After figuring out how to stay in shape with exercise, Jordan and Brian wrestle with what each other's north star should be in their day to day work. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:19 Peptides and Supplements 08:06 Gym vs Home Workouts 14:02 Daily Walking 17:01 Brian's Calorie Tracking 21:40 The Importance of Optimization 24:27 Jordan's Ad Spend Thoughts 29:08 SEO and Email Marketing Automation 33:58 Brian's trying to leverage AI to limit bottlenecks 53:23 Balancing Urgency and Ambition 55:52...
May 29, 2026•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 48
How is multiplayer being addressed in AI, should we scale humans or agents, and is every small business going to vibe code their own apps? With special guest Henry Poydar. Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome to The Panel 03:06 Business Updates 05:53 Coordination Challenges in Teams with AI 11:48 Trust and Accountability in Team Dynamics 17:45 The Future of Team Structures 20:30 Scaling with Agents vs. Traditional Teams 25:48 The Future of Company Organization 27:58 The Intersection of AI and Creativity 36...
May 22, 2026•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 47
Are you feeling a mixture of excitement and burnout at the pace AI coding seems to be pushing you? Is it sustainable in the long run or do you worry about what you'll be like in 6 months time? Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 03:22 Advertising Strategies and Funnels 08:12 Jordan experiments with Partnership Ads and Organic Content Ads 12:03 Transistor's Video Podcasting Platform Launch 21:32 Brian's YouTube Channel Growth 30:27 Understanding Customer Engagement and Sales Dynamics 35:56 Navigating ...
May 15, 2026•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 46
Jason Cohen (founder of WP Engine) joined as a surprise guest. We got into his writing process, why "distribution is the new moat" is either not new or not true, what actually counts as a moat (Basecamp, Linear, Lemon Squeezy), and his framework for funnels: the quality of who enters the top matters more than every other step combined. Jason's new book Hidden Multipliers is available for preorder . Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:28 Jason Cohen's Journey and Insights 04:18 Writing Process and ...
May 08, 2026•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 45
SaaS life! How do you deal with the daily sales anxiety? Brian recounts a major March spike from viral YouTube, a full site redesign and repositioning, and the fear of launches falling flat, while Justin describes simplifying Transistor’s funnel and tracking daily signups. We debate when to “double down on what’s working” versus making scary directional changes, emphasizing founder gut, credibility with teams, and remote-team alignment. On distribution, they argue product and marketing are linke...
May 02, 2026•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 44
Justin, Jordan, and Brian discuss the importance of understanding your ideal customer profile, the role of ambition in customer segmentation, and effective strategies for content marketing and product positioning in the tech and SaaS industries. Timestamps : 00:00 Introduction 03:22 Authenticity in Content Creation 06:25 Updates on Business and Personal Life 09:21 Partnerships: Successes and Challenges 12:26 Navigating Sponsorships and Brand Deals 15:31 Exploring Video Podcasting and Market Dema...
Apr 24, 2026•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 43
In this episode we discuss how small teams can leverage AI as teammates, the impact on business outcomes, and the cultural shifts driven by AI advancements. How would Steve Jobs handle marketing and selling AI at Apple? How do the kids today think about AI? And Jordan explains the Allbirds nonsense. Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:38 The Evolution of Teamwork and Tools 07:41 Balancing Accountability and Autonomy 10:40 The Role of Agents in Team Dynamics 13:42 Challenges of Implementing AI in Bus...
Apr 18, 2026•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 42
Does vision matter? And how far into the future should your vision be these days? And how do we deal with copycats in the age of AI? And who is our money pin in the Anthropic vs OpenAI vs Google horse race, especially with mythos in the news. Timestamps: 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: Quick Sight – AWS https://aws.amazon.co...
Apr 10, 2026•1 hr 33 min•Ep. 41
Why doesn't AI prompt us more often if it's so smart? Ryan Hefner joins us to chat about our daily drivers for shoes, IDE, AI provider, getting the news, and planning a vacation. Timestamps: (00:07) - Introducing Ryan Hefner (03:53) - Today's topic: how we choose our daily drivers (04:54) - Updates with Justin (08:54) - Update from Brian (14:16) - Ryan's Launch week concept (23:04) - The concept of daily drivers in life (25:35) - Daily driver shoes (29:58) - Daily driver IDE (33:31) - Remote con...
Apr 03, 2026•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 40
Justin's hosting this one and he brought along Ben Curtis from Honeybadger to talk about how AI can be a CRM and also your designer. Timestamps: (00:15) - Introducing Ben Curtis (02:57) - How is Honeybadger using AI? (06:35) - How do you determine which model to use for different problems? (09:33) - How are we using AI in marketing and sales? (24:09) - How Steve Schoger used AI to design (33:32) - How much longer will websites matter? (38:47) - How intelligent are LLMs at product market fit? (44...
Mar 27, 2026•58 min•Ep. 39
It's Jordan's turn to host and he's got some AI companies he's not sure about... Timestamps: (00:06) - Jordan's episode to host! (01:19) - Business update from Brian (05:45) - Justin's business update (14:09) - How Jordan advertises to his existing customers (21:50) - Jordan's business update (28:48) - Is Polsia fake or real? (40:47) - Adam Wathan announces ui.sh (58:12) - Is Delve AI compliance a scam? (01:14:45) - Where is OpenClaw today and what's the point? YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your t...
Mar 21, 2026•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 38
Brian, Justin, and Jordan talk about the opportunity costs in business decision-making, the impact of AI on marketing channels and strategies, and building custom internal tools with AI versus SaaS solutions. Timestamps: (00:44) - Brian takes the lead (02:17) - Opportunity costs (17:29) - What is Brian's opportunity on Twitter? (21:41) - Figuring out what Builder Methods is and who it's for (24:53) - Should Brian hire someone to help achieve his goal? (28:47) - How is AI killing Saas (39:54) - P...
