadership coaches. Her clients include Fidji Simo (CEO of Instacart), Kate Rouch (CMO of OpenAI), Deb Liu (CEO of Ancestry), who all rave about how she transformed their careers. In our chat, Katia shared her proven techniques to help you achieve your goals in the new year.
Timestamps:
(00:00) How to stop doubting yourself
(01:54) The year-in-review ritual top CEOs swear by
(06:11) I thought I had a horrible year until I realized this
(10:13) Why it's so important to celebrate your wins(15:40) Coaching clients from managers to CEOs
(17:57) The power of unlocking your "kind observer"
(21:35) How to use emotions to shape your reality
(30:18) Imagination is a superpower most leaders don't use
(41:18) 3 daily practices to unlock abundant energy
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/make-2025-your-best-year-yet-katia-verresen
Where to find Katia:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katia-verresen/
Website: https://www.kvaleadership.com/
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...more
49min
December 22, 2024 This Will Make You Rethink Your Product and Career in 2025 | Sachin Rekhi (Notejoy)
My guest today is Sachin Rekhi.
Sachin scaled LinkedIn’s Sales Navigator to $200M ARR and 500 employees. He then left it all behind to start Notejoy; a team notes app. I had a great chat with him about finding market fit for your product and career in 2025 and how to design work to suit your life, not vice versa.
Timestamps:
(00:00) I got my dream PM job then realized I didn’t want it
(02:19) The MVP is dead
(08:02) Execution is NOT the only thing that matters
(09:40) A proven loop to achieve product-market fit
(14:18) Better ways to validate your product than MVPs
(20:01) How to even measure product-market fit
(26:03) Why Sachin opted out of the path to VP
(29:16) Aligning your career with your zone of genius
(36:18) I saw the small team trend coming
(40:38) Use explore-exploit to find your dream career
(44:01) Closing tips to design your life with purpose
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/rethink-your-pm-career-in-2025-sachin-rekhi
Where to find Sachin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sachinrekhi/
Website: https://www.sachinrekhi.com/
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...more
48min
December 15, 2024 How to Survive and Thrive as a Busy Working Parent | Deb Liu (CEO Ancestry)
My guest today is Deb Liu.
Deb is the CEO of Ancestry, former VP at Meta, and writer of Perspectives. But for our interview, I wanted to talk to Deb about a more personal topic: How to survive and thrive as a busy working parent with your spouse, aging parents, and kids. In our interview, Deb shared her best advice on building a 60-60 relationship with your spouse, raising resilient kids, caring for aging parents, and dealing with grief.
Timestamps:
(00:00) How to stop parenting through guilt
(01:19) Building a 60-60 relationship with your spouse
(03:05) Choosing your marriage swim lanes
(05:41) A simple ritual for authentic family conversations
(09:51) Why the world isn't set up for two working parents
(12:24) How to solve stressful mornings
(17:29) The sandwich generation and dealing with grief
(21:38) How to build your modern village
(27:49) Raising resilient kids as a busy parent
(35:19) Closing words of advice for balancing career and family
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-to-survive-and-thrive-as-a-busy-working-parent
Where to find Deb:
Newsletter: https://debliu.substack.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahliu/
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...more
40min
December 01, 2024 Zapier Co-Founder on Using AI Agents to 10X Your Productivity | Mike Knoop (Zapier)
My guest today is Mike Knoop, co-founder of Zapier.
Mike co-founded Zapier and started the ARC Prize to accelerate progress towards open AGI. We had a great chat about how Zapier works, how PMs and marketers can use AI to automate even more work, and why LLMs won’t reach AGI by themselves.
Timestamps:
(00:00) There are two types of AI automation
(01:57) How Zapier automation works
(05:14) I quit being Zapier's CPO to do AI research
(07:54) I gave employees a week off to just use AI(11:57) How PMs can use AI agents to save time
(14:03) We saved $100K by using AI agents in marketing
(21:28) Robotic process automation might be better than APIs
(26:30) Most definitions of AGI are wrong
(30:45) Why LLMs won't get us to AGI and what might work instead
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/zapier-co-founder-ai-agents-10x-productivity-mike-knoop
Where to find Mike:X: https://x.com/mikeknoopWebsite: https://mikeknoop.com/
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...more
46min
November 24, 2024 How the Product Manager Role is Changing in 2025 | Jiaona Zhang (CPO Linktree)
My guest today is Jiaona Zhang, CPO of Linktree.
