Behind the Craft

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-welinderWhere to find Yana: X: https://x.com/yanatweetsWebsite: https://amplitude.com/ai-feedback?utm_campaign=fy25q4-ai-feedback-launch&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=organic-social&utm_content=creator-economy📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

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 homeThanks 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-economyLinear: The best platform for AI agents https://linear.app/partners/behind-the-craftGet the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/an-inside-look-at-what-alexa-can-do-with-aiWhere to find Daniel:X: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielrausch/Website: http://alexa.amazon.com/📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

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 slopGet the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/a-proven-5-step-system-to-prototype-apps-with-ai-xinran-maWhere to find Xinran:Newsletter: https://designwithai.substack.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmaxinran/📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

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-yangLinear: The best platform for agents https://linear.app/partners/behind-the-craftGet 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📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!

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 CursorThanks to our sponsors:Reforge: AI prototyping tool for product builders - https://reforge.com/peterLinear: The best platform for AI agents - https://linear.app/partners/behind-the-craftGet 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/📌 Subscribe to this channel – more interviews coming soon!