Behind the Craft

By Peter YangTechnology

Behind the Craft episodes

March 02, 2025 AI Does 90% of My Work Now as a Product Leader | Yana Welinder (Kraftful)
My guest today is Yana Welinder.Yana is the CEO of Kraftful, an AI product that helps 50,000 product teams extract insights from user reviews and surveys. She’s also a power user of ChatGPT and did a live demo of her top AI workflows for Deep Research and Operator.Timestamps:(00:00) At this point, I’m not doing anything without AI(01:38) Live demo of Operator automating product work(08:07) Using Deep Research for competitive analysis(11:05) Unlocking Deep Research to get medical advice(13:29) More everyday use cases for AI you might not know about(19:07) The key problem with AI startups(22:32) What should the PM actually do if AI will do everything?(25:36) The ups and downs of being an AI founder(29:02) How to balance prompting, RAG, fine-tuning, and evals(32:09) The right time horizon to plan for AIGet the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/ai-does-my-work-now-as-a-product-leader-yanaWhere to find Yana:
X: https://x.com/yanatweets
Website: https://www.kraftful.com/📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

37 min
February 23, 2025 We were going to shut down our company…now we’re worth $700M | Eric Simons (Bolt)
My guest today is Eric Simons.
Eric is the CEO of Bolt, the AI coding platform that has exploded from 0 to 3M users in less than a year.
Eric gave me a live demo of building a $2B mobile app from scratch with Bolt, how his “overnight” success was seven years in the making, and how real product teams use Bolt to get work done faster.
This episode is brought to you by Vanta — Join 9,000+ companies like Atlassian and Quora who use Vanta to manage risk and prove security in real time. Get $1000 off at vanta.com/peter
Timestamps:
(00:00) From almost shutting down to $20M ARR in 2 months
(01:20) Watch Bolt build Spotify with a single prompt
(03:59) Live demo of building a $2B mobile app in 15 min
(05:16) How to test your prototypes on mobile with Expo
(10:03) Redesigning UX just by pasting in a screenshot
(15:00) "Vibe coding" secrets straight from Eric
(18:38) How Bolt will solve the AI debugging doom loop
(24:34) The AI prototyping use case that most people aren't thinking about
(27:21) The inside story of scaling Bolt from 0 to 3M users
(41:10) Why AI products are like surfboards in a tsunami
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/building-a-billion-dollar-app-with-bolt-ai
Where to find Eric:
X: https://x.com/ericsimons40
Website: bolt.new
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

