Behind the Craft

Latest Episodes:

Full Course: The AI Stack We Actually Use for Prototyping, Strategy, and Personal OS (2026) Jan 11, 2026

Show notes

Tal and Aman are experienced AI PMs so I made us all share our favorite AI product workflows — from writing strategy docs to prototyping with Google AI Studio to building a personal task system with Claude Code. Watch this episode if you want to see 5 real no-BS AI product workflows in 50 minutes.

We talked about:

(00:00) Our best AI workflows for product work

(01:13) Demo 1: Writing strategy docs with Claude Projects

(10:21) Demo 2: Prototyping a new feature with Google AI Studio

(17:10) Demo 3: Building an AI thinking partner with Obsidian + Cursor

(24:06) Demo 4: Managing tasks with Linear MCP

(29:01) Demo 5: Building a personal OS with Claude Code and skills

(40:06) Context engineering 101 from Aman

(48:54) Summary and how you can start today

Thanks to our sponsors:

Korey: The AI Agent for product developmenthttps://www.korey.ai/

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/full-course-the-ai-stack-we-use-for-prototyping-strategy-personal-os-aman-tal

Where to find:

Tal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/talsraviv/

Aman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanberkeley/

Aman's personal OS Github: https://github.com/amanaiproduct/personal-os

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Full Tutorial: Build Your Personal Operating System with Claude Code | Teresa Torres Dec 21, 2025

Show notes

Teresa is a well-known product coach and author who runs her entire life and business using two Claude Code terminals and a note taking app. It was genuinely mind blowing to watch her use Claude Code to manage her to do list, delegate her research, and write content.

Teresa and I talked about:

(00:00) Why Teresa uses Claude Code to run her life

(03:00) Live demo: The "today" command that builds Teresa's daily to do list

(07:00) Working with Claude Code to brainstorm tasks and ideas

(14:00) Live demo: Writing a blog post together using plan mode

(21:00) How Claude does SEO keyword research for blog posts

(26:00) Why Teresa still writes every word herself (but 10x faster)

(30:00) Pro tips to manage context so Claude doesn't "get dumber"

(36:00) The 3-layer context system: global, project, and reference files

(44:00) 3 tips to get started with Claude Code without feeling overwhelmed

Thanks to our sponsors:

Optimizely: The agent orchestration platform for marketing https://www.optimizely.com/ai/

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/build-your-personal-os-with-claude-code-teresa-torres

Where to find Teresa:

LInkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/teresatorres/

Website: https://www.producttalk.org/

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A Founder's Playbook for Shipping 10x Faster with AI | Yana Welinder Dec 14, 2025

Show notes

Yana is Head of AI at Amplitude and a good friend. We had some real talk about how to stay scrappy inside a big company, including how to avoid decision by committee and endless internal debates. Yana also demoed her favorite AI workflows to triage her emails and aggregate customer feedback. I think you’ll love our banter 😅

Yana and I talked about:

(00:00) "By the time you've debated 2 ideas, I've already shipped 10"

(03:21) Think "how would I run this company?" not "what's my job?"

(05:22) Why we banned decisions by committee

(08:25) Cross-functional now means doing the work, not coordinating it

(11:22) Why frustrated users can become your biggest advocates

(15:19) Live demo: Using ChatGPT Atlas to triage emails and defuse emotional ones

(24:38) AI is still terrible at prompting (and what you can do about it)

(28:48) Live demo: Combining qualitative feedback with quantitative data

(37:38) Why AI analytics is lagging (and what needs to change)

Thanks to our sponsors:

Optimizely: The agent orchestration platform for marketing https://www.optimizely.com/ai/

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/a-founders-playbook-for-shipping-10x-faster-with-ai-yana-welinder

Where to find Yana:

X: https://x.com/yanatweets

Website: https://amplitude.com/ai-feedback?utm_campaign=fy25q4-ai-feedback-launch&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=organic-social&utm_content=creator-economy

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An Inside Look at What Alexa Can Now Do with AI (December 2025) | Daniel Rausch Dec 07, 2025

Show notes

As VP of Alexa, Daniel builds product for 600M Alexa devices. He had a great answer to my tough question: “Why has it taken so long to add AI to Alexa?” and then gave a live demo of what an AI-powered Alexa looks like. We also had a great chat about how to apply Amazon’s working backwards process to build useful AI products.

Daniel and I talked about:

(00:00) The real reason Amazon delayed adding AI to Alexa

(03:21) Live demo: Alexa uses AI to book Warriors tickets under $100

(09:21) Which AI model(s) power Alexa behind the scenes?

(11:50) How to build AI products using Amazon's PR/FAQ process

(18:30) Speed vs quality: When to ship fast vs when to wait

(23:00) Why Amazon pairs "invent" and "simplify" together

(26:00) The future of AI voice assistants beyond your home

Thanks to our sponsors:

Amplitude: See all your feedback in one place https://amplitude.com/ai-feedback?utm_campaign=fy25q4-ai-feedback-launch&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=organic-social&utm_content=creator-economy

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

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/an-inside-look-at-what-alexa-can-do-with-ai

Where to find Daniel:

X: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielrausch/

Website: http://alexa.amazon.com/📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

A Proven 5-Step System to Prototype Apps with AI | Xinran Ma Nov 30, 2025

Show notes

Xinran is a top AI instructor who has taught 100s of product teams how to design and prototype with AI. He shared 5 practical techniques to avoid generating AI slop — from side-by-side exploration to reverse prompting to component libraries — that you can start trying today. If you want to level up on AI prototyping, this is a must watch.

