The PlayerZero Podcast

From VC to data product builder | Christina Guo (Co- Founder @ Cue AI)

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 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/cguo16/] * Cue AI [https://trycue.ai] Where to find Max Matson: * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellmatson/] * PlayerZero [https://www.playerzero.ai/] This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

Think human & escape the churn trap | Shane Smith (Founder @ Everetics)

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 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanescottsmith/] * Everetics [https://everetics.com] Where to find Max Matson: * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellmatson/] * PlayerZero [https://www.playerzero.ai/]

Emotion: the next frontier for data | Shaan Bassi (Co-founder @ Kouo)

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 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaan-bassi/] * Kouo [https://www.kouo.io] Where to find Max Matson: * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellmatson/] * PlayerZero [https://www.playerzero.ai/]

The Human-AI Frontier: Navigating Possibilities, Pitfalls, and Progress | Stefano Puntoni (Co-Director of AI & Professor of Marketing @ The Wharton School )

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 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefano-puntoni-7117908/] * Wharton Marketing [https://marketing.wharton.upenn.edu/profile/puntoni/] Where to find Max Matson: * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellmatson/] * PlayerZero [https://www.playerzero.ai/]

My trip to ProductCamp | Maxwell Matson and Co.

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 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelson/] Where to find Anna McFarland * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/annamc/] Where to find Brian Powers * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianpowersatlanta/] Where to find Ira Ponomarova * Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ira-ponomarova/] Where to find Hali Jewell (President @ ProductCamp) * Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hali-jewell-productleader/] Where to find Kanesha (Shay) Patterson * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaneshapatterson/] Where to find Hyun Soo Lim * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/hyun-soo-lim-78384773/] Where to find Animesh Koratana * Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/animesh-koratana/] Where to find Matt Kasner * Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-kasner-b080a884/] Where to find Jonathan Pierre-Louis * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanpierrelouis/] Where to find Jennifer Cozier * Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifercozier/] Where to find Ankush Singla * Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/singlaankush/] Where to find Max Matson * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxwellmatson/] * PlayerZero [https://www.playerzero.ai/]