Jake and Jonathan finally get the recognition they deserve by the people at InVision---with an asterisk, though! Among other stuff, Jake & Jonathan discuss toilets (again!), how hospitality skills and working in a restaurant make you a better designer, and some boooooooks! Links: Book: Design Is How It Works: How the Smartest Companies Turn Products into Icons---Jay Greene---Amazon.com Ace Hotel Book: Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business Paperback --- Danny Me...
Jul 29, 2019•39 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast This episode is a re-release of previous episode. Chances are you haven't heard it because it's from ages ago. And even if you did, it's a really fun one and you probably already forgot all the good stuff that was in it. So listen again. 😌 This Episode.... Yes, THIS EPISODE, is the BEST episode... So much in this episode, You'll learn lot's of things, soooo many things! Side note --- If you take something from this episode, please let us know cause we have no idea what to write about it.... ......
Jul 22, 2019•52 min•Ep 88•Transcript available on Metacast Jake interviews Braden Kowitz, product designer and startup founder, who co-authored Sprint alongside Jake and John Zeratsky. He's also the BEST interaction designer Jake has ever worked with! 🔥They talk about design, being a founder, and advice on working with a team of any size! Links: kowitz.co Range—Teamwork simplified Braden on Twitter Braden on Instagram Braden on Medium GV ClassPass Your Hosts: Follow Jake Knapp on Twitter: @jakek Follow Jonathan Courtney on Instagram or Twitter: @jicecr...
Jul 17, 2019•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast Do you want to hang out with Jake and Jonathan on July 15 in SF..?! Sure you do! So make sure you keep an eye on Jonathan's Instagram and AJ&Smart's Instagram to get the details on the venue & time of the meetup! 🥳 Now onto the important stuff: how often do you get invited to weddings? Do dinosaurs still walk among us? How's Jonathan coping without his co-founder? Jonathan is feeling lonely at the top. And first world problems are still valid problems, dammit! Links: The Earthquake That...
Jul 15, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep 87•Transcript available on Metacast Strap in for the longest intro ever---you're gonna love it! Jake & Jonathan eventually discuss Jony Ive's departure from Apple, but before that, they talk about being late, picking brains, career ladders, and other non-random stuff! Links: Why I'm Always Late---Wait But Why Inside the mind of a master procrastinator---Tim Urban---YouTube A few words of advice to brain pickers --- Signal v. Noise Students: Pretend I'm dead---Austin Kleon Career ladders, aka Canvas Strategy---Ryan Holiday Tim ...
Jul 08, 2019•55 min•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast Jake & Jonathan bombard Greg Maletic from Panic with questions about Panic's Playdate adorable little game console, Panic , Greg's background, and other juicy stuff! Links: Greg Maletic play.date Playdate (Twitter) Panic Firewatch Cabel Sasser Edge Teenage Engineering Dreamcast Book: Sprint by Jake Knapp Book: Make Time by Jake Knapp AJ&Smart + Jake Knapp Official Design Sprint Masterclass : ajsmart.com/masterclass 🥇😯 Your Hosts: Follow Jake Knapp on Twitter: @jakek Follow Jonathan Cou...
Jul 01, 2019•52 min•Ep 85•Transcript available on Metacast Jake interviews Liz Fosslien, co-author and illustrator of No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work . Links: Book: No Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work fosslien.com Liz on Instagram Liz on Twitter Liz on LinkedIn Book: Sprint by Jake Knapp Book: Make Time by Jake Knapp AJ&Smart + Jake Knapp Official Design Sprint Masterclass : ajsmart.com/masterclass 🥇😯 Your Hosts: Follow Jake Knapp on Twitter: @jakek Follow Jonathan Courtney on Instagram...
Jun 26, 2019•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jake & Jonathan go over Facebook's new crypto announcements, how they feel about them, and where they think it's all going! Should people care about crypto now that Facebook's in the game? Then Jake & Jonathan shift gears in a seamless way to talk about some other stuff. 😝 Links: How To Run & Sell Design Sprints Like A Pro (Featuring Jake Knapp!) ajsmart.com/freetraining Coming in 2020: Calibra—Facebook Everything you need to know about Libra, Facebook's ambitious cryptocurrency—The...
