The Panel

Justin Jackson & Brian Casel
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When it comes to bootstrapping and building software, there's rarely one right answer. We want to dive into the nuance. In every episode, veteran founders Justin Jackson and Brian Casel tackle thorny topics – from pricing and product strategy to work-life balance. No gurus, no easy answers – just real conversations we'd normally have behind closed doors.

  1. 15 HRS AGO

    2026: We Choose Hope

    Now that the holiday break is over, how are we feeling about 2026? We're talking about the new ideas we have to build or work on, as well as predictions for 2026 in AI, building, normal tech usage, and social media. Timestamps: (00:07) - New year, new excitement (01:40) - What has changed since the holiday break? (06:18) - Is Justin going to republish Marketing for Developers? (11:30) - Building a membership site in Ghost (18:37) - How Justin might release the updated content and podcast (24:42) - Focus on original instead of the average (37:25) - How Brian used Claude to generate visuals for a course on Claude Code (46:43) - If everyone is jumping on AI coding in 2026, how is Brian set up to meet the demand? (01:00:56) - Prediction for 2026: Standing out from the crowd is going to be key (01:05:31) - What's stressing Brian about social media in 2026 (01:09:36) - Partnerships are going to be very important in 2026 (01:11:01) - The new media will just become the media (01:15:14) - OpenAI will fade from the lead position (01:20:36) - AI adoption by normal people needs a better paradigm (01:27:13) - AI in music and tv wont' be significant (01:29:44) - The problem or the blessing of building even faster with AI in a year (01:38:29) - Bootstrapping will become the norm again in 2026 (01:42:12) - Meta is going to have a big year in 2026 YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️🎤 Send us an audio or video message📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com📺 Leave a comment on YouTube 🦋 Reply on Bluesky Links mentioned in this episode: Marketing for DevelopersGhost CMSTechnical knowledge to build an appAcquired 10th anniversaryAcquired sponsorship ratesAdam's morning walk episodeAdam's tweetBrian's Claude Code courseClaude Skills / Design World

    1h 44m
  2. 2026: Panic or Hope?

    2025-12-19

    2026: Panic or Hope?

    We're looking back at what our thoughts were about 2025, and scheming ideas and plans for 2026. How do you hand over decision making in your business in an AI world? How does remote work first affect junior developers? And do you panic when sales slow down? Adjust? Rethink everything? Timestamps: (00:06) - Does Transistor get quiet around the Xmas holidays? (02:08) - Dealing with insecurity in business (05:34) - The Panel in 2026 (07:09) - Looking back on 2025 (12:54) - What kind of person is going to do well in 2026? (20:51) - Figuring out how to hand over decision making to junior developers (28:10) - Remote work vs local work (32:35) - Every business is a people business, every problem is a people problem, every solution is a people solution (41:03) - We can make requests and we can have boundaries (45:08) - What do I want? (48:29) - Should Brian diversify his marketing funnel away from YouTube? (01:05:06) - Building a cloud service for my products (01:24:04) - Building Inbox Summaries (01:28:27) - Rewriting for Marketing for Developers for AI YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️🎤 Send us an audio or video message📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com📺 Leave a comment on YouTube 🦋 Reply on Bluesky Links mentioned in this episode: Bootstrapped Web | 2025 recap & 2026 outlookDesign OSAdam WathanChris Enns / 🍋TupleTaylor OtwellObsidian EveryONCE Lars LofgrenMarketing for Developers

    1h 41m
  3. Do you worry about getting crushed by the competition?

    2025-12-05

    Do you worry about getting crushed by the competition?

    Justin shares his thoughts on competition crushing his business, Brian contemplates open sourcing an idea for front end AI tooling, and when should you run with a new idea vs knowing when to drop it. Timestamps: (00:00) - Get into it! (00:47) - A founder has to worry about threats and opportunities (17:55) - What got us here won't get us there (28:42) - Why are trials increasing in 2025? (34:20) - An update on Builder Methods (40:11) - Deciding when to drop or maintain a project (51:07) - People want AI on rails (01:12:28) - 37Signals new product Fizzy (01:15:52) - What's the benefit to open sourcing a project? (01:32:59) - Leaving some value on the table YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️🎤 Send us an audio or video message📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com📺 Leave a comment on YouTube 🦋 Reply on Bluesky Links mentioned in this episode Adam’s morning walk podcastBrian’s personal siteBrian’s DesignOS announcement37signals FizzyNathan Barry “Leave some value on the table”Tailwind CSS InsidersRework podcast “picking a price”

    1h 41m
  4. Filtering out bad ideas

    2025-11-26

    Filtering out bad ideas

    Brian and Justin discuss the recent launch of Filterhawk, which Brian built to replace Gmail's built-in filters. They also talk about SaaS marketing strategies (which channels still work?). Justin shares some initial numbers from the Black Friday sale. Timestamps: (00:06) - Follow up on last week's Justin mystery (02:51) - Brian launching Filterhawk (13:29) - How did Brian build Filterhawk in a week? (26:32) - The refinement phase (34:59) - Transistor's Black Friday sales (44:34) - BuilderMethodsPro Black Friday deal (49:34) - Brian's entering phase 2 of Builder Methods (01:06:28) - Thinking about where we have gaps in knowledge of our customers (01:09:45) - Thinking about marketing to teams and larger companies YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️🎤 Send us an audio or video message📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com📺 Leave a comment on YouTube 🦋 Reply on Bluesky Links mentioned in this episode FilterHawk – Take Control of Your Gmail InboxInertia.jsshadcn/uiClaudeCursorGoogle GeminisuperwhisperWispr FlowImproving frontend design through Skills | ClaudeHatchbox.ioForgeRewardfulStripe SigmaPanic – NovaGoogle AntigravityFrom AI skeptic to UNFAIR advantage – YouTubeHow remote work changed my lifePodscan.fm

