The Panel

Corey shares how he moved from marketing into coding, why he still keeps technical co-founders on some products, and how he thinks about balancing services, software, and content. The group also digs into AEO, paid ads, churn in productized services, and why manual customer research still matters. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:20 - Corey Haines and Conversion Factory 04:33 - Does everyone still nee...

Is DHH right in his prediction that handcrafted coding is done, is trying to "be the best" the best strategy, and can you skip the hard work and just do the easy parts of product launching and still find success? Chapters: (00:11) - Welcome to the Panel Podcast (03:04) - DHH's Flamethrower Keynote (09:07) - The End of Handcrafting Code (12:35) - Who Wants It the Most (16:08) - Marketing with AI an...

We’re joined by Aaron Francis who shares his experience after joining Laravel, Laravel's evolution, marketing strategies, and the future of cloud computing. How is Jev changing the cost and way we use LLMs. And what is the future of education and training on the web? Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 03:03 - Aaron's Laracon reveal and why he took the job 09:03 - Open source roots, cloud money, and VC-scal...

Justin Jackson, Brian Casel, and Jordan Gal to dissect Jason Cohen's latest skills, particularly the 'Find Your Carol' AI exercise that reveals how customers truly perceive a business. The trio debates aggressive growth experiments versus refining existing funnels, analyzing why street interviews might outperform traditional UGC ads for prospecting. They also tackle the strategic decision of wheth...

Jordan says you need to have patience and urgency. Justin says, "focus on the little red box that creates results." Brian is thinking strategically about courses vs. downloadable products. Chapters: (00:10) - Welcome to The Panel (01:18) - Summer Ending and Fall Rush (04:28) - Motivation and Dissatisfaction (09:40) - Revenue Goal of One Million (12:54) - Patient Urgency Concept (21:11) - Focus on...

What "new" value can we create with AI? Brian, Justin, and Jordan talk about how we can be more creative and ambitious and build things we wouldn't have built before. We also chatted about Grok Bot and xAI's land grab (Cursor acquisition and the SuperGrok Heavy plan). Also... Brian broke up with Claude?! Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 03:34 - The sudden rise and appeal of Grokbot 11:49 - Claude fatigue...

Is there a potential SaaS pocalypse? How can we adapt to changes and leverage new models for growth? Jordan, Justin, and Brian explore the current state of the software market, private equity dynamics, and the impact of AI on valuations. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:01 Finding distribution is difficult on FB Marketplace and online 12:05 The future of building software with AI and agent-first...

How's your funnel doing? Jordan and Brian are joined by Henry Poydar to chat about integrating human and autonomous agents, building and testing product prototypes in days, not years, the importance of flexible, adaptive funnels, and debate the future of SaaS, unbundling, and the agent-first software paradigm.  Timestamps: YOU ARE THE PANEL – send us your thoughts 🗣️ 🎤 Send us an audio or video m...

What happens to the value of software when everyone can make software? Timestamps: 00:00 Welcome to The Panel 00:31 Brian’s Brighton Ruby trip 03:12 Building FlyWrite in the car 05:01 Why existing coding tools don’t work for writing 07:20 What FlyWrite actually does 11:37 Building version one with Fable 16:04 Jordan’s weekend build and first AI-native workflow 28:38 Claude Design and interactive p...

Justin and Jordan talk about how Jordan made a change to their funnel and increased sign ups dramatically, improving team communication, conducting better employee reviews, and developing better workflows for project handoffs between employees when AI is being used. Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 02:45 Taking control of your funnel 05:24 Why trust matters in e-commerce 08:18 Optimizing the customer exper...

If you're trying to fix your funnel, where do you start? And how much of an impact do we think Fable is going to have on AI pricing?  Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 03:27 Impact of AI and Market Dynamics 06:24 Taking Control of Your Funnel 17:12 The impact of Fable on AI Costs 26:04 SpaceX IPO and Betting on Space 42:56 Opportunities for SaaS Businesses in 2026 with Domain Expertise 01:07:36 Allowances f...

Justin's got a major life question for the podcast, Jordan's trying to not be angry, and Brian thinks he's cracked the video editing code. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:06 Justin's Big Question 10:04 Personal Reflections on City Life 13:05 Family Dynamics and Future Living Plans 24:37 The Energy of New Beginnings 30:22 The Wisdom of Solitude vs. Ambition 38:58 Accelerating Growth and Optimizat...

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 Automatio...

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. Tradi...

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...

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...

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, credibilit...

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 Chall...

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 Accountabili...

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 Y...

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...

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) -...

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...

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...

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...