Experts in the Loop

What happens when a product designer with 200K+ YouTube subscribers builds an AI tool to replace the most frustrating part of their own job?Jason Zhou did exactly that. In this episode he joins Chris and Mark to talk through his path from SafetyCulture designer, through a crypto startup that launched 24 hours before the Luna crash, to founding Super Design — an AI product design tool built for teams who don't have a designer on staff.Super Design started as a weekend Cursor extension. It's now a cloud platform with a native Claude Code and Cursor skill that reads your codebase, understands your design system, and generates production-ready UI inside your existing dev workflow. Jason's argument: roughly 50% of what lands in a designer's backlog — banners, event assets, low-level UI tasks — should never have been there. AI handles the routine output. Designers move up to directing, reviewing, and co-piloting on work that actually needs taste and judgment.There's a sharp parallel drawn with engineering. The best engineers aren't writing less code with agents — they're operating at 100x leverage. Jason thinks the same shift is already happening in design.On the YouTube side, he breaks down what drove AI Jason from zero to 200K: meme-style thumbnails, a concept-plus-demo content format, and why the "10X your workflow" clickbait era is over. He also shares his honest take on what audiences actually want from AI content now.Closes with rapid fire on AI video editing tools, the timestamp problem that's still unsolved, and his one piece of advice for solo founders.🔗 Follow Jason Zhou: ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIJasonZ 🛠️ Super Design: superdesign.dev🌐 More episodes: eitl.showChapters0:00 Introduction 4:11 Meet Jason Zhou 4:32 From SafetyCulture to a Binance-Incubated Startup 6:38 Building the AI Jason YouTube Channel 8:01 Why He Started Creating Content to Learn 13:34 From Engineering Degree to Product Designer 16:56 Design Philosophy: Test, Learn, Iterate 21:49 Introducing Super Design 22:27 Why 50% of Designer Backlogs Are a Waste 24:59 The Cursor Experiment: Forcing Designers to Code 27:11 How Super Design Started as a Weekend Project 32:59 Building a Search Engine With Taste 37:29 The Claude Code + Cursor Skill: AI Design in Your Dev Workflow 39:37 The Designer Role Is Evolving, Not Disappearing 47:00 What AI Audiences Actually Want Now 48:55 Advice for Aspiring Content Creators 50:36 Rapid Fire: Tools, AI Video Editing and What's Next 56:27 Founder Advice: It Might Be Easier Than You ThinkSubscribe for new episodes every week. Experts in the Loop brings you real conversations with the founders, designers, engineers, and operators building with AI right now.🎙️ Recorded at Facts Global, SydneyExperts in the Loop | AI podcast | Super Design | AI product design | vibe coding | Claude Code | Cursor AI | AI tools for designers | design for startups | Jason Zhou | AI Jason YouTube | YouTube growth strategy | AI product teams | future of design | 2025Support the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

Episode 50: Building With AI — Real Tools, Live Demos, and the Future of the Builder StackThis is episode 50, and we're doing something a bit different. Less interview, more build session — live demos, real tools, and some honest takes on where AI is actually at right now.Chris and Mark dig into what it looks like to genuinely build with AI in 2025: from controlling Claude Code remotely via your phone, to migrating from ChatGPT to Claude live on camera, to showing tools they've actually shipped — a custom stock analytics dashboard, a desktop activity tracker, and a community knowledge platform built using Manus.They also get into the debate you're probably seeing everywhere: is vibe coding a threat to real development knowledge? Or is this just the calculator moment all over again? Plus — is the SaaS apocalypse real, and what does it mean for the tools you're paying for today?In this episode:Claude Code remote control — build from your phone while you're between meetingsThe vibe coder's workflow hack that turns voice notes into working prototypesLive migration: ChatGPT to Claude — what actually transfers (and what doesn't)Claude vs ChatGPT: why sycophancy matters more than people thinkThe AI knowledge retention debate — and why it's more nuanced than the headlinesReal tools built with Claude Code and Manus: market tracker, activity tracker, pitch decksWorld Monitor — what someone built with open source tools to track global conflictTools mentioned: Claude Code, Claude (Anthropic), ChatGPT, OpenAI, Bolt, Manus, Stackblitz, Gemini, NotebookLM, Yahoo Finance, Canva, Relevance AI, Build Club🔔 Subscribe for weekly episodes on AI, product thinking, and what it actually takes to build in the age of AI.💬 Tell us in the comments — are you still on ChatGPT, or have you made the switch?Experts in the Loop — recorded at Facts Global, Sydney.Keywords: Claude Code, building with AI, vibe coding, ChatGPT to Claude migration, AI tools 2025, Claude vs ChatGPT, Manus AI, AI developer tools, AI productivity 2025, no-code AI, AI SaaS, build with Claude, Anthropic Claude, AI workflow, AI podcast Australia#ClaudeCode #BuildingWithAI #VibeCoding #AITools2025 #ChatGPT #Claude #Anthropic #AIProductivity #ExpertsInTheLoopSupport the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