49 min
February 16, 2025 This Vision Playbook Will Change YouTube and Your Life | Ebi Atawodi
My guest today is Ebi Atawodi.
Ebi is the Director of Product for YouTube Studio, the home for 65M creators (including me). Ebi gave me an inside look at crafting Studio’s vision and how to define yourself beyond your job title. Ebi’s super inspiring, and you'll love our chat.
This episode is brought to you by Vanta — Join over 9,000 global companies like Atlassian, Quora, and Factory who use Vanta to manage risk and prove security in real time. Get $1000 off at vanta.com/peter
Timestamps:
(00:00) If I took away your job title, who are you?
(03:44) Defining the vision for YouTube Studio
(07:30) Tell me what's painful, not what you shipped
(11:18) Transforming a vision into strategic themes
(21:24) What most people don't realize about platform PMs
(28:59) Balancing the needs of big and small creators
(33:23) Why the little moments really matter for creators
(38:01) Why Ebi took time off to make a short film
(43:50) I'm a storyteller, and nobody can take that away
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/this-vision-playbook-will-change-youtube-product
Where to find Ebi Atawodi:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebiatawodi/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6vQTfTejyY
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50 min
February 09, 2025 This AI Tool Lets You Build Apps Faster Than Googling | Amjad Mosad (Replit)
My guest today is Amjad Mosad, CEO and founder of Replit.Amjad is the CEO of Replit, an AI coding platform with 34M users that’s making it possible for anyone to build an app in 60 seconds from their phone. In our chat, Amjad shared how you can learn to code with AI and gave me a live demo of Replit’s AI agent. We also discussed the skills that will still matter in AI. This episode is brought to you by Vanta — Join over 9,000 global companies like Atlassian, Quora, and Factory who use Vanta to manage risk and prove security in real-time. Get $1000 off at vanta.com/peter. Timestamps:(00:00) Two paths to tech job security in the AI era
(06:36) The best way to learn to code with AI
(07:41) Building a nutrition tracking app with Replit
(14:07) How to avoid getting stuck on bugs with AI
(18:30) 5 tips to get the most out of AI coding agents
(22:10) Why everyone should build personal software
(24:00) What makes Replit's AI approach different
(27:41) Why traditional roadmaps are dead
(30:40) How Replit uses AI internally to build faster
(34:00) Build an app in 60 seconds from your phone
(36:14) Career advice for tech folks to become AI nativeGet the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/this-ai-tool-lets-you-build-apps-faster-than-googlingWhere to find Amjad:
X: https://x.com/amasad
Website: https://replit.com/📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
40 min
February 02, 2025 The #1 Hack to Build Apps With AI Without Getting Stuck | Colin Matthews
My guest today is Colin Matthews.
Colin is a rockstar instructor who teaches a popular AI Prototyping for PMs course on building AI apps without coding skills. In our interview, Colin shared how to pick the right AI prototyping tool, what you should do before asking AI to code, and how to build a habit-tracking app step by step in just 20 minutes.
Brought to you by:
Vanta— Automate compliance and scale your security program. Get $1,000 off.
Timestamps:
(00:00) Do this before asking AI to code
(01:13) How to pick the right AI prototyping tool
(05:50) Choosing AI tools for client, server, and database
(10:49) Building a habit-tracking app step by step(14:02) Always start with the data model
(22:08) Top mistakes to avoid with AI prototyping
(27:14) Should you still learn to be technical with AI?
(32:13) Avoiding the 70% problem and getting stuck on bugs
(33:59) How to learn to code through AI prototyping
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/the-number-one-hack-to-build-with-ai-without-getting-stuck
Where to find Colin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colinmatthews-pm/
Get $100 off Colin's prototyping course: https://maven.com/tech-for-product/ai-prototyping-for-product-managers?promoCode=peter100
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

44 min
January 26, 2025 Inside Suno, the AI Music App You Won't Be Able to Stop Listening To | Mikey Shulman (Suno)
My guest today is Mikey Shulman.
Mikey is the CEO and co-founder of Suno, the best AI music app available. I’ve had so much fun using it to make songs with my kids. In our chat, Mikey shares how music LLMs work, how Suno builds AI products, and the good and bad futures of music with AI.
Timestamps:
(00:00) The good and bad futures of AI in music
(03:41) How Suno's music AI actually works
(07:31) Building for personalization without losing humanity
(10:34) Turning text into actual songs
(14:06) Product iteration in uncharted territory
(20:37) Core principles for building AI products
(25:06) How streaming changed everything
(31:35) What's next for AI music in 2025
(32:51) Navigating product management in AI
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/inside-suno-the-ai-music-app-you-wont-stop-listening-to-product
Where to find Mikey: X: https://x.com/MikeyShulmanWebsite: https://suno.ai/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

36 min
January 19, 2025 The 5 Hidden Rules Behind Successful AI Products | Chris Pedregal (Granola)
My guest today is Chris Pettigrew.
Chris is the co-founder and CEO of Granola, an AI meeting notes app that has become indispensable to me. Granola has 70%+ weekly user retention, almost unheard of for consumer AI. In our interview, Chris shared five hard-won rules for building AI products that users love and explained why AI will fix meetings.
Timestamps:
(00:00) The #1 mistake you can make when building AI products
(01:35) The difference between big tech PM and startup founder
(06:22) Why Chris decided to use AI to solve meetings
(09:26) Don't solve problems that won't be problems soon
(12:44) How can you predict what LLMs can do in the future
(19:09) Why context is king for great AI products
(23:56) How to give your AI product a soul
(28:43) When to listen to user feedback and when to trust your gut(31:39) Closing advice for people who want to build AI apps
Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/the-hidden-rules-behind-successful-ai-products-chris-pedregal
Where to find Chris:
Website: https://www.granola.ai/
X: https://x.com/cjpedregal
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

39 min
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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47 min
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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40 min
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/
📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!
49 min