Jun 24, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep 84•Transcript available on Metacast Jonathan is alone. Again! Because Jake couldn't record with him before Jonathan's bed time. 👶 Jonathan reviews a product that he HATED. Turns out sometimes design is not as important as just getting the basics right. Jonathan shares some of his favorite resources to stay up-to-date in the tech industry. 🔥 Links: How To Run & Sell Design Sprints Like A Pro (Featuring Jake Knapp!): ajsmart.com/freetraining Chernobyl SkyTicket Audible.com Apple Design Awards TechMeme.com TechMeme Ride Home Po...
Jun 17, 2019•40 min•Ep 83•Transcript available on Metacast Jonathan does a solo deep dive on all the new announcements from Apple that came out of WWDC 2019! Links: How To Run & Sell Design Sprints Like A Pro (Featuring Jake Knapp!) watchOS 6 Preview iOS 13 Preview iPadOS Preview Mac Pro Pro Display XDR macOS Catalina Preview Vlad Savov Mark Gurman Joshua Topolsky Matthew Panzarino Book: Sprint by Jake Knapp Book: Make Time by Jake Knapp AJ&Smart + Jake Knapp Official Design Sprint Masterclass : ajsmart.com/masterclass 🥇😯 Your Hosts: Follow Ja...
Jun 10, 2019•38 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast Jake & Jonathan go on a Play Date, literally not figuratively. Jonathan likes products that are made by teenagers---if they are also engineers. What is Withered Technology and how can you use it in your next meeting? Also, Jonathan asks Jake some totally relevant product questions. Links: Play.date Cabel Sasser (Twitter) Panic Transmit Edge Magazine The Playdate Is A Boutique Gaming Handheld With A Crank---Wired Teenage Engineering OP-1 Mark Zuckerberg apparently tried to buy Panic, the crea...
Jun 03, 2019•49 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast Strap in for silly one! If you love Jake & Jonathan rambling about nothing in particular, this one is for you! Reviews make Jake cry. Jonathan doesn't like being misunderstood. Jake has no ego. Jonathan gets a bad coffee rating. Jake has a fancy toaster. 🍞 Links: Book: Ego is the Enemy Book: Power of Moments Kevin Rose Breville Ex Machina Crete Book: Sprint by Jake Knapp Book: Make Time by Jake Knapp AJ&Smart + Jake Knapp Official Design Sprint Masterclass : ajsmart.com/masterclass Your...
May 27, 2019•46 min•Ep 80•Transcript available on Metacast Tim & Amr are filling in for Jake & Jonathan this week—which means you'll actually get to listen to an episode related to the product world ( shots fired )! They talk about how you shouldn't aim for empathy in design. And how books don't work. Links: Tim on Twitter Amr on Twitter Amr on Instagram Why I Don't Believe in Empathic Design---Don Norman---Adobe Blog Book: The Design of Everyday Things Book: Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice Jobs-to-be-Done Boo...
May 20, 2019•57 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast Jake & Amr talk about some books. Jake talks about books that influenced the idea that would later be part of the Design Sprint. How non-design books can help product designers. Facebook's redesign. Email. Distractions. Stuff! Links: Book: Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days Book: Hacking Growth Book: Radical Candor Book: The Lean Startup Book: Power of Moments Book: Getting Real Book: Getting Things Done The Checklist---Atul Gawande---The New Yorker Book: ...
May 13, 2019•58 min•Ep 78•Transcript available on Metacast Jake & Jonathan talk about the messiness of gigantic projects in the design world and how they're set up to fail from the start, all in the context of the recent scandal with Accenture. Links: Hertz Sues Accenture for Breach of Contract Over 'Seriously Deficient' Web Design Work--- Adweek Accenture sued over website redesign so bad it Hertz: Car hire biz demands $32m+ for 'defective' cyber-revamp --- The Register Accenture Fjord Baba Is You Edge Trüberbrook BTF Stardew Valley Game jam Book: ...