Mar 14, 2026•56 min•Ep. 37
What happened to you in Mexico? Justin is back from his co-founder retreat with Jon on Holbox Island. He gets vulnerable about the drift that naturally happens in a remote co-founder relationship, the big conversations they'd been avoiding, and the realization that alignment isn't a one-time thing (it requires constant investment!). Jordan and Brian weigh in on co-founder dynamics, decision-making in a 50/50 partnership, and why strategy has to belong to a key decision maker. The conversation th...
Mar 06, 2026•1 hr 27 min•Ep. 36
Brian and Jordan talk about the need for developers to adapt to survive, Brian debates how much of a content creator he is vs product seller, Jordan relates his experience talking with investors, and the rise of zero human companies ZHC. Timestamps: (00:18) - Welcoming Justin er Jordan back to the show (02:48) - Companies that we're surprised aren't adopting AI tools (11:49) - Roles are blending together (20:18) - Is Brian a product person or creator? (33:36) - Or should he be doing consulting? ...
Feb 27, 2026•57 min•Ep. 35
We make 2 big announcements about changes to The Panel. Then we debate whether there's a founder branding advantage and how AI will affect small software teams in 2026. Timestamps: (00:46) - Our first announcement (02:20) - Why are we bringing Jordan on as a co-host? (06:51) - Why did Jordan want to join The Panel? (14:48) - What's the new format for The Panel? (18:29) - Is there a founder branding advantage? (37:03) - How is AI going to affect Saas in 2026 and beyond? (43:32) - How small teams ...
Feb 20, 2026•53 min•Ep. 34
Important: we're no longer livestreaming on Justin's personal YouTube channel. Make sure you're subscribed to The Panel's channel to get notified when we go live: Subscribe to The Panel YouTube here --> Join us FRIDAY (tomorrow, Feb 20) at 11 AM Pacific (2 pm EST) for a surprise announcement: https://www.youtube.com/live/sxASjnzAYkw We'll be announcing: - A new ███████ ██████ ████ - And a brand new ████ ███████ - New livestream/recording time: Friday, 11 am Pacific - Livestreams will now be...
Feb 19, 2026•1 min
Brian and Justin jump off Matt Shumer's "Something Big is Happening" article to ask questions like is something big happening in AI that even regular folks need to be preparing for? Is this the most important year of your work as a software developer? Should you be getting your financial house in order to prepare for what's about to hit us all? Timestamps: (00:12) - Sick snow (02:46) - Something big is happening here (AI edition) (21:02) - Not having to be held down by legacy code speeds you up ...
Feb 13, 2026•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 33
Come meet the crew of AI agents Brian has working for him, Justin's building fake apps to experiment and find out what he wants for real apps, and why don't we feel like we can relax now that we're doing ok? Timestamps: (00:45) - What we're talking about this episode (03:14) - Brian's OpenClaw setup (11:57) - The cost of token usage with OpenClaw (17:32) - What makes the memory better in OpenClaw? (22:38) - What about Cowork? (25:21) - Working with multiple agents in OpenClaw (27:07) - The probl...
Feb 06, 2026•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 32
Jordan Gal joins The Panel to get some thoughts out about how software development feels like it's shifted since the holiday break, the lowering cost of making a mistake, how his team has to get ready for the new AI first workflow, marketing in the age of AI, and what happens to funding startups when anyone can build the app? Timestamps: (00:06) - Welcome (00:20) - Introducing Jordan (01:34) - The world changed over the holiday break (12:17) - The cost of making a making a mistake used to be hig...
Jan 16, 2026•1 hr 45 min•Ep. 31
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)...
Jan 09, 2026•1 hr 44 min•Ep. 30
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 go...
Dec 19, 2025•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 29
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...
Dec 05, 2025•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 28
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) - BuilderMethod...
Nov 26, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 27
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...
Nov 14, 2025•1 hr 28 min•Ep. 26
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...
Oct 31, 2025•1 hr 25 min•Ep. 25
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 C...
Oct 24, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 24
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 fe...
Oct 18, 2025•1 hr 41 min•Ep. 23
Justin is impressed with V0's ability to build working prototypes quickly. We've also got Sora 2 thoughts. And... what should we teach our kids when AI makes everything easy? Brian launches Agent OS v2 . Could either of us survive without the internet for more than a day? Timestamps: (00:00) - This can be the show (00:20) - Prototyping Transistor's episode creation UI in v0 (05:39) - Who would be working on this kind of project at Transistor? (12:55) - Our thoughts on Sora 2 (21:00) - How will w...
Oct 10, 2025•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 22
Justin Jackson and Brian Casel discuss the evolving landscape of entrepreneurship, particularly in the context of AI's impact on product development, creativity, and the job market. They explore the importance of having a clear vision when using AI tools, the challenges faced by junior developers, and the enduring need for human connection in art and media. The discussion also touches on the future of work, the role of AI in enhancing productivity, and the implications for artists and creators i...
Oct 06, 2025•1 hr 49 min•Ep. 21
Justin vibe-coded an app 5 minutes before recording this episode. Justin and the Transistor team just got back from Banff for their annual company retreat . How do these retreats actually work? What are they good for? Brian has some pretty good signups for Builder Methods Pro memberships! (How can he keep that momentum going?) He's also juggling Agent OS customer support. Timestamps: (00:00) - Intro (00:21) - Justin's been vibe coding again (02:11) - Transistor's company retreat (14:48) - The be...
Sep 26, 2025•1 hr 40 min•Ep. 20
