Building Great Experiences

In this episode

Drew sits down with Justin O’Connor, AI leader at KPMG Advisory and founder of InfraCodebase, an AI-native platform reimagining developer experience and cloud delivery. From automating his first enterprise workflow out of pure frustration to now shaping agent strategy for one of the world’s largest consultancies, Justin’s career has been a masterclass in momentum, experimentation, and enabling people to work smarter with AI.

Together, Drew and Justin explore what makes a “10x developer” in the age of agents, how culture (not tech) is the biggest barrier to AI adoption, and why developer experience is fast becoming a competitive advantage.

What you’ll learn in this episode

• Why developer experience is the new differentiator for AI-era engineering teams
• How to go from “AI curiosity” to real momentum through small wins and prototypes
• Why culture, literacy, and empathy matter more than tooling when adopting AI
• How InfraCodebase is rethinking cloud delivery around AI-native collaboration
• The rise of agents, interoperability, and the coming “year of orchestration”
• Why SaaS isn’t safe and how AI-native startups can still disrupt crowded markets

Chapters

[00:00] Justin on AI-native vs. legacy SaaS (intro clip)

[00:45] Justin’s origin story: from banking to automation to KPMG and AI strategy

[08:00] The InfraCodebase story and what “AI-native” really means

[10:00] Developer experience, culture, and why happy devs = happy customers

[11:55] Advice for mid-market companies: literacy, focus, and scale

[17:40] The 100x developer, enablement, and scaling knowledge across teams

[23:20] The age of agents: 2023–2026 and beyond

[27:40] Apps vs. no apps, orchestration, and where work will really happen

[33:50] Practical advice for leaders: start with culture, community, and enablement

[38:50] Empathy, momentum, and how to actually start

[39:15] Hot take: why legacy SaaS isn’t safe in the AI-native era

Connect w/ Drew & StealthX

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

Website: https://stealthx.co

Connect w/ Justin O’Connor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-o-connor-67376483/

Website: https://infracodebase.com/

We’re kicking off a new Fireside Chat series. These are shorter, behind-the-scenes episodes where Drew shares how StealthX thinks about the shifts shaping the next era of experience and growth. Each one blends perspective with practice, featuring quick takes, demos, and tools operators can use right away.

Drew starts with the latest from OpenAI’s Dev Day, the new Apps SDK and Agent Builder, and what those signals mean for how products and experiences will be built in the near future. From an “app-less” world to the rise of embedded agents, he unpacks how this changes everything from design to monetization to go-to-market strategy.

He also gets candid about what this means for mid-market operators: why efficiency is about to become table stakes, why trust and brand will matter more than ever, and how companies can equip their teams to actually use these tools, not just turn them on.

The conversation dives into:

- What OpenAI’s new Agent Builder and Apps SDK mean for SaaS and CX

- How “Did you GPT it?” is replacing “Did you Google it?”

- Why AI Agents Will Eat Your SaaS (and What to Build Now)

- The survive vs. thrive challenge for mid-market companies

- Why efficiency isn’t a moat (and what will be)

- How to prepare your data and workflows for AI agents

- Change experience, helping teams adopt and use AI for real

Connect w/ Drew & StealthX

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

StealthX: https://stealthx.co

In this episode, Drew sits down with Mike Adams, Executive Director of Design at JPMorgan Chase. Mike brings nearly two decades of experience leading design inside one of the most complex, highly regulated industries and he’s now wrestling with how AI will reshape design, research, and the enterprise itself.

From his roots in graphic design and animation to his superpower of uniting people to solve big problems, Mike offers a candid take on the risks, opportunities, and the “original moments” designers need to fight for as AI accelerates the status quo.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Why designers should worry about AI stealing craft, but also how it frees time for deeper, more original work
• The coming “sea of sameness” and how differentiation, brand, and emotional resonance will matter more than ever
• How AI could finally solve for edge cases and hyper-personalization in industries like finance
• Why artifacts, research, and even stakeholder activation are being redefined by AI agents
• Tactical advice for designers: strengthen communication skills, experiment relentlessly, and lean into the human side of design

Chapters

[00:00] Mike’s origin story: from graphic design and animation to 18 years in finance

[10:00] Craft, sameness, and the “original moment” in the AI age

[20:00] Edge cases, hyper-personalization, and rethinking the role of artifacts

[30:00] Research, agents, and activating insights inside the enterprise

[40:00] Practical advice: communication, experimentation, and staying human

Connect w/ Drew & StealthX

LinkedIn: /drewhburdick

Website: stealthx.co

Connect w/ Mike Adam

LinkedIn: /mikeadam

Welcome back. In this episode, Drew sits down with Christina Goldschmidt, VP of Product Design at Warner Music Group and adjunct professor at NYU. Christina traces a 25-year path from early web design at Discovery Channel to leadership roles at AmEx, Morgan Stanley, Accenture, Etsy, and now Warner where she’s helping legacy organizations navigate the AI wave by blending anthropology, business, and design.

