Behind the Craft

By Peter YangTechnology

Behind the Craft episodes

September 29, 2024 How I Built a 7-Figure Business in Less than A Year with AI | Ben Tossell (Ben's Bites)
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
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44 min
September 22, 2024 How to Break into AI PM from Google AI Product Leader | Marily Nika (Google)
My guest today is Marily Nika, AI Product Lead at Google.
Marily built AI products at Meta and Google for 12+ years after getting a PhD in machine learning. She's also a top AI instructor who has given talks at TED, Harvard, and through her top-rated AI course and newsletter.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Anyone can be an AI PM
(01:22) A crash course on core AI concepts
(01:51) AI algorithms and applications map
(06:38) Traits that the best AI PMs have in common
(09:53) How to get leadership buy-in for AI products
(11:37) A day in the life as an AI PM
(14:51) How to break into AI product management
(20:25) How to avoid the retention problem for AI products
(23:08) A live demo of ChatGPT Voice
(33:39) How Marily uses AI in her personal life
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-to-break-into-ai-product-management

Where to find Marily:
Newsletter: https://marily.substack.com/
Course: https://maven.com/marily-nika/ai-pm-bootcamp
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38 min
September 15, 2024 How I Built an $8M Business with 0 Employees | Justin Welsh (Solopreneur)
My guest today is Justin Welsh, a 7-figure solopreneur and creator.
Justin burned out from startups in 2019 after suffering from a panic attack. Since then, he’s built an $8M one-person business and an audience of millions. His new course, Creator MBA, is one of the highest value-to-time courses I’ve ever taken.
Timestamps:
(00:00) The specific path to build an $8M solo business
(01:47) Leaving the career ladder after a panic attack
(05:53) How to build a side hustle while employed
(08:41) An exercise to take back your time
(12:59) Finding your niche and unique value proposition
(16:12) Validating your business idea with real customers
(19:02) Creating a movement and identifying your "enemy"
(23:00) A simple creator funnel to scale solo businesses
(27:01) Changes that led to big growth in Justin's business
(27:29) How Justin uses AI to optimize his funnel
(31:23) Specific vs generic paths to succeed as a creator
(39:22) Closing advice for tech people to take back control of their careers
Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-i-built-an-8m-solo-business-justin-welsh
Where to find Justin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinwelsh/
Newsletter: https://www.justinwelsh.me/newsletters
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44 min
September 08, 2024 This Framework Will Change How You Think about Your Career | Shishir Mehrotra (Coda)
My guest today is Shishir Mehrotra, co-founder and CEO of Coda.
Shishir is the co-founder and CEO of Coda and was YouTube's Chief Product Officer. We had a great chat about what I think is the best framework to grow your career, how a PM applied it to build a 0 to $1B product in 18 months, and other rituals to level up your strategy and leadership.Brought to you by: - Amplitude: Get their North Star playbook for free: https://bit.ly/4fPxUmg
Timestamps:
(00:00) From 0 to $1B in just 18 months
(01:27) Introducing Shishir
(01:41) The best career growth framework you've never heard of
(03:35) Scope is the wrong metric to evaluate PMs
(07:12) Why PSHE applies to all functions(10:13) Breaking into PM at Google using PSHE
(17:34) Solving obvious problems without stepping on toes
(24:23) The most underrated skill for PMs
(26:16) The WOW framework for strategy and planning
(31:26) The $100 exercise to get teams to think beyond their scope
(35:17) Have you seen small teams move faster?
(37:20) PSHE framework for small vs. large teams
(41:53) Selfless leadership and the trillion-dollar coach
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/the-best-framework-for-career-growth-shishir
Where to find Shishir:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shishirmehrotra/
X: https://x.com/shishirmehrotra
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48 min
September 01, 2024 Ex-Meta VP Reveals His Top Lessons after 25 Years Leading Product Design | Jon Lax (Meta)
My guest today is Jon Lax, former VP of Design at Meta.
Jon is a 25-year design veteran who most recently led design for Meta’s Reality Labs (e.g., Ray Ban glasses, Quest, and more). Before Meta, Jon ran his own design firm for 12 years. He’s got many hot takes on product development and design that I’m excited to dig into.
Brought to you by:
- Amplitude: Get their north star playbook for free: https://bit.ly/4fPxUmg
Timestamps:
(00:00) Why delight comes last
(01:31) Introducing Jon
(01:56) Why Jon stopped doing vision decks and north stars
(05:49) The right time scale for designers to operate in
(11:13) 3 miracle problems have killed many products
(15:14) Make it useful first, then beautiful
(23:38) MVP vs. minimum lovable product is the wrong framing
(25:37) The single trait that all the best teams at Meta share
(26:29) How to build a shared definition of done
(31:19) The one question I ask to bring clarity to promotions
(36:22) How to climb the ambiguity and autonomy curve
(40:01) Is AI the end of peak design jobs?
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/ex-meta-vp-reveals-his-top-design-lessons-jon-lax
Where to find Jon:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jon-lax-900b5a293/Blog: https://jonlax.framer.ai/
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48 min