May 06, 2019•51 min•Ep 77•Transcript available on Metacast The podcast is back to normal this week. Which means there’s a whole lot of rambling and very little structure. Jonathan gives a few updates on his company ( AJ&Smart ) and mentions he’s looking to hire a few people . Then the boys talk VR and some book recommendations. Links: Simplify for Gmail There new open positions at AJ&Smart Jonathan had a great time at the INDUSTRY: The Product Conference Jonathan thinks the Nintendo VR is really cute Facebook VR avatar— Wired Book: Neuromancer—W...
Apr 29, 2019•49 min•Ep 76•Transcript available on Metacast Jake interviews ex-Googler Xander Pollock—one of the first people to run sell Design Sprints outside Google. They cover a bunch of topics, such as: Starting a company Raising funding How Google made the decision to buy Xander’s company Building relationships, no ego, directness Salary negotiations & making career decisions based on money Going independent Links designsprintpro.com Xander on LinkedIn , Medium , Twitter Tim Ferriss Marissa Mayer Paul Graham Punchd Fivestars Inbox by Gmail— Wik...
Apr 22, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep 75•Transcript available on Metacast Jonathan's not here this week. So Jake is joined by Amr from AJ&Smart. Deja vu, anyone? Here’s a peek at the topics discussed in this episode: 01:00—Amr's journey to becoming a designer 19:20—Apple & VR 31:20—Snap's new Snap Kit 45:40—Pinterest's approach to growth 51:50—The moral & ethical implications of design Links: Amr Khalifeh on Instagram Amr Khalifeh on Twitter Amr’s master studies: Usability Engineering, M.Sc. — Hochschule Rhein-Waal Apple has reportedly hired Arthur van Hof...
Apr 14, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep 74•Transcript available on Metacast Jake’s not here this week. So Jonathan is joined by Amr from AJ&Smart to talk about a little more about Apple (since they had their media event a couple weeks back); compare Apple’s leadership with Microsoft’s; and how to approach working on a “boring” product. Here’s a peek at the topics discussed in this episode: Innovators vs executors Has Apple become boring? Who’s running product at Apple? How Steve Ballmer ran Microsoft How success can set you up to be disrupted Microsoft is interestin...
Apr 08, 2019•51 min•Ep 73•Transcript available on Metacast Jake & Jonathan finally discuss Apple on the podcast for the FIRST TIME EVER! It’s weird how they’ve never covered Apple before—given Apple’s importance in the product space. But anyway, it’s here now! Enjoy! Here’s a peek at the topics discussed in this episode: Understanding Apple's rececnt announcements How Google Stadia is related to YouTube watch time Apple Arcade and Jonathan’s predication about it Critiquing Apple’s marketing pages Apple’s relationship with gaming Explaining why Apple...
Apr 01, 2019•58 min•Ep 72•Transcript available on Metacast All-time favorite guest Mona Patel —Founder & CEO of Motivate Design—is back to chat with Jonathan in another AMAZING episode! This is a really fun episode that’s also PACKED with great advice. Some of the topics discussed in this episode: What matters to Mona in building a company? How does Mona deals with people problem at Motivate Design? The difference between a President and a CEO The importance of self awareness in a founder New Island vs Old Island metaphor & managing big change i...
Mar 25, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep 71•Transcript available on Metacast How often do you get the chance to listen to the VP of Facebook, Julie Zhuo , talk about her work..?!? (Crickets) Yeah, we thought so. That’s why we think you’ll LOVE this episode! Jake & Jonathan (well mostly Jake), ask Julie a lot of questions you would want to ask to someone who’s as successful & amazing as Julie. Here’s a sneak peek of the topics covered: Joining Facebook Managing hundreds of people Imposter syndrome Writing & how it’s related to clear thinking What does VP of de...
Mar 18, 2019•45 min•Ep 70•Transcript available on Metacast Jake & Jonathan go into deep topics in this one! 🍆 But before they do, Jonathan does a victory dance 💃 because he won a certain bet. 🤑 Then they dive into the deep stuff, talking about motivation, human nature, happiness, and how all of that affects work, whether it’s writing a book, running an agency, or doing sprints. Links: Book: Stumbling on Happiness—Daniel Gilbert Book: The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom Paperback—Jonathan Haidt Book: Man’s Search for M...