AI is changing product management fast — and “adding AI to the roadmap” isn’t a strategy.In this episode of Experts in the Loop, we sit down with Alex Zenoviev (Head of Product at Neo Intelligence and co-founder of Genelab, one of Australia’s strongest AI product communities) to unpack what it actually takes to be an AI product leader in 2026.You’ll hear Alex’s journey from engineering into product, why teams beat lone geniuses in modern product building, and the real skills product leaders need to ship useful AI features without the hype.Chapter markers:00:00 Intro + meet Alex Zenoviev (Neo Intelligence, Genelab)01:12 Community mindset + why commitments matter01:34 Stop tool-hopping: go deep on one tool03:52 Alex’s background: web dev → product (starting 2011)05:08 Working with technical teams (and why product clicked)11:57 How Genelab started (and balancing career + family)24:39 What makes great product teams: diversity of thought33:46 How AI is changing the product role (AI PM vs PM)35:20 The new AI product skill stack: LMs, evals, prompt engineering36:58 Real example: using AI automation with a sales team41:15 Data assets as the real moat (data loop thinking)46:30 Tooling check-ins + automation/prototyping stack (Manus, Relay, DevRev)48:00 Wrap up + thanks for joining usWhat you’ll learn• The new “AI product skill stack” (LLMs, evaluation, prompt craft, automation)• Why most AI features shipped in a rush don’t land with users• How to think about data as a growth loop (better product → better data → better product)• How to choose an AI toolset without constantly jumping platforms• What building an AI community teaches you about product, career growth, and leverageTopics we cover• AI product management and leadership in 2026• AI strategy vs AI theatre (and why “put AI on the roadmap” is not enough)• LLM fundamentals for product people (what matters, what doesn’t)• Evaluation and quality control for AI features• Data, context, and reducing hallucinations• Community building (Sydney meetups, workshops, and why in-person still wins)Who this episode is for• Product Managers and Product Leaders working on AI features• UX and Design folks partnering with AI product teams• Founders building AI-enabled products• Anyone trying to move from “AI curiosity” to real-world product impactIf you’re building AI products (or want to), this one will help you think clearer, ship smarter, and avoid the common traps.Subscribe for weekly conversations on AI, product strategy, UX, and what’s actually working in the market.Support the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

AI is moving fast. Your data foundations probably aren’t.We sit with with **Ed Morris from Transform Logic** to break down the practical steps teams need to take *before* they roll out AI tools across the business. You’ll hear why **legacy systems and “unknown data”** are still the biggest hidden risk, how **data leakage** happens in day-to-day workflows (including what people paste into ChatGPT), and why spending an extra hour getting governance right can save days—sometimes **millions**—later. Ed explains how Transform Logic helps organisations:* **Find and classify sensitive data** (so you actually know what you have, where it lives, and who can access it) * Set up **information governance** that supports innovation (so AI governance isn’t a handbrake) * Reduce risk while meeting **Australian privacy obligations** and preparing for tighter regulation and enforcement AI rollout is rarely a “tool problem” — it’s a **people, culture, and education** journey. ### Who this episode is forIf you’re a **CIO, CTO, CISO, Head of Data, Product leader, founder, or ops lead** trying to introduce AI safely (without creating a compliance nightmare), this one is for you.### Keywords to help this rank (naturally embedded)AI governance, data governance, data sovereignty, information governance, data leakage prevention, sensitive data discovery, data classification, Australian Privacy Principles, AI risk management, legacy systems, privacy compliance, enterprise AI adoption, secure GenAI.### Chapter Markers0:00 Welcome + first guest of 2026 (Ed Morris, Transform Logic)0:32 How to stay secure in the AI era (sovereignty + leakage risks)8:05 Ed’s background: from building tech to focusing on data + governance17:16 Legacy systems: why data gets messy fast in real businesses19:09 What finance teaches about risk appetite and controls26:07 Practical AI risk management: setting governance that supports delivery32:15 Mapping your data flows (Salesforce/SAP, onboarding, “where does data go?”)34:03 Data minimisation and retention: the “CV” example and why it matters46:11 Discover + classify sensitive data (privacy, ISO standards, red flags)50:02 RAG + embeddings: the hidden “data sent overseas” problem58:10 Regulation lags reality: how leaders should respond anyway68:36 Final takeaways + wrap upSupport the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

