Maps of Mentors

Everyone is talking about how AI is making software easier to build.

Few are talking about what happens after everyone can build.

In this conversation, Chase Wilson, Director of AI & Developer Marketing at Figma and former Atlassian product leader, argues that the future won't belong to whoever ships the fastest. It will belong to whoever understands users the best.

Drawing on experience launching Jira Work Management, raising a $3.4 million venture round, building and shutting down his own startup, and now helping shape Figma's AI strategy, Chase explains why product development is entering an entirely new era.

The biggest shift isn't AI writing code.

It's AI removing technical barriers so that product thinking, customer insight, design quality and collaboration become the true competitive advantages.

From internal startup incubators at Atlassian to Figma Make, founder psychology, product validation, venture capital, design systems and the future of software creation, this episode offers a rare inside look at how some of the world's best product teams think.

Whether you're building a SaaS startup, leading product, designing software or experimenting with AI tools, this conversation offers practical lessons that will still matter long after today's AI hype cycle fades.

The best products evolve through customer conversations. Great founders stay flexible while remaining obsessed with solving the right problem.

As building software becomes cheaper and faster, customer understanding, product design and workflow innovation become the true competitive advantages.

The future isn't simply AI writing code. It's teams exploring ideas together, comparing possibilities and making better product decisions collectively.

[00:00] Chase Wilson's Unconventional Path into Product

[03:18] Lessons from a Bootstrap Startup and App Academy

[04:27] Inside Atlassian's Internal Startup Incubator

[07:18] Why Great Product Teams Obsess Over Problems, Not Solutions

[10:55] Raising $3.4M and the Reality of Startup Life

[14:07] Joining Figma and the Vision Behind Figma Make

[18:24] AI, Product Marketing and Why Design Is the New Moat

[24:17] How Figma Sees the Future of AI Collaboration

[30:09] Chase's 8-Week Product Launch Framework

[38:55] Rapid Fire: Books, Metrics, AI and Career Advice

Links

• Chase Wilson on LinkedIn
• Figma
• Joshua Stevenson on LinkedIn
• Joshua Stevenson on Instagram

Jeremy Cabral is a co-founder of Finder, where they bootstrapped to $100M ARR and raised money at a valuation of $650M.

Jeremy is an expert in business, AI, technology and so much more. He shares the lessons he has learnt from building businesses and what he sees as the future of AI.

Follow Joshua:

https://www.instagram.com/nocode.joshua

https://www.tiktok.com/@nocode.joshua

Follow Jeremy:

https://au.linkedin.com/in/jeremycabral

https://www.instagram.com/jeremyjcabral

https://executiveark.ai/

Nathan Chan started Foundr in March of 2013 in his parents basement and he has grown the brand into an educational media giant. Foundr has gone on to release:

• ​563 Podcast episodes
• ​135 magazine issues
• ​100 Courses
• ​Help 10,000 students start a business
• ​A following of over 5 million across socials.

Connect With Nathan

https://www.instagram.com/nathanchan/

https://www.instagram.com/foundr/#

Connect With Joshua

https://www.instagram.com/nocode.joshua/

https://www.tiktok.com/@nocode.joshua

Callum Carver is the Founder of The Kaizen and has grown a social following of over 700,000 across Instagram & TikTok. In this episode of the podcast he shares the lessons he's learnt including:

Jacques Greeff and his two brothers founded a company called Realbase, which they eventually sold to Domain for $180 million. In this episode Jacques dives into the founding story of how they built the company and shares some business & life lessons that he has learnt along the way.

SUMMARY

Harley Giddings owns 3 investment properties by working 2 jobs, 7 days per week.

In this episode In this conversation, Harley shares his inspiring journey into property investment, starting from a young age and overcoming challenges along the way. He discusses his early education in finance, the transition from index funds to real estate, and the importance of self-education. Harley emphasizes the significance of having a clear 'why' behind financial goals and shares his daily non-negotiables that keep him on track. He also highlights the value of positivity and authenticity in his social media presence, aiming to inspire others to pursue their own financial dreams.

TAKEAWAYS

- Harley started his investment journey at a young age.

- The Barefoot Investor was a pivotal book for Harley.

- Delayed gratification was instilled in him from childhood.

- He transitioned from index funds to property at 22.- Self-education is crucial in property investment.

- Finding your 'why' is essential for motivation.- Daily non-negotiables help maintain productivity.

- Positivity is key to overcoming challenges.- Sharing his journey aims to inspire others.

FOLLOW HARLEY

https://www.instagram.com/propertywithharley/

https://www.tiktok.com/@propertywithharley

https://www.youtube.com/@property-with-harley

CONNECT WITH JOSHUA

www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-stevenson-38b36b2a0

Matt Neary is the creator of the "Think it, Build it" course. A course that teaches you how to turn your ideas into apps using Bubble.io. Matt is also the co-founder of Basis, a framework that helps Bubble devs build polished apps much faster.

In this video Andrew Haller shares the story of how he co-founded Airdev and the lessons he's learnt along the way.

https://build.airdev.co/bootcamp

https://build.airdev.co/

Prakash Chandran is a Co-Founder of Xano - The No-code backend to power and scale any app. Xano Connects to front-ends like Bubble & Webflow to help them scale.

Victor, the co-founder of Flusk, shares his journey with Bubble and the inspiration behind starting Flusk. Victor's app Flusk was awarded Bubble's 2023 Trailblazer award for fearlessly pushing the limits of what can be achieved on Bubble.

In this episode we chat about:

Victor's Links:

Victor's Linkedin: