Behind the Craft

Colin has taught 1000s of students how to build SaaS apps with AI. In this episode, he showed me exactly why my vibe coded prototype was insecure and how to convert it into a real SaaS app with auth, payments, and more. If you want to learn to build SaaS apps in 40 minutes with Cursor and Claude Code, then this episode is for you.

Colin and I talked about:

(00:00) The 7 components that every real SaaS app needs

(01:44) Client, server, database: What most prototypes miss

(08:57) Live demo: Adding Stripe, auth, and databases to my photo app

(16:45) Why starting with templates beats prompting from scratch

(20:30) The Supabase security flaw in most vibe coded apps

(25:35) Why AI shouldn't touch your database directly

(35:00) 4-steps to ship a real SaaS app that people will pay for

(38:15) Why tech credentials no longer matter (and what does instead)

Thanks to our sponsors:

Composio: Use AI to take action across 500 apps https://getrube.link/peter

Linear: Try the platform for AI agents https://linear.app/partners/behind-the-craft

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/full-tutorial-turn-your-prototype-into-a-real-saas-app-ai-colin-matthews

Where to find Colin:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinmatthews-pm/

Course: https://maven.com/tech-for-product/vibe-code-your-next-side-project

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Wade is the co-founder and CEO of Zapier. We’re both sick of everyone calling everything an “AI agent” so we had some real talk about what actually works instead. Wade gave me a practical demo of his AI workflow that triages 100+ emails to 10 and shared exactly how to find automation opportunities on your calendar.

Wade and I talked about:

(00:00) Why most people asking for agents actually want workflows

(01:25) The AI automation spectrum explained with real examples

(05:16) Live demo: Wade's email agent that triages 100+ emails down to 10

(13:27) The difference between APIs vs MCPs

(18:52) Making Zapier AI-first: Why the CEO memo isn’t enough

(24:08) Wade's response to AI influencers saying "RIP Zapier"

(32:09) How Zapier tests for AI fluency in job interviews

(35:31) How to identify what to automate with AI in your calendar

This episode is brought to you by Vellum.Use the code AIAGENTS25 to get 25% off your first 3 months with Vellum: https://vellum.ai/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=PeterYangPodcast

📌 Get my top 10 takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/ai-agents-clearly-explained-in-40-minutes-zapier-wade-foster

Where to find Wade:

X: https://x.com/wadefoster

Website: https://zapier.com

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Everyone calls their AI product an “agent” but Notion’s actually live up to the hype. It took Akshay (Notion’s co-founder) and Ryan (AI lead) 2 years of failure to build agents that can create databases, respond to Slack, and more. We had a great chat about their most surprising lessons from building the best AI agents for work.

We talked about:

• (00:00) What it really took to build agents that actually work

• (01:38) Live demo: Watch a database build itself in real-time

• (04:56) How Akshay writes docs by just talking to AI 90% of the time

• (20:15) The real difference between AI slop and useful AI agents

• (34:43) Personalizing agents with custom memory and instructions

• (39:59) Live demo: Building a custom Notion agent for Slack

• (49:03) What Notion looks for when hiring AI-native builders

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/how-notion-built-the-best-ai-agents-for-work-akshay-ryanWhere to find:

Akshay: https://x.com/akothari

Ryan: https://x.com/_ryannystrom

Notion AI agents: https://www.notion.com/blog/introducing-notion-3-0

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Josh is the the VP of Gemini, Google Labs (NotebookLM), and AI Studio and widely considered one of Google’s most beloved leaders. In our interview, he demoed how to get the most out of Gemini and NotebookLM, the startup culture inside Google, and where he thinks Gemini is headed next.

We talked about:

(00:00) How Josh brings startup hustle to Google

(01:19) Live demo of Nano Banana's top image use cases

(07:12) Using NotebookLM to turn 70 sources into talking slides

(12:36) How Google Labs shipped Flow TV in 86 days

(18:20) The #1 way to move fast in big companies

(22:02) What Josh looks for when hiring (hint: side projects)

(31:32) Why we won't be typing to AI chatbots in the future

(38:44) Gemini's future as a proactive assistant that knows your life

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/inside-gemini-and-notebooklm-how-google-is-shipping-non-stop-josh-woodward

Where to find Josh:

X: https://x.com/joshwoodward

Website: https://gemini.google.com

https://labs.google

https://aistudio.google.com/

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Today, I want to share a new episode with Ryan Carson.Ryan is a serial founder who has developed an amazing 3-file system to vibe code without frustration that has 5,000+ stars on Github. In our interview, he demoed adding a new feature to his production app by using AI to create a spec, generate atomic tasks, and build automated tests for each task.

Ryan and I talked about:

(00:00) Why his 3-file AI coding workflow works so well

(03:22) Explaining each file: PRD, atomic tasks, test-driven development

(08:02) Live demo: Building a new feature from scratch

(22:32) How to practice test-driven development to avoid bugs

(34:18) How to get AI to be your tutor to become more technical

(42:03) Pain pills vs vitamins: Why divorce is a great AI business

(45:23) How to start a one-person company with AI's help

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/full-tutorial-a-proven-3-file-system-to-vibe-code-production-apps-ryan

Where to find Ryan:

X: https://x.com/ryancarson

Website: https://www.ryancarson.com/

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Today, I want to share a new episode with Hamel Husain.