August 25, 2024 Cancer Changed Everything: Finding Empathy, Balance, and Grace | Sharmeen Chapp (Stripe)
My guest today is Sharmeen Chapp, Head of Product for Revenue and Finance Automation at Stripe.
In 2021, Sharmeen was diagnosed with breast cancer after becoming a Senior Director at Meta and a new mom. She shared lessons on leading with empathy through cancer, growing from IC to VP in 6 years, and Stripe’s unique product culture.
Brought to you by:
- Amplitude: Get their North Star playbook for free https://bit.ly/4fPxUmg
Timestamps:
(00:00) Empathy starts with leaving your ego at the door
(01:59) I basically product-managed my breast cancer
(03:22) Silver lining of sharing my journey publicly
(05:54) Balancing work, family, and cancer treatment
(12:20) Why empathy and excellence are not mutually exclusive
(17:34) Operating high and low on vision and execution
(22:05) Transitioning to PM and overcoming doubts
(25:03) Growing from IC to VP in 6 years
(27:56) Why I deprioritized my own product
(36:59) Stripe PM culture of user-first and humility
(41:55) Remember to give yourself grace
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/leading-with-empathy-through-cancer-sharmeen-chapp
Where to find Sharmeen:
X: https://x.com/luckiesharms
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharmeenchapp/
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45 min
August 18, 2024 Building 0 to 1 and The Story Behind Figma Slides | Mihika Kapoor (Figma)
My guest today is Mihika Kapoor, product lead at Figma.
Mihika and team built Figma Slides from just an idea to a featured product at Config this year. She shared with me how anyone can build 0 to 1 products inside large companies - from building internal excitement to getting leadership buy-in to shipping on time. She also shared why she no longer writes any PRDs.
Timestamps:
(00:00) What it really takes to build 0-1
(01:42) How Figma Slides came from Figma and Figjam
(04:23) Convincing other PMs that this was an idea worth pursuing
(06:38) Talking gets nowhere, here's what works instead
(11:04) How designers can get PM buy-in for their ideas
(16:18) Breaking all the rules for product development
(22:29) Getting leadership buy-in on your vision
(30:25) Aligning a 0-1 product with company goals
(32:29) Find your "first follower" to build your 0-1 team
(37:14) The hardest thing about building Figma Slides
(42:30) 4 rules for anyone building new products
(47:23) Be careful about setting goals for 0-1 products
(52:15) Why Mihika doesn't write PRDs
Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/anyone-can-build-0-1-products-mihika-kapoor
Where to find Mihika:
X: https://x.com/mihikapoor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mihikakapoor/
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56 min
August 11, 2024 The Ultimate Guide to Developer Marketing | Lee Robinson (Vercel)
My guest today is Lee Robinson, VP Product at Vercel.
Lee has built products and great developer experiences for over a decade and has written some of the most clear-sighted content about how to get developers to adopt your product that I’ve ever read.
We chatted about what makes a great developer experience, what resonates with developer marketing, and how to appeal to this no-bullshit customer segment.
Timestamps:
(00:00) A cycle to guarantee developers love your product
(01:15) How developers decide whether to use a new tool
(03:45) 3 pillars of a great developer experience
(08:34) Trust in open vs. closed source AI models
(10:52) Why most developer documentation sucks
(17:02) The future of AI-powered interactive docs
(23:25) Developer marketing tactics that actually work
(27:30) How to balance hype and reality
(30:42) Build with developers to gain their trust
(32:06) How to recover from losing developer trust
(37:01) Mastering the art of writing
(42:08) Talk to them, listen carefully, and actually fix their problems
Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/lee-the-ultimate-guide-to-developer-marketing
Where to find Lee:
X: https://x.com/leeerob
Website: https://leerob.io/
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46 min
August 04, 2024 Real Talk about Empowered vs. Feature Product Teams | Chris Jones (SVPG)
My guest today is Chris Jones, partner at Silicon Valley Product Group.
Chris and Marty Cagan wrote the best-selling book Empowered based on their 30+ years of experience working with 200+ companies. Their definition of “empowered vs. feature product teams” has created controversy, so I knew I had to chat with them.
Chris and I had a heart-to-heart chat about empowered vs. feature teams, how to avoid becoming a feature factory, and how to take back control of your career.
Timestamps:
(00:00) What empowered really means
(01:13) The difference between empowered and feature teams
(04:58) Why companies stop being customer-focused
(06:12) OKRs, processes, and bureaucracy
(13:47) Be the go-to person to build trust with leaders(18:13) Quarterly metric targets lead to bad trade-offs
(21:40) The trend towards small teams
(23:00) Does empowerment matter in wartime (Airbnb)?
(27:24) 3 types of product operating principles
(30:23) Is Google still empowered?
(33:40) How to avoid product review hell(36:15) The right way to push back on execs
(41:08) Take back control of your career
Where to find Chris:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisjonessvpg/
Get the interview takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/empowered-vs-feature-product-teams-chris-jones
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44 min
July 28, 2024 OpenAI and Ex-Shopify Product Lead Reveals How He Builds AI Products | Miqdad Jaffer
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
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34 min