JZ is the Chief Product Officer of Linktree and a guest lecturer at Stanford. We had a great chat about AI’s impact on PM managers and super ICs, the shift towards PM specialists, and whether becoming a creator can help advance your PM career.
(00:00) Find what makes you happy in your PM career
(01:44) AI's impact on PM managers and super ICs
(04:03) How to balance strategy and execution
(08:24) Streamlining PM tasks with AI
(13:28) Creating strategy docs and PRDs that work
(16:50) Your career is your most important product
(22:55) The shift from PM generalists to specialists
(23:58) Exploring JZ's Career Odyssey framework
(25:49) Why you shouldn't just optimize for comp and title
(31:12) Does the creator economy actually work?
(44:19) Can being a creator help advance your product career?
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-the-product-manager-role-is-changing-jiaona-zhang
Where to find Jiaona:
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/jz
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiaona/
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...more
50min
November 17, 2024 Why K-12 Education Is Broken for High Achieving Kids | Niels Hoven (Mentava)
My guest today is Niels Hoven, founder and CEO of Mentava.
Niels founded Mentava, an education startup teaching 2-year-olds to read at the 2nd-grade level. We had a great chat about why K-12 education is broken for high-achieving kids, whether AI will unlock personalized learning, and how his software teaches 2-year-olds to read.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Our schools don't work for high-achieving kids
(01:26) The problem with K-12 education in the US
(03:08) Why California banned 8th grade algebra
(10:11) Never be ashamed of advocating for your kids
(14:21) How Niels homeschooled 3 kids during COVID
(19:25) Teaching 2-year-olds to read like 2nd graders
(25:24) Rethinking how we teach kids math
(28:44) Will AI replace teachers?
(30:34) Will elite college credentials still matter?
(35:29) Tips for parents to raise high-achieving kids
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/why-education-is-broken-for-high-achieving-kids-niels-hoven
Where to find Niels:
X: https://x.com/NielsHoven
Website: https://www.mentava.com/
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...more
39min
November 10, 2024 Inside How Perplexity is Disrupting Online Search | Aravind Srinivas (CEO)
My guest today is Aravind Srinivas, CEO and co-founder of Perplexity.
Aravind is the CEO of Perplexity, the AI answer engine disrupting online search. Aravind gave me an inside look at how Perplexity builds products, how it scaled to 100M queries a week, and how it’ll deliver better ads than Google’s ten blue links.
Timestamps:
(00:00) We don't do product reviews
(01:22) The secret to Perplexity's incredible shipping velocity
(05:16) Giving feedback as a user instead of as the CEO
(07:01) How Perplexity decides what to build next
(10:56) Perplexity's "7 friends in 10 days" metric
(14:02) How Perplexity uses AI to build Perplexity
(17:30) How to get a great job without traditional credentials
(21:50) Key drivers behind Perplexity's growth to 100M queries
(27:50) The future of search ads and why 10 blue links are dead
(35:56) Closing advice to get what you want out of life
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/inside-how-perplexity-is-disrupting-search-aravind-srinivas
Where to find Aravind:
X: https://x.com/AravSrinivas
Website: https://www.perplexity.ai/
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...more
39min
November 03, 2024 Inside Duolingo Unhinged Growth to a $500M Business | Cem Kansu (Duolingo)
My guest today is Cem Kansu.
Cem is the Head of Product at Duolingo. Over 8 years, he helped Duolingo grow to 100M+ monthly active users and $500M+ in annual revenue. I had a super fun chat with Cem about Duolingo's unhinged product culture, the top drivers of Duolingo's user and revenue growth, and whether AI will democratize education.
Timestamps:
(00:00) We love being unhinged with our owl
(01:26) Duolingo is a game and this is our core loop
(03:46) The top 3 drivers of Duolingo's growth to 100M users
(05:55) Passive-aggressive push notifications work!
(08:12) How Duolingo onboards new users to maximize retention
(13:11) Our winding path to $500M+ in revenue
(17:25) We've figured out how international expansion works
(21:13) Will AI kill Duolingo?
(26:20) We made Lily an AI emo teenager on purpose
(32:41) How to A/B test without sacrificing quality
(37:09) What the best PMs at Duolingo have in common
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/inside-duolingo-unhinged-growth-to-500m-cem-kansu
Where to find Cem:
X: https://x.com/cemkansu
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cemkansu/
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...more
42min

FAQs about Behind the Craft:

How many episodes does Behind the Craft have?

The podcast currently has 44 episodes available.

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