They dig into the parallels between mobile and AI, how to cut through the hype, and what it takes to get transformation funded and delivered inside massive incumbents.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

- Why the “AI wave” isn’t new and how the mobile era shows us what to expect

- Where legacy orgs can skip steps and jump straight to customer value with AI

- How Warner is centralizing data/processes to enable rapid AI experimentation

- Tactics for building real team AI skills: prompting practice, critique culture, and hackathons

- The stakeholder playbook: use risk, cyber, and end-of-life systems to unlock budget and momentum

Chapters

[00:00] Christina’s path: from anthropology to Warner Music Group

[10:00] Lessons from the mobile era & why AI feels different

[20:00] How incumbents can leapfrog with AI (and what to skip)

[30:00] Building AI muscle: team culture, experiments, and critiques

[40:00] Getting greenlights: risk, cyber, and end-of-life tech as levers

Connect w/ Drew & StealthX

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewhburdick/Website: stealthx.co

Connect w/ Christina &

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

Website: https://www.cgoldschmidt.com/

Welcome back to the latest episode of season 2. In this episode, Drew sits down with Zach Spring, Founder & CEO of YourEkko, a startup born from Zach’s personal journey through cancer, loss, and resilience. Zach shares his powerful story of survival and how it led him to create a platform that helps people support loved ones through grief with scheduled messages, financial gifts, and meaningful gestures.

Together, Drew and Zach explore why grief and end-of-life experiences are often overlooked in business, and how brands that lean into humanity during these moments can build lasting loyalty. They discuss how small gestures from Chewy sending flowers to a grieving pet owner, to YourEkko making it possible to leave a lasting message, can transform customer and employee experiences.

The conversation dives deep into:

- Why grief is a universal but often ignored part of customer and employee experience

- How companies can support grieving employees and customers in authentic, meaningful ways

- Why authenticity and human connection are the ultimate differentiators in a noisy, AI-driven market

- The importance of mentorship, trusted advisors, and community for founders

- Practical lessons Zach learned (and missteps he made) while building a mission-driven startup

Chapters:

[00:00] – Welcome & Zach’s origin story

[03:00] – From diagnosis to inspiration: the birth of YourEkko

[08:00] – Lessons from grief & why it matters for CX

[12:40] – Small gestures, big impact: brands that do it right[

[18:00] – Mentorship, mistakes & founder lessons learned

[21:10] – How YourEkko works & the vision ahead

[24:30] – What leaders can do to support grieving employees

[28:40] – Launch plans, giveaways & where to find Zach online

Connect w/ Drew & StealthX

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

StealthX:https://stealthx.co/

Connect w/ Zach & YourEkko

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

YourEkko: https://yourekko.com/

Welcome back to Building Great Experiences Season 2.

In this episode, Drew sits down with Juan Garzón, Managing Director of Innovate Charlotte and a longtime startup ecosystem builder. Juan shares his winding entrepreneurial journey, from founding a mortgage marketplace during the early 2000s, to brand strategy in the corporate world, to becoming one of the most trusted connectors for founders in the Carolinas.

Together, Drew and Juan unpack the new startup playbook in the age of AI and what they’ve learned from hosting Product Jam, a one-day, hands-on workshop designed to help early-stage founders go from idea to prototype fast.

The conversation dives deep into:

1. Why ecosystems and communities are critical to founder success
2. Lessons learned from three cohorts of Product Jam and how it differs from traditional accelerators
3. The shift from pitching ideas to proving value fast with prototypes and AI-powered tools
4. How non-technical founders can use AI to communicate better with co-founders, customers, and investors
5. Why brand and authenticity are becoming the ultimate differentiators in a noisy AI world
6. Tactical tools and practices every founder should adopt from note-takers and automation to AI as a mentor and collaborator

Chapters:

[00:00] – Welcome & Juan’s origin story

[02:00] – Discovering the power of startup ecosystems

[05:45] – Why community & mentorship matter for founders

[08:30] – Product Jam: a new model for early-stage founders

[14:00] – The new startup playbook in the AI era

[22:00] – Brand, authenticity & standing out in a noisy market

[30:00] – Tactical tools every founder should adopt

[38:30] – Final thoughts & where to find Juan online

Connect w/ Drew & StealthX

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

StealthX: https://stealthx.co

Connect w/ Juan & Innovate Charlotte

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

Innovate Charlotte: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovatecharlotte/about/

Welcome back to Building Great Experiences Season 2!  This season, we’re diving deep into the future of AI, design, and human-centered experiences.