Mar 11, 2019•54 min•Ep 69•Transcript available on Metacast Jonathan and Tim sit down to discuss the top 10 most innovative companies of 2019! Who’s Tim, you ask? Good question. They go through the top 10 one by one and discuss what they think of these companies and their innovations. 💡 Links: Tim Hoefer on Instagram Tim Hoefer on Twitter The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies 2019—Fast Company #10: twitch.tv Book: Zero to One Peter Thiel #9: Oatly #8: Square #7: Apeel Sciences #6: Sweetgreen #5: Stitch Fix #4: The Walt Disney Company #3: NBA #2: Grab...
Mar 04, 2019•54 min•Ep 68•Transcript available on Metacast Another week, another Jake-less episode. In this one, Jonathan interviews Jason Feifer , Editor in Chief at Entrepreneur Magazine . Jason also has 2 great podcasts: Pessimist Archive , Problem Solvers . And he's written for a bunch of famous publications. Aaaand he's also written a novel, Mr. Nice Guy . Jonathan and Jason discuss entrepreneurship, striving for perfectionism (as in you shouldn't!), and some great advice! Links jasonfeifer.com Jason on Twitter Jason on Instagram Jason's writing on...
Feb 25, 2019•29 min•Ep 67•Transcript available on Metacast For those of you poor souls who subscribed to this podcast hoping to hear intelligent discussions about the product world, you’ve probably noticed that such discussions are a rare treat… BUT TODAT IS ONE SUCH TREAT! Jake & Jonathan discuss the acquisitions Spotify made as part of its strategy to OWN the podcasting space. Jake actually prepared for this one! You’re in for a good episode… Links: Spotify buys Gimlet and Anchor in podcast push, earmarks $500M for more deals Anchor—The best way t...
Feb 18, 2019•48 min•Ep 66•Transcript available on Metacast People. Naked people. Naked people running in the street. Naked people in the sauna. Jonathan naked in a sauna. 16 minutes of that. Then awards. 2018 awards. But not necessarily for stuff that came out in It’s a fun one. Enjoy! 😘 Links: Joe Rogan’s podcast Product Breakfast Club #64: Kevin Rose gives us EPIC Product Advice! Vabali Sauna DDR Museum BIC Atlantis Bold Retractable Ball Pen, Bold Point (1.6mm), Black, 3-Count Maruman Mnemosyne N181 A4 Imagination Notepad Roborock S5 Robot Vacuum and...
Feb 11, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep 65•Transcript available on Metacast This is a big one! This might just be the BEST EPISODE YET!! Why , you ask..? Because Jake & Jonathan are joined by none other than the legendary Kevin Rose . Jonathan doesn’t even bother talking for most of the episode because he just wants Kevin and Jake to keep talking! Here’s some of the stuff they cover: 4:30 Getting into products 9:00 dealing with failure and trying crazy things 15:00 being too early to a market 18:25 gut feeling vs market research and talking to users 23:00 ideas vs e...
Feb 04, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep 64•Transcript available on Metacast Fish burning. 🐟 Dog barking. 🐶 Jonathan is doing a Growth Sprint Workshop?! That's not all. He's also leaving money on the table. It's right there. Yes, that table. It's your if you want it. 🤑 Babies are dogs. Or maybe they're comparable to dogs. Something like that. 🤷♂️ Also, don't feel bad about stuff that makes you feel bad. 😌 Links Book: Hacking Growth Book: Sprint Sean Ellis Chris D’Elia podcast funnygifs.com (not a real boy) Why Procrastinators Procrastinate—Wait But Why Inside the m...
Jan 28, 2019•24 min•Ep 63•Transcript available on Metacast Jake & Jonathan kick-off the first episode of the new year by diving straight into prod… no, they start by rambling for a good long while. But it’s good rambling: new year goals, journaling, setting OKRs, and Jonathan’s mom meets a random Irish guy that knows Jake. 😂 But then! Then Jake and Jonathan talk about a super interesting article about advertising business models and going beyond them. It’s a good one! 🤑 Links OKR Fedor (designer at AJ&Smart) on Twitter , Instagram Outgrowing A...
Jan 21, 2019•1 hr 20 min•Ep 62•Transcript available on Metacast 
