The Founder's Foyer with Aishwarya Ashok The Founder's Foyer

00:00 Introduction to Founders Foyer

01:40 The Magic of Learnable Skills

05:45 Building Alt MBA: The Experiment

08:57 The Rise of Live Learning with Maven

17:14 Intuition vs. Rigorous Thinking

30:39 The Importance of Deep Reflection

31:32 Balancing Immediate Action with Thoughtful Planning

32:54 Understanding and Developing Taste

38:22 Communicating Taste and Quality

45:30 Managing Ego in Collaborative Work

48:12 The Power of Super Specific Hows

54:08 Practical Applications of Super Specific Hows



Building hype for your ideas, leading the vision, and setting clarity on how to execute on plans are definitely things that we as product builders and creative minds want to get better at. Thinking becomes a great part of this and learning to observe intensely and being able to articulate thoughts are the result of great thinking. So how to communicate and work in a way that’s positive-sum and leveraging?



Wes Kao is an entrepreneur, marketer, coach, and advisor who writes at newsletter.weskao.com. She is co-founder of Maven, an edtech company that raised $25M from First Round and Andreessen Horowitz. Previously, she co-founded altMBA with bestselling author Seth Godin. Wes’ essays are deep reads that help you vividly experience the ‘how’ rather than merely stating points.



In this episode, Wes and Aishwarya chat about co-founding Alt MBA with Seth Godin to Wes' current role at Maven, differences between lazy and rigorous thinking, and actionable insights on turning 'Je ne sais quoi' into an executable framework. Tune in!

00:00 Meet Sharath Kuruganty: The Creative Builder

01:26 Sharath’s Journey into the Creative Space

02:32 Building Muscle: The Key to Founding Success

03:38 Importance of Community in the Creative Process

08:50 ‘Commitment and the No Excuses’ Mindset

14:36 Balancing Creativity and Mistakes

26:00 Power of Sharing and Building in Public

28:59 Understanding Public Accountability

30:14 Qualifying Questions for Self-Reflection

31:46 Managing Self-Doubt as a Founder

34:44 Journaling and Gratitude

38:34 Exploring the Podcasting Landscape

51:03 Giving Back as a Founder



How is it to have ideas constantly bustling inside your mind? The creative spirit is the one that’s so effervescent—one day you want to kickstart a new project and just by the evening, you want to build another idea out. Navigating this path of building things for fun, also aligned with monetization and community goals is definitely a huge challenge. How to get going with this?



Sharath Kuruganty is a seasoned creative builder who loves exploring ideas, shipping things quickly, and iterating and learning from feedback. Sharath’s experiences go so wide—from helping creators launch stuff at Product Hunt, to growing communities with OnDeck, interviewing underdogs on his podcast, and building out products like shoutout.so, GuestLab.ai, he’s a complete creator-product package.



In this episode, Sharath shares personal anecdotes and practical tips for aspiring founders and creators on staying committed, managing self-doubt, and leveraging the growing podcast space.

00:00 Introducing Dan Shipper & Every

02:45 The Philosophy of Building: Reflecting on Identity and Creation

07:37 Dan's Journey: From Tech Founder to Embracing Writing and AI

15:05 Leveraging AI for Creativity and Efficiency in Media

21:35 Reimagining Reading: How AI Enhances the Experience

25:32 Exploring AI's Personalization and Future Potential

28:18 The Evolution of AI: From Sidekick to Personal Assistant

32:45 AI's Role in Content Creation

35:43 Navigating Self-Doubt and Creative Consistency

42:41 The Influence of 70’s Aesthetics on Creativity

46:34 Physical Inspirations in a Digital Age

49:39 Reflecting on AI, Emotion, and Artistic Expression





To think and to create are by far the most satisfying part of work for all of us. As new technologies come in, the crux we keep getting closer to is thinking clearly and creating more frequently. AI has made this process not just upleveled in speed but also introduced a side-kick approach. How to incorporate AI and still build our unique taste? What’s it like to ride with AI and find more individuality with the creative projects and businesses that we build?



Dan Shipper is the co-founder of Every, a creative media company that works to make you smarter about technology, productivity, and AI, trusted by almost 70k builders. Dan is a writer, thinker, podcaster, builder behind an AI chatbot, and his current work is filled with playing around with AI and shipping related projects.



In this chat, Dan and Aishwarya discuss the transformative impact of AI on creativity, the process of building unique projects, and intertwining personal growth with professional work. Dan elaborates on a recent AI project (internal to Every), Spiral, designed to convert content into different formats effectively, providing insights into his reading habits with AI's assistance.