    1h 23m
  5. Mystery caller

    2025-11-14

    Mystery caller

    Brian and Justin are joined by a surprise guest: Nadav Keyson, founder of Riverside. We had an impromptu conversation about how Riverside launched (and found traction), the impact of funding (vs bootstrapping), how Navad thinks about competition, and whether he thinks having investors leads to more stress. Timestamps: (00:10) - Agenda for the episode (02:19) - The future of The Panel (16:18) - WE'LL DO IT LIVE! (17:22) - Nadav Keyson from Riverside joins (22:27) - How much should we think about our competition? (26:15) - When did Riverside raise money and invest in content / SEO? (28:42) - What were the keys to building a stable product in a competitive space? (31:41) - What are the challenges ahead for Riverside? (35:00) - How much is AI involved in writing Riverside's code? (39:55) - Has Nadav's stress lessened as Riverside has grown? (50:47) - Why should someone use your app? Why you? (01:06:51) - Forming an opinion about the world vs finding demand for a solution (01:14:23) - Brian's building Filterhawk (01:26:41) - What happened to Justin? YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️🎤 Send us an audio or video message📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com📺 Leave a comment on YouTube 🦋 Reply on Bluesky Links mentioned in this episode Riverside's original Product Hunt launchRob Snyder blog post: The Physics of StartupsBrian's new app: FilterHawkBrian's tweet

    1h 28m
  6. Maybe, do the opposite

    2025-10-31

    Maybe, do the opposite

    AI dev is changing rapidly, and... AI dev is rapidly changing how we build websites and apps. Brian and Justin wrestle with this new reality and discuss the different phases of a startup, how indies can cultivate brand loyalty, and when you should maybe do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. Timestamps: (00:00) - What does Justin do all day? (00:14) - Welcome to The Panel (04:05) - The phases of startups (20:04) - AI coding might be moving away from spec driven development (27:52) - The future of products is shifting regularly (31:46) - Building a website dynamically with AI (46:41) - How much brand loyalty do we have in the age of AI? (01:13:45) - Singing the counter melody YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️🎤 Send us an audio or video message📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com📺 Leave a comment on YouTube 🦋 Reply on Bluesky Links mentioned in this episode Panel Animated introHillchartsCheeky Pint interview with Anthropic founderDerek Sivers articleHumanoid robotOpenAI acquires app that watches youDuer JeansPlain English podcast

    1h 25m
  7. Going Back to Grade 12

    2025-10-24

    Going Back to Grade 12

    Justin spoke to a grade 12 class about entrepreneurship, and was surprised by what he learned about teenagers. Brian has thoughts on the impact of Agent OS v2.1 and struggles with the support burden of open-source software.  They talk about “Wealth is the freedom from having to monetize every idea." Also: Johnny Ive and Rivian founder RJ Scaringe's product design processes. Timestamps: (00:00) - Now It's Time for The Panel (01:30) - AI music creation (05:45) - Segments update (06:39) - Casel or Castle or ? (07:55) - Justin's visit to a grade 12 entrepreneur class (18:14) - What kinds of questions did the kids ask? (23:31) - Projects that generate unwanted jobs (40:25) - The relief of wealth DHH tweet (56:19) - Jonny Ive and caring about design (01:05:14) - Cheeky Pint podcast interview with Rivian founder YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️🎤 Send us an audio or video message📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com📺 Leave a comment on YouTube 🦋 Reply on Bluesky Links mentioned in this episode SunoSuno intro song for The PanelJustin’s high school talkAgent OSBuilder Methods Pro DiscordTweet: “Wealth is the freedom from having to monetize every idea”Survey: How does Basecamp get new customers?Cheeky Pint podcast interview with Rivian founder

    1h 20m
  8. Double duty with Aaron Francis

    2025-10-18

    Double duty with Aaron Francis

    Aaron Francis joins The Panel this week to talk about entrepreneurship, programming, and parenting. We chatted about how personal experiences shape our business journeys, the evolution of programming tools, and the importance of identifying market signals for success.  Timestamps: (00:16) - Aaron Francis joins The Panel (02:06) - How we're teaching our kids about programming? (09:36) - The gap between AI code and design (16:04) - How much AI are we using to write newsletters? (20:22) - The web feels like it's back (21:26) - Signals your business is working (43:47) - Navigating when to pivot (52:56) - What would you say to grade 12 class? (01:12:26) - How to decide what product to work on next (01:22:12) - Recording live streams of working sessions (01:35:35) - Worrying about ideal customers vs just trying stuff YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️🎤 Send us an audio or video message📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com📺 Leave a comment on YouTube 🦋 Reply on Bluesky Links mentioned in this episode Mostly TechnicalAaron FrancisIan LandsmanDancing Without A Partner – Signal v. NoisePaper – design, share, shipNewsletter - Aaron FrancisPhil Vischer - WikipediaThePrimeagen - YouTube

    1h 41m
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About

When it comes to bootstrapping and building software, there's rarely one right answer. We want to dive into the nuance. In every episode, veteran founders Justin Jackson and Brian Casel tackle thorny topics – from pricing and product strategy to work-life balance. No gurus, no easy answers – just real conversations we'd normally have behind closed doors.

Information

  • Creator
    Justin Jackson & Brian Casel
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 The Panel Podcast with Justin Jackson and Brian Casel
  • Show Website
    The Panel

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