The PlayerZero Podcast PlayerZero

Christina Guo is the co-founder of Cue AI, an AI tool that makes it easier for businesses to get value out of their data. Cue AI adds interactive, customer-facing analytics into a company’s product with the use of data API, front-end components, and a no-code editor. Christina is a graduate and former startup accelerator-head at Cal Berkeley where she spent most of her time helping SaaS and ML startups. Following this, she was one of the first 50 hires at On Deck where she specialized in growth, ops & early-stage investing. Here’s an overview of our conversation:
AI, data, and startup challenges with Christina Guo (0:00)
Data integration and AI in marketing (3:31)
AI adoption, software patterns, and PLG strategies for new startups (7:41)
Growth strategy and data management for startups (14:00)
Leveraging data analytics for growth and customer relationships (17:53)
Entrepreneurship, co-founders, and the importance of shared passion (21:35)
AI misconceptions and its potential in creative work (27:03)
Data-driven decision-making in startups (31:17)
The importance of perseverance in product development (37:29)
Where to find Christina Guo:
* LinkedIn
* Cue AI
Where to find Max Matson:
* LinkedIn
* PlayerZero
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Shane Smith is the founder of Everetics, a customer experience / Saas tool that helps organizations turn their customers into assets. Shane Smith is a SaaS and Customer Experience veteran of over 20 years. Over his career, Shane has built and scaled Support and Service organizations ranging from 20k to 1.4b, led global operations and delivery for small and large companies, and brought multiple new customer revenue streams to market. Here’s an overview of our conversation:
Customer experience and support in the tech industry (0:00)
The trend of de-emphasizing customer success in SaaS companies (4:45)
Optimizing customer experience for financial growth (10:10)
Aligning customer success with finances (14:53)
Support readiness assessments and fractional leadership in the software industry (22:01)
Career path, leadership, and mentorship (27:36)
Customer success and support teams' responsibilities (33:14)
Sales and customer success strategies to maximize customer potential (38:30)
Where to find Shane Smith:
* Linkedin
* Everetics
Where to find Max Matson:
* LinkedIn
* PlayerZero

Shaan Bassi is a co-founder @ Kouo, an emotional analytics company that helps product teams interpret real human emotions from wearable data using AI. Kouo allows companies to create hyper-customised user journeys and experiences while also gaining insights into the emotions that drive retention. In our episode together, Shaan and I discuss how building tools around our users’ emotional needs can not only change individual experiences, but change the way that we think about online content, apps and how we market digital applications. Here’s an overview of our conversation:
Entrepreneurship, emotional recognition, and longevity (0:00)
Building digital products and understanding user emotions (2:15)
Using AI to interpret emotions from wearable data (7:43)
Co-founding, TechStars, and entrepreneurship insights (12:25)
Fundraising for startups with valuable insights (17:22)
Emotional data and its impact on user retention (21:06)
Using audio analysis to understand user experience (26:54)
Emotional data and personalized experiences (31:59)
A peek into the future - aging reversal tech and the ethical implications of life extension (38:08)
Where to find Shaan Bassil:
* Linkedin
* Kouo
Where to find Max Matson:
* LinkedIn
* PlayerZero

Stefano Puntoni is the co-director of AI, a professor of marketing, and a world-renowned behavioral scientist at The Wharton School. His research examines the psychology of Artificial Intelligence to understand consumer reactions and adoption patterns. Stefano teaches about technology, brands, consumers, and decision-making. He is passionate about research teaching, and connecting with others to share ideas and learn. Here’s an overview of our conversation:
AI adoption and consumer reactions (0:00)
AI's impact on behavioral science and future opportunities (2:45)
Adoption, innovation, and potential threats to personal identity (4:35)
AI's impact on personal identity (10:14)
AI's impact on jobs and identity (15:57)
Marketing AI products (23:29)
AI's impact on jobs and industries (26:45)
Limitations and potential dangers (31:39)
Impact on content creation and user adoption (37:12)
Where to find Stefano Puntoni:
* Linkedin
* Wharton Marketing
Where to find Max Matson:
* LinkedIn
* PlayerZero

Once a year, ProductCamp Atlanta hosts a collaborative, participant-organized professional unconference, focused on Product Management, Marketing, and UX topics. For this week’s podcast, I went around and bothered several attendees to try and discover how AI has impacted the role of a product manager in the corporate & startup worlds. At ProductCamp, everyone participates in some manner: presenting, leading a discussion, showcasing a best practice, or sharing their experiences… and everyone has an opinion on AI - here’s a few of them:
* AI, product management, and marketing (0:00)
* AI in product development and the potential for AGI (5:38)
* AI's impact on product management and society (10:07)
* AI, immortality, and superpowers (15:19)
* AI's impact on product management roles (19:42)
Where to find Mark Michelson
* Linkedin
Where to find Anna McFarland
* LinkedIn
Where to find Brian Powers
* LinkedIn
Where to find Ira Ponomarova
* Linkedin
Where to find Hali Jewell (President @ ProductCamp)
* Linkedin
Where to find Kanesha (Shay) Patterson
* LinkedIn
Where to find Hyun Soo Lim
* LinkedIn
Where to find Animesh Koratana
* Linkedin
Where to find Matt Kasner
* Linkedin
Where to find Jonathan Pierre-Louis
* LinkedIn
Where to find Jennifer Cozier
* Linkedin
Where to find Ankush Singla
* Linkedin
Where to find Max Matson
* LinkedIn
* PlayerZero

David Garcia and Nathan Schlaffer are the founders of MarketMate AI - MarketMate AI is a new B2B marketing platform powered by AI that helps product marketers and GTM teams with target market identification, messaging creation, content automation, and sales enablement. MarketMate aims to make generative AI more user-friendly for real marketing workflows by generating tailored content for your buyer personas that aligns with your messaging, doesn't require sophisticated prompts, and doesn't limit you by word count. Here’s an overview of our conversation:
* The power of seeing what's not there (0:00)
* Nathan and Dave’s craziest work stories (7:42)
* Where do product & demand-gen meet? (16:36)
* How will generative AI impact the future of marketing? (24:54)
* The impact of the pandemic on tech jobs (28:05)
* Using laughter to get through tough times (38:03)
* Looking at goals as a team rather than as isolated nations (40:58)
* Dealing with burnout (45:34)
* How did you get started in tech? (51:00)
Where to find David Garcia
* LinkedIn
* MarketMate
Where to find Nathan Schlaffer
* LinkedIn
* MarketMate
Where to find Max Matson
* LinkedIn
* PlayerZero