Hamel has trained 2,000+ PMs and engineers from companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google on how to run AI evals. In my new episode, he shares a free master class on how to build evals for a real AI agent in just 50 minutes using a simple spreadsheet. I learned a lot from Hamel and I think you will too.

Hamel and I talked about:

(00:00) What the most valuable part of evals is

(01:25) Live walkthrough: Analyzing 100 real production traces

(09:50) Creating the eval criteria using a simple spreadsheet

(24:44) Why binary pass/fail ratings beat 1-5 scores every time

(28:52) The agreement metric trap that fools most PMs

(30:08) True positive and negative rates explained

(36:00) How to set up continuous evals in production

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/ai-evaluations-crash-course-in-50-minutes-hamel-husain

Where to find Hamel:

X: https://x.com/HamelHusain

Website: https://hamel.dev/

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Today, I want to share a new episode with Meaghan Choi.As the design lead for Claude Code, Meaghan not only designs new features but also ships code on a regular basis. She showed me her exact design to code workflow along with her top 3 use cases for Claude Code. This interview is a must-watch if you’re a designer or PM who dreams of shipping to production. Meaghan and I talked about:

(00:00) Why shipping to prod as a designer feels "terrifying and magical"

(02:36) Top 3 design workflows with Claude Code

(07:20) How designers can get engineers to let them ship code

(11:06) Live demo: From Figma design to working code in minutes

(19:10) Custom Claude.md files to make AI work for designers

(22:47) How Anthropic ships features in days, not months

(28:22) Meaghan's favorite Claude Code shortcuts and pro tips

(33:58) The future of design roles in an AI-native worldBrought to you by:

Linear — The operating system for AI agents. Get 6 months free of Linear Business here: https://linear.app/behind-the-craftWhere to find Meaghan:

X: https://x.com/meag_han_c

Website: http://clau.de/peteryang📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

Today, I want to share a new episode with Cat Wu.Cat is the product lead for Claude Code and I got her to share how one of the most AI-native teams in tech actually works. Highlights include getting user feedback every 10 minutes, going straight to prototypes instead of docs, and designers checking in code directly. Cat also shared her 3 best Claude Code tips and what’s next for the product.Cat and I talked about:

(00:00) The process behind the best Claude Code features

(05:00) How engineers can own features from idea to launch

(10:04) Getting feedback every 10 minutes from 1000+ users

(14:00) How designers and PMs can ship production code

(19:58) How the Claude Code team does AI evaluations

(29:04) 3 tips from Cat to get the most out of Claude Code

(30:12) Why your Claude.md file is so important

(33:32) What's next for Claude Code

Thanks to our sponsor:

Lorikeet: The AI concierge that gets it done lorikeetcx.ai/peter

My top 10 takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/inside-claude-code-how-an-ai-native-actually-works-cat-wuWhere to find Cat:

X: https://x.com/_catwu

Website: https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code

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Today, I want to share a new episode with Alex Finn.Alex is a founder who has built a complete “Claude Life” operating system to automate research, curate AI news, analyze brain dumps, and more. I asked him to walk through exactly how to set up this system using Claude Code slash commands and sub-agents in just 25 minutes.

Alex and I talked about:

(00:00) How Alex uses Claude Code to automate his life

(04:18) Inside "Claude Life" — Alex’s life operating system

(05:29) The newsletter research agent that saves hours weekly

(09:09) How to use custom slash commands and sub-agents

(14:41) The most important skill that everyone needs in 2025

(18:01) Brain dump analysis to find new content pillars

(21:14) Daily brief agent that aggregates AI news

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/full-tutorial-build-an-ai-life-copilot-with-claude-code-alex-finn

Where to find Alex:

X: https://x.com/AlexFinnX

Website:

https://www.creatorbuddy.io/

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Today, I want to share a new episode with Nan Yu (Linear’s Head of Product).Despite only having 2 PMs, Linear has scaled to over 15,000 companies including OpenAI and Ramp. In our chat, Nan and I did a fun exercise to rank what PM skills still matter in the AI era and he also demoed Linear’s new AI agents that can write code, triage tickets, and analyze customer feedback.Nan and I talked about:

(00:00) Why Linear is a billion dollar company with just 2 PMs

(03:22) Ranking PM skills: What survives vs gets disrupted by AI

(11:10) Why strategy is actually being disrupted by AI

(21:51) The new skills PMs must build: context and agent management

(26:57) Craft vs speed: Linear's 10% rule for shipping fast

(38:09) Live demo: Using MCP to analyze customer feedback instantly

(53:04) Delegating entire backlogs to AI agents with one command

(57:12) Linear's future as an operating system for human-AI collaborationGet the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/ranking-every-pm-skill-what-still-matters-gets-disrupted-by-ai-nan-yu-linearWhere to find Nan:

X: https://x.com/thenanyu

Website: https://linear.app/📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!