Xinran and I talked about:

(00:00) The 5 gaps in vibe coding that lead to generic designs

(04:28) [Step 1] Custom GPT generates perfect specs before prompting

(12:04) [Step 2] Magic Patterns canvas for side-by-side iteration tracking

(15:56) [Step 3] Inspiration command generates 4 unique designs instantly

(20:45) [Step 4] Mix-match components across prototypes with Subframe

(24:10) [Step 5] Toggle between AI mode and manual design editing

(28:34) Reverse prompting: Make AI extract your design system

(32:19) Pair component libraries with instructions to avoid AI slop

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/a-proven-5-step-system-to-prototype-apps-with-ai-xinran-ma

Where to find Xinran:

Newsletter: https://designwithai.substack.com

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

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Full Tutorial: How to Use Voice AI to Work and Code 10x Faster | Tanay Kothari Nov 23, 2025

Show notes

Tanay is the CEO and co-founder of Wispr Flow, my favorite app to dictate to AI 10x faster than typing. I asked him to do a live tutorial on how to get the most out of AI voice dictation, how his brain-to-text device reads your thoughts without speaking, and how he built an AI product that has 70% annual retention (unheard of!) by NOT focusing on ARR.

Tanay and I talked about:

(00:00) Why typing 5 hours a day is killing your productivity

(06:29) Live tutorial: Using voice to draft emails, write code, and more

(09:19) The brain-to-text device that reads your thoughts without speaking

(16:24) How to teach Wispr Flow your writing style across every app

(22:05) Why Tanay studies gaming instead of software for inspiration

(29:03) "I told my board: We're killing ARR as our North Star metric"

(31:36) Why "agents" is the dumbest term in AI (and what matters instead)

(35:55) What motivated young Tanay to steal his mom's laptop to code

Thanks to our sponsors:

Bolt: Create stunning apps and website with AI https://bolt.fyi/peter-yang

Linear: The best platform for agents https://linear.app/partners/behind-the-craft

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/full-tutorial-how-to-use-voice-ai-to-write-and-code-faster-wispr-flow-tanay

Where to find Tanay:

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

Get Wispr Flow: https://ref.wisprflow.ai/peter-yang

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Full Tutorial: Design to Code in 45 Min with Cursor's Head of Design | Ryo Lu Nov 16, 2025

Show notes

As the head of design at Cursor, Ryo is at the cutting edge of designers who ship code instead of mocks. He showed me how he built a retro OS with AI and did a live demo of adding a new feature using Cursor’s new agent mode. We also covered how to avoid AI design slop and how the Cursor team reached $29B valuation without full-time PMs.

Ryo and I talked about:

(00:00) Why designers should go directly to code

(02:06) Building a retro calculator app in one shot with plan mode

(08:04) How Ryo manages multiple AI agents at once in Cursor

(15:18) How Cursor builds without PMs and who does the PM work instead

(16:43) How to avoid creating purple AI design slop (it’s not prompting)

(20:01) Inside RyOS: A beautiful retro operating system built with AI

(30:22) How to turn vague ideas into detailed specs with Cursor

(37:47) The fastest way for PMs and designers to learn Cursor

Thanks to our sponsors:

Reforge: AI prototyping tool for product builders - https://reforge.com/peter

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

Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/design-to-code-with-cursor-head-of-design-ryo-luWhere to find Rio:

X: https://x.com/ryolu_

Website: https://ryo.lu/

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7 Counterintuitive Product Lessons from WhatsApp's Former Head of Product | Ami Vora Nov 09, 2025

Show notes

Ami is the one of my favorite product leaders, period. In my new episode, she breaks down why shipping fast beats the best strategy, how to build simple products that win, how to ask AI for brutally honest feedback, and more. Ami led product at Faire and WhatsApp, but above all she just has great, practical advice for all builders.

Ami and I talked about:

(00:00) Why perfect strategy + poor execution = a waste of time

(05:21) The ChatGPT prompt to get brutally honest feedback

(11:19) Do the simple thing first (build for the most tired person)

(16:51) The one question Ami asks to test every product decision

(25:35) Why your annual plan is probably a waste of time

(32:40) How to short-circuit slow approval processes as a PM

(36:47) Ami's Monday ritual to protect her calendar for deep work

(42:01) The future of PM: Jack-of-all-trades utility players

(46:36) Parenting in the AI era and how to teach resilience

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/7-counterintuitive-lessons-from-whatsapp-head-of-product-ami-vora

Where to find Amy:

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

Newsletter: https://amivora.substack.com/📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

Full Tutorial: From Prototype to a Real SaaS App in 40 Minutes | Colin Matthews Nov 02, 2025

Show notes

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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AI Agents, Clearly Explained in 40 Minutes | Wade Foster (Zapier) Oct 26, 2025

Show notes

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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