**AI moved fast in 2025. The bigger story? The people building with it.**In this Year in Review, Chris & Mark recap the biggest themes from the last 13 episodes—what founders got right, where “AI strategy” goes wrong, and why *experts* (not just “humans”) need to be in the loop as tools get more powerful.We unpack the show’s pivot from a weekly AI news format into deeper interviews (shout out to Ned Warfield for helping trigger that shift), then revisit standout conversations across product, UX, creative industries, mental health, and the Aussie startup ecosystem.### What you’ll hear in this episode* **Human-first AI in product & CX:** why “throwing AI into a business” as a checkbox fails, and why workflows + people matter (feat. Charmaine / Frey).* **AI for lead gen & founder lessons:** Serena’s approach with **Fuzzy**—using AI to extract the right signals and improve how people source and engage leads on LinkedIn/social channels.* **AI in the creative industry:** how **aiCandy** uses AI to produce commercial-grade output *with pros shaping the work*, plus the reminder that audience taste still sets the rules (even when AI makes “anything” possible).* **AI for good + psychological safety:** the “burnout is real” thread—tools like Mood AI focusing on prediction, support, and creating safer workplaces (not just shipping tech for tech’s sake).* **Street-level signal from events:** the South by Southwest episode—real-world “doom vs hope” sentiment, builder energy, and practical security notes (like being cautious with AI browsers + prompt injection).* **What’s next:** the shift from “human-in-the-loop” to **expert-in-the-loop**, and plans for 2026: more expert-level convos, more live formats, corporate-focused episodes, and roundtable debates on how AI is impacting different generations.### What we’re taking into 2026If you’ve been watching AI from the sidelines, this episode is the push to start building—safely, with better data habits, and by learning with the community around you (there are more free communities and helpful founders out there than most people realise).**Drop a comment:** What was your biggest “AI moment” of 2025—and what do you want us to pull apart in 2026?Support the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

Can AI actually make us more emotionally intelligent instead of more robotic?In this episode of the Digital Nexus Podcast, we sit down with Dr Nathan Jones – musician, MTV/Nickelodeon voiceover artist turned psychologist, researcher and co-founder of Mood.ai, an emotional intelligence and psychological safety platform for workplaces.Nathan unpacks his journey from a shy minister’s kid in Adelaide, finding his voice through music and church piano, to winning development deals, doing TV promos, and then burning out on the creative grind.That path led him into psychology, where his PhD delivered the first empirical evidence that lyrics change how we feel above and beyond the music itself – proof that words and stories literally re-tune emotion.From there, Nathan built Mood Institute and Mood.ai, translating years of research on colour, emotion and music into tools that help employees answer a deceptively simple question: “How do you feel?” – and help leaders see patterns in psychological safety, risk and culture in real time.We get into the current AI “branding crisis”, media fear-cycles, and why self-awareness is the real tipping point: if we don’t do our inner work, we’ll point powerful AI tools at the wrong things. Nathan shares how AI can act as a “mirror” for our emotional operating system – reminding us when we’re off track, surfacing patterns in our mood, and nudging us back toward better choices at home and at work.If you’re a founder, product/people leader, or AI builder trying to use AI for good – to support humans rather than squeeze them – this one hits hard.Links:Mood.ai https://www.mood.ai/Dr Nathan Jones Li https://www.linkedin.com/in/drnathanjones/In this episode, you’ll learn:How Nathan’s music and voiceover career shaped his thinking on emotion, storytelling and behaviour changeWhat his research reveals about how lyrics, colour and sound interact to shift emotional stateWhy psychological safety is becoming a compliance issue and a culture issue – and how Mood.ai tries to bridge both with AI-driven check-ins and dashboardsHow AI can spot emotional patterns (meetings, weather, relationships, sleep) that we miss, and feed that back as practical coachingHis advice for founders: building products your younger self needed, listening harder to customers, and using emotional intelligence as a real startup advantageSupport the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

