Building One with Tomer Cohen

Every builder’s journey is non-linear. What looks like a straight path in hindsight is often shaped by setbacks, pivots, and unexpected opportunities along the way. In this episode of Building One, host Tomer Cohen sits down with Guy Raz — creator and host of How I Built This — to explore what he’s learned from interviewing hundreds of founders, and from building his own media company. Before becoming one of the most recognizable voices in podcasting, Guy was a journalist and foreign correspondent — covering wars, filing stories on deadline, and learning how to operate with urgency and resourcefulness. That experience shaped his approach to building: prioritize progress over perfection, and improve through repetition. In this conversation, Tomer and Guy discuss: The patterns Guy has seen after interviewing thousands of founders Why relationships — not intelligence — are often the deciding factor in success The craft behind great storytelling — and what it takes to earn a listener’s time How a career setback became the turning point that led him into podcasting Why the “safe” path can sometimes be the riskiest decision Guy also shares how he thinks about value creation — and why the best builders aim to create an experience where the user feels they received more than they gave. This episode is about craft, resilience, and the human side of building. Because in the end, the goal isn’t just to build products. It’s to build belief.

There’s a moment every builder remembers. You type a few lines of code.The computer responds.And suddenly you realize: I can build things. For decades, that moment was reserved for a small group of people who knew how to code. Turning an idea into working software required technical expertise, time, and often a full engineering team. AI is changing that equation. In this episode of Building One, host Tomer Cohen speaks with Anton Osika, co-founder and CEO of Lovable — a company building tools designed to dramatically reduce the friction between having an idea and turning it into working software. Lovable allows people to describe what they want to build and generate functional applications far faster than before. But Anton’s ambition goes beyond helping developers move faster. His vision is to expand who gets to build in the first place. From founders launching companies without technical co-founders to teams inside enterprises building their own internal tools, Anton believes AI is transforming software from a specialized craft into a much more accessible economic tool. Tomer and Anton discuss: Why the next wave of software creation is about enabling the 99% who don’t code The philosophy behind Lovable — and why simplicity is often the hardest product decision to defend The real tradeoffs behind AI-driven development, especially the gap between prototype and production Why Anton believes the most underrated moat in AI is trust and brand love How AI tools could unlock an entirely new generation of founders and builders This conversation explores what happens when the barriers to building start to fall — and what it means for the future of entrepreneurship and product creation. Because when building becomes easier, something bigger happens: More builders.

What if the biggest problem in healthcare isn’t diagnosis — it’s capacity? On this episode of Building One, Tomer Cohen sits down with Dr. Thomas Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Heidi, to unpack what it actually takes to build AI for one of the most complex, regulated, and human industries in the world. Before starting Heidi, Tom was a vascular surgeon. He saw firsthand how some of the most highly trained people on the planet were spending their days on low-value administrative work. Heidi began by listening to real patient visits and drafting clinical notes. Today, it’s expanding into the vast — and invisible — work around care: follow-ups, calls, scheduling, and coordination. In this conversation, we explore: What “doubling capacity” in healthcare really means Why personalization must be nearly perfect — measured almost like a clinical SLA What it takes to build AI that doctors actually trust How GPT-4 didn’t kill Heidi’s moat — it forced a radical pivot And how Heidi rewrote the healthcare go-to-market playbook by winning clinicians one by one Everyone talks about AI’s potential. This episode is about delivering it — in the real world, where trust is fragile, stakes are high, and a 5% edit can break the magic.

Some products don’t just succeed — they shape culture. The Fender Telecaster and Stratocaster didn’t merely define new sounds; they became creative tools that generations of musicians built their identities around. Stewarding products with that kind of legacy requires a rare balance of respect for the past and clarity about the future. Few leaders understand that balance better than Justin Norvell, President of Americas at Fender. As the company continues to evolve, Justin helps guide one of the most influential names in music through changing expectations — where musicians want not just great instruments, but better ways to learn, create, and stay connected to their craft. In this episode of Building One, host Tomer Cohen sits down with Justin Norvell to explore how iconic products endure, how product thinking applies far beyond software, and why deeply understanding your users is the throughline of great product leadership. Tomer and Justin discuss: What makes products like the Telecaster and Stratocaster timeless — and what must never change How Fender thinks about expanding the musician experience without diluting its core Applying modern product principles inside a craft-driven, legacy brand Lessons from leading teams where heritage and innovation must coexist Why trust, community, and authenticity are essential to building products that last This conversation is for builders working inside established companies, leaders navigating transformation, and anyone interested in how enduring products are built — whether they live in code, hardware, or culture. Follow & learn more: Follow Tomer Cohen on LinkedIn and check out his newsletter, Building LinkedIn Follow Justin Norvell on LinkedIn

Breakout products rarely hinge on a single moment of luck. They’re shaped by countless decisions — what to prioritize, what to cut, and how deeply you understand the people you’re building for. Few builders have navigated those decisions at the scale of Mike Krieger, co-founder of Instagram and now Chief Product Officer at Anthropic. Instagram reshaped how billions communicate visually. Today, Mike is helping redefine how we interact with technology again — this time through one of the world’s leading AI assistants. At first glance, building a global social network and building Claude might seem worlds apart. In practice, the parallels run deep. In this episode of Building One, host Tomer Cohen talks with Mike about scaling, knowing when to pivot, and why the rise of AI is transforming the craft of product-building. Tomer and Mike discuss: The inflection point that turned Instagram into a global phenomenon — and the crisis that sparked it Why Mike decided to shut down Artifact, and the lesson he believes every founder should know about when to stop vs. persevere The surprising similarities between building Instagram and building Claude How working at Anthropic changed his thinking about product design and user interfaces And so much more This conversation is for anyone building products, leading teams, or shaping AI-powered experiences — and for every builder who believes that great products come from clarity, intuition, and the willingness to evolve. Follow ⁠Tomer Cohen⁠ on LinkedIn and check out his newsletter, ⁠Building LinkedIn⁠. Follow Mike Krieger on Linkedin.