The Builders

Matt Levenhagen

"The Builders" Podcast is designed for those that are 'building' stuff on the web. Whether that's building a business, an agency, building teams, building products, services.. or building websites.. if it's related to building something, it's fair game.

  1. 3D AGO

    Silyana Bojilova – Building Without a Blueprint: Turning Instinct and Curiosity into a Career

    There’s a certain kind of builder who doesn’t follow a clear path… they discover it by walking it.  In this episode, we sit down with Silyana Bojilova, a serial entrepreneur and consultant whose journey spans survival, reinvention, and ultimately finding purpose through helping others build. From growing up in Bulgaria and navigating major life disruptions early on… to moving abroad, struggling through years of uncertainty, and eventually returning home to rebuild from scratch, Silyana’s story is one of resilience in its purest form. Nothing was linear. Nothing was guaranteed. But each step… even the messy ones… stacked into something meaningful. What makes this conversation stand out is how her path evolved. Through failed experiments, side projects, burnout, and unexpected wins, she didn’t chase a perfect plan… she followed curiosity. That mindset eventually led her into consulting, startups, and mentorship, where she now helps others move faster by sharing what she’s learned along the way. At its core, this episode is about trusting yourself when the path isn’t clear… and building anyway. Key Takeaways Resilience isn’t built in success… it’s forged through uncertainty and pressure You don’t need a blueprint to build something meaningful Trying and rejecting paths is part of finding the right one Early “failures” often reveal what actually matters to you Growth accelerates when you stop doing everything alone The real breakthrough comes when you align work with what brings you joy

    51 min

  2. APR 13

    Miguel Carranza – Building RevenueCat by Solving Subscriptions for App Developers

    Subscriptions sound simple… until you try to build them.In this episode, we sit down with a builder who turned one of the most frustrating parts of app development into a platform now powering monetization for tens of thousands of apps. From early days growing up in Spain to taking a leap into Silicon Valley, this is a story about following curiosity, taking risks, and recognizing when a problem is bigger than it first appears. What started as an internal challenge… billing, analytics, experimentation… quickly revealed itself as a widespread pain point across the entire app ecosystem. Instead of working around it, Miguel and his co-founder leaned in, building a solution they wished existed. That decision became RevenueCat. We go beyond the origin story and into what it actually takes to build and scale something like this… from infrastructure and team building to culture, communication, and constantly evolving as a founder. This is a grounded look at building something real… by solving a problem developers didn’t want to touch. Key Takeaways Subscriptions are deceptively complex and become a major challenge at scale The best opportunities often come from problems you’ve experienced firsthand If developers avoid building something, it might be worth paying attention to What gets you started won’t be what helps you scale Strong communication is essential in remote, distributed teams Founders must evolve constantly and focus on solving the biggest problem at hand

    48 min

  3. APR 6

    Jill Heinze – Why AI Governance Matters Before You Ship Anything to Real Users

    AI tools are moving fast… but governance isn’t keeping up. In this episode, Matt sits down with AI strategist Jill Heinze to explore what happens when generative AI moves from experimentation into real-world deployment. From chatbots in regulated industries to internal productivity systems, the conversation focuses on the risks that emerge once AI starts interacting with real users and real data. Jill shares how her background in user research led her to focus on anticipatory design and AI governance. Instead of reacting after something breaks, her approach centers on identifying risks early. That includes understanding data flow, training inputs, model behavior, and the unintended consequences that can surface when AI systems are deployed at scale. Together, Matt and Jill explore the shift from prototype thinking to production-ready AI. The discussion highlights the importance of building responsibly, protecting sensitive data, and designing systems that account for both opportunity and risk. For builders, agencies, and teams experimenting with AI, this episode offers a grounded perspective on what it really means to ship AI safely. Key Takeaways Generative AI introduces new risks that require governance before deployment Once sensitive data enters training pipelines, it’s difficult to remove AI systems become more complex as they move from prototype to production Anticipatory design helps teams identify risks early in development Data flow and architecture decisions matter as much as model choice Responsible AI is not just enterprise thinking, it applies to builders too

    47 min

  4. MAR 30

    Michael Haynes – From Corporate Strategy to Practical B2B Go-To-Market Growth

    Michael Haynes shares his journey from large corporate strategy roles to building a practical go-to-market approach for small and mid-sized B2B firms. After years working in banking, consulting, and telecommunications, he saw firsthand how structured growth strategies helped large organizations scale. But when he transitioned to working with smaller professional service firms, he realized those same ideas rarely translated directly. The conversation explores how Michael adapted corporate B2B strategy into something practical and actionable. Instead of complex research and large segmentation projects, he focuses on clarity. Identifying the right markets, understanding buyers, aligning services, and building cross-functional growth plans. The result is a structured yet realistic approach that smaller firms can actually execute. Throughout the episode, Michael also reflects on leaving corporate, starting his own consulting practice, and the lessons learned along the way. From landing his first client to building a sustainable pipeline, the discussion centers on the fundamentals of building a growth strategy that works in the real world. Key Takeaways Corporate growth principles still apply to small B2B firms when simplified Market clarity is the foundation of effective go-to-market strategy Growth comes from acquisition, retention, and expansion, not just new clients Choosing target markets is more powerful than trying to serve everyone Small firms need practical strategy, not enterprise complexity Builders must balance delivery work with intentional business development