Episode Details:

In this season opener, Drew sits down with Charles DeAndre, Managing Partner at Pattern 50 and fractional CTO for some of Charlotte’s fastest-growing startups. Charles shares his journey from gaming-obsessed kid to fintech leader to startup co-founder, and how those experiences shaped his perspective on building products that truly matter.

The conversation explores the future of software development:

- Why the next generation of apps will be built for AI agents, not just humans

- How voice and multimodal interfaces are reshaping the way we interact with tech

- Why personalization is moving beyond marketing into everyday digital experiences

- The mindset shift engineers and teams need to embrace AI as a 100x accelerator

- How leaders can create space to experiment without overwhelming their teams

If you’re a founder, product leader, or builder curious about where AI-powered experiences are headed, this episode is packed with practical insights and future-forward thinking.

Chapters:

[00:00] – Intro

[02:00] – Charles’ origin story: gaming, fintech & startups

[07:30] – The future of apps: built for AI agents

[14:45] – Voice, wearables & multimodal interfaces

[21:00] – Hyper-personalization & intent-driven design

[30:00] – Creating space to experiment with AI

Connect w/ Drew & StealthX:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewhburdick/

https://www.stealthx.co/

Connect w/ Charles:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesdandrea/

https://www.pattern50.com/

Overview:Welcome to the *Building Great Experiences podcast, with your host ⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Burdick⁠⁠⁠⁠, a 15-year veteran in Customer Experience and Managing Partner at StealthX⁠⁠⁠⁠.This is a show dedicated to sharing how brands are bringing insanely great human-centered experiences to life with strategy, design & technology.In this episode, Drew interviews Joel Puthoff, Founder & CEO of Linxy. They explore the critical role of authentic human connection in customer experience and how businesses can create environments that foster real, meaningful relationships. Joel shares his fascinating origin story—from his early days as a student entrepreneur and athlete to coaching CEOs and ultimately founding Linxy, a platform designed to enhance in-person community building.They dive deep into why "third places" like coffee shops and breweries are becoming vital hubs for connection and how businesses can tap into cultural marketing to become the nexus of their communities. Joel also explains how Linxy helps cut through the noise at events and public spaces, making it easier for people to find relevant, like-minded individuals to connect with—without the awkward small talk.If you're a business leader wondering how to drive long-term loyalty and customer trust through authentic experiences, this episode is packed with actionable insights. Drew and Joel discuss practical ways to humanize customer interactions, why investing in human flourishing is a competitive advantage, and how the future of customer experience is rooted in elevating real-world connections—not just digital convenience.Connect w/ Joel:https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelputhoff/https://linxy.liveConnect w/ Drew & StealthX:https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewhburdick/https://stealthx.co

Overview

Welcome to the Building Great Experiences podcast, with your host ⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Burdick a 15-year veteran in Customer Experience and Managing Partner at StealthX⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This is a show dedicated to sharing how brands are bringing insanely great human-centered experiences to life with strategy, design & technology.

Episode Details

In this episode, Drew interviews Jenn Grabenstetter, Consulting Director at Slalom. They explore the evolving landscape of marketing, focusing on trends beyond AI, operational challenges, the quest for personalization, and the importance of addressing digital experience debt. They discuss the shifting nature of customer loyalty, emphasizing the rise of influencer loyalty over traditional brand loyalty, and highlight the need for businesses to adapt to these changes to remain competitive. In this conversation, the speakers explore the transformative impact of AI on marketing and B2B buying processes, emphasizing the potential for hyper-targeting niche audiences and improving consumer experiences. They also discuss concerns about the erosion of critical thinking skills due to reliance on AI, and the importance of building trust through micro interactions. The conversation concludes with practical advice on focusing on neglected areas of business to enhance trust and loyalty.

Connect w/ Jenn Grabenstetter

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgrabenstetter/

Connect w/ Drew & StealthX

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewhburdick/
• ⁠https://stealthx.co

Overview

Welcome to the Building Great Experiences podcast, with your host ⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Burdick a 15-year veteran in Customer Experience and Managing Partner at StealthX⁠⁠⁠⁠.

This is a show dedicated to sharing how brands are bringing insanely great human-centered experiences to life with strategy, design & technology.

Episode Details

In this episode, Drew interviews David Wachs, founder of Handwrytten, a company that automates the process of sending personalized handwritten notes. They discuss the importance of customer service, employee empowerment, and the impact of organizational culture on business success. They explore the value of money-back guarantees, the need for training and trust in employees, and practical strategies for enhancing customer experience. The discussion emphasizes the interconnectedness of employee satisfaction and customer satisfaction, and the necessity for businesses to adapt to changing environments.

Connect w/ David & Handwrytten

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwachs/
• https://www.handwrytten.com/

Connect w/ Drew & StealthX

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewhburdick/
• https://www.stealthx.co/