00:00 Intro to Kristen Berman 

01:21 The Genesis of Irrational Labs & Power of Behavioral Economics

02:45 Unlocking User Insights: The Shift in Customer Interviews 

05:00 The Art of Designing Effective Incentives & Understanding User Behavior

11:26 Empty Text Boxes to User Empowerment: ChatGPT as an example

13:07 Overcoming Barriers: Making Products More Accessible 

19:42 B2B—Understanding Consumer vs. Business Decision-Making

24:27 Product-Led Growth: Strategies and Challenges

25:09 Simplifying B2B User Experiences: A Key to Adoption

26:20 Customer Feedback vs. Actual Behavior: Navigating the Bias

27:17 Case Studies & Learning from Failures

37:41 The Power of Environment in Shaping User Behavior

42:36 Embracing AI: Behavioral Economics in the New Decade

49:23 Concluding Thoughts on Behavioral Science in Product Design



Getting feedback and listening to what customers have got to tell us has been the favorite part for all of us product folks. Whether it’s a new app, feature, or even a little shiny interaction, we love getting validation from our audience. We’re in the constant exploration of how best to solve our users’ problems and jumping in as the demi-gods they’d see. But wait, how do we know what exactly goes on in our users’ minds? Like literally brain-reading them.

Kristen Berman is the CEO and co-founder of Irrational Labs, a behavioral product design firm. She helps companies like Google, Airbnb, PayPal, Microsoft, and LinkedIn improve their products and services through behavioral design research. Yes yes, the one where she helps builders and founders design, test and scale products by learning behavioral economics. Kristen’s work has been featured in The Stanford Innovation Review, TechCrunch, and Scientific American.



Kristen shares her experiences working with tech companies and highlights how behavioral design research aids in creating products that truly resonate with users. She touched upon the evolution of AI tools like ChatGPT and its impact on user experience, psychology of nudging, overcoming biases, and the role of behavioral economics in a new AI-driven era.

00:00 Intro to Peter Yang and Creator Economy

01:21 The Intersection of Product and Creative Tracks

05:14 Finding Your Zone of Genius

12:34 How to Use Humor in Communication

18:30 Defining Success in the Creator Economy

22:04 Crafting Creative Journeys

22:34 Learning from Fellow Creators

23:56 Avoiding Analysis Paralysis

24:22 Packaging Value in Your Work

25:16 Discovering Your Unique Path

26:36 The Importance of Energy in Your Work

27:04 Maximizing Content Creation Efforts

29:49 The Pressure to Become the Next Best Someone

32:50 Building Your Personal Brand

38:42 Exploring AI Experiments with Custom GPTs

42:42 Wrapup



If you are a deep thinker, you naturally enjoy the intersection of creating something and seeing it come alive just as you build. The journey of a product builder and creator cross paths—because it’s all about finding an audience and shipping projects that resonate with both you and them. So how do you set foot to build a business around something that you’re proud of creating? How to look at creation as a craft and channelize it with the way the tech world evolves?

Peter Yang has spent more than a decade leading product teams at Meta, Amazon, Reddit, and Roblox. He runs a newsletter community called Creator Economy with over 70k+ folks supporting his work. Peter enjoys sharing tips and humor about how to level up your product and creator skills.

Peter shares insights from his journey, exploring how creators can leverage their unique skills and interests to carve out niches in the creator economy. From blending humor in content to the transformative impact of AI on personal productivity and the significance of building with a customer-focused mindset—there’s valuable takeaways for anyone looking to make their mark in the creative and product spaces.
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/petergyang
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petergyang
Newsletter: https://creatoreconomy.so/

00:00 Introduction to Lane

01:14 Lane's Nonlinear Career Path

04:09 How Endurance Helps With Success

12:51 Importance of Mindset in Product Building

23:19 Power of Shipping and Learning by Making

26:49 The Origin of the 'Rituals' Concept

29:03 Offer Parties: Gusto’s Ritual with Job Offers

29:51 Transforming Status Quo Rituals

30:58 Impact of Feedback in Product Development

33:01 Influence of French Literary Salons

37:46 Authenticity and Serendipity in Community Building

43:44 Creative People and Connections

46:14 The Ritual Pack: Enhancing Team Meetings and Decision Making

58:01 Intentionality in Building Culture



Everyone’s got an interesting journey into crafting their product careers—the best part is to embrace all of our facets and dimensions and see how to bring them into one picture. And over time, that translates to exploring habits that help us stay in those dimensions and keep learning, not just from our own work but from networks around us. How to channelize these non-linear paths, find rituals, and focus on growth while building products?Lane Shackleton is the CPO of Coda. Lane previously led product teams at YouTube and Google, and brings in a set of unique work experiences from before. Lane works with so many creators across the globe and digs deep into empathy, goal setting, and stories.In this episode of The Founder's Foyer, Aishwarya and Lane delve into the concept of product rituals and the importance of habits in fostering product growth. Lane shares insights from his nonlinear career path, his approach towards leadership, the significance of enduring pain, and the role of mindfulness in product development. He highlights the significance of mental models, the role of serendipity, and the importance of maintaining authenticity in community engagement