    43 min

  5. MAR 23

    Tetiana Kobzar – Creating Products People Love to Use with Behavioral Design & Gamification

    What makes people actually use a product… and keep coming back?In this episode, Matt sits down with Tetiana Kobzar to explore behavioral design, gamification, and what it really takes to create products people love to use. Drawing from her background in development and product design, Tetiana explains how understanding human behavior can dramatically change how products are built, moving teams beyond feature-driven thinking into experience-driven outcomes. They dive into the psychology behind engagement, how gamification works when applied thoughtfully, and why small UX decisions can have outsized impacts on adoption and retention. The conversation also explores how builders can reduce friction, create motivation loops, and design products that align with how people actually behave, not how we assume they should behave. If you’re building software, digital tools, or user experiences of any kind, this episode offers a practical look at designing with human behavior in mind… and why that mindset often separates products that get ignored from products people genuinely enjoy using. Key Takeaways Behavioral design focuses on how people actually behave, not how we expect them to Gamification works best as subtle motivation, not superficial rewards Small UX changes can dramatically improve engagement and adoption Feature-heavy products often fail without behavioral thinking Designing for momentum and habit formation improves retention Builders should start with user motivation before designing interfaces

    48 min

  6. MAR 16

    Joel Salomon – Turning a Manual Process Into Scalable Software

    Many great software tools begin with a simple starting point: a manual process that works. In this episode, Matt welcomes back Joel Salomon to talk about the journey of turning his proven stock-screening framework into a scalable software system. After years of teaching clients his five-step process for evaluating companies, Joel began exploring how technology could help automate the research and deliver insights more efficiently. What followed was a builder’s journey that many founders will recognize. From manually screening hundreds of companies each quarter to experimenting with AI tools and working with early developers, Joel shares the real-world challenges of translating personal expertise into working software. Along the way, Matt and Joel unpack the lessons that come from building technology when you’re not a developer. The conversation explores documentation, outsourcing development, managing expectations, and the patience required to turn a good idea into a functioning system. For builders thinking about turning their own processes into software, this episode offers a practical look at what that journey can actually look like. Key Takeaways Many scalable tools begin as manual systems that prove themselves first Turning expertise into software requires translating human judgment into clear logic AI tools can accelerate research but still require careful verification Outsourcing development requires strong communication and iteration Builders often discover the real complexity of software during the building process

    35 min

  7. MAR 9

    Matt Levenhagen – A Builder’s Journey: What My 90s Journals Taught Me About Becoming and the Path

    In this solo episode of The Builders, Matt Levenhagen reflects on a discovery that took him back more than three decades. While organizing old notebooks, artwork, and personal archives from the early 1990s, he uncovered a series of audio journals he recorded between 1991 and 1993. Listening back to those recordings today offers a rare glimpse into the mindset of his younger self, a 20-year-old trying to understand who he was and what direction his life might take. What emerges from those recordings isn’t a clear plan for the future. It’s something far more familiar to most builders: uncertainty, curiosity, experimentation, and the slow process of becoming. Matt shares how revisiting these journals reframed many experiences that once felt like failures or detours, revealing how those moments ultimately shaped the path he would follow. The episode also explores how modern AI tools helped him analyze these journals in a new way. By surfacing patterns and themes across decades of personal reflection, AI became more than a productivity tool. It became a way to understand the story behind the builder he has become, and to imagine how others might use similar tools to better understand their own paths. Key Takeaways • The path to becoming who you are rarely follows a straight line. • Experiences that once felt like failures often become essential parts of the story later. • Revisiting old journals or memories can reveal patterns in your thinking across decades. • AI can be used as a reflection tool to analyze your own life experiences. • Understanding your past can bring clarity to the path you are building today.

    53 min

  8. MAR 2

    Jill Heinze – How a Research-Driven Librarian Became an AI Governance Architect

    In this episode of The Builders, Matt sits down with Jill Heinze, founder of Saddle-Stitch Consulting, to explore an unexpected but deeply logical career evolution: from research librarian to AI governance architect. Jill’s journey began with a love of history and archival research. That passion led her into academic librarianship, where she discovered that modern libraries are not just about books. They are complex digital ecosystems. She managed databases, led web teams, navigated vendor systems, and taught scholars how to access and evaluate information at scale. At its core, her work was about stewardship, access, and trust. That research-driven mindset eventually carried her beyond the university. She moved into agency-side research and product work, integrating user discovery and competitive intelligence into digital strategy. As AI tools accelerated, Jill recognized something familiar: the same questions libraries wrestled with for decades were now re-emerging around data quality, provenance, and governance. Today, she applies that foundation to responsible AI frameworks, helping organizations build guardrails before they scale. This episode lays the groundwork for a deeper dive into responsible AI in Part II. Key Takeaways Research is not academic overhead. It is infrastructure for better decision-making.Modern librarianship is rooted in systems thinking and information architecture.Not all information is equally accessible or equally trustworthy.Governance is a building discipline, not a compliance afterthought.Career pivots often reveal continuity rather than reinvention.The skills needed for responsible AI have been quietly developed for decades in adjacent fields.

    47 min
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About

"The Builders" Podcast is designed for those that are 'building' stuff on the web. Whether that's building a business, an agency, building teams, building products, services.. or building websites.. if it's related to building something, it's fair game.

Information

  • Creator
    Matt Levenhagen
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    274
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Matt Levenhagen
  • Show Website
    The Builders