Can you shoot a Cannes-level ad with no cameras, a fraction of the budget and a 99% lower carbon footprint? That’s exactly what Kent Boswell and Marcus Tesoriero are doing with aiCandy, one of the first AI film production studios built for brands and agencies.In this episode of Digital Nexus, we unpack how they’re turning “impossible” ideas from old agency bottom drawers into fully realised films – including a United Nations climate piece set to Mad World by Gary Jules, crafted from real sea-level data across cities like Tokyo, Mumbai, New York and Amsterdam.Kent and Marcus share the origin story of aiCandy (hatched over beers in Cannes as AI talks took over the festival), the moment Google’s Vo3 lip-sync breakthrough made it “officially ready”, and why they’ve gone all-in on AI film as Australia’s first dedicated AI production studio for the commercial and marketing space.In this episode you’ll learn:How aiCandy was bornFrom Cannes Lions chats about “Will Smith eating spaghetti” to spotting the moment AI film crossed from joke to production-ready – and why they decided it was “jump on the train or get left behind.”What an AI film production actually looks likeSame brief, strategy and creative process as a top-tier production company – scripts, treatments, casting, locations, storyboards, sound mix and grade – just no physical cameras.Turning shrinking budgets into “impossible” ideasWhy high quality expectations keep rising while TVC budgets drop from $200k+ down, and how AI lets them turn a “someone jogging in Sydney” script into a Super Bowl-level spot across the Himalayas with a full cast, zero rollover fees and no weather delays.The UN ‘Mad World’ climate film – from bottom drawer to global storyHow a shelved idea became a career highlight: using real climate data to show future sea-level rise in multiple cities, layering it with Mad World, and getting Gary Jules to gift them the track 36 hours after they reached out.AI film vs traditional production: the carbon mythThe numbers behind the “AI is bad for the planet” headline: a traditional 30-second TVC can create ~40 tonnes of CO₂ (about 16 hot-air balloons), while an AI-produced spot of the same length comes in around 50 kilograms – roughly 2% of one balloon.Why craft still matters more than promptsHow decades in film, VFX and award-winning creative direction let them spot the tiny details (like a frame-off lip-sync or a six-fingered hand) that separate “AI meme” from world-class work, and why the tool is nothing without expert taste.What changes for juniors, crew and the next wave of talentHow roles are shifting rather than disappearing, and why juniors still need reps – just with new tools, new workflows and fewer red-eye shoots.Where AI film is headed nextWhy even the people building this stuff hesitate to predict five years out, and how aiCandy is planning to keep raising its own bar after a debut UN project and six more films already in production across comedy, drama and sci-fi.Support the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

In this episode of Digital Nexus, Chris and Mark are joined by Dr Tim Rayner — AI Philosopher, author of Hacker Culture and the New Rules of Innovation, and educator at UTS Business School — to unpack how AI can move from “smart autocomplete” to genuine teammates that help people think better, learn faster and build braver. If you’re a founder, product lead, educator or operator trying to make sense of AI beyond the hype cycle, this one goes deep into the human side of intelligent systems: judgment, values, learning, and what it means to flourish in an automated economy.Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro: meet AI philosopher Tim Rayner & set up the human + AI theme 00:41 – AI pilots with zero ROI, job automation & why “shadow AI” is everywhere 01:59 – Human practical wisdom vs machine “intelligence” & why education needs to change 03:01 – Exams, “cheating” with ChatGPT & shifting to a build-first mindset 05:01 – Rethinking business models so AI isn’t just a bolt-on tool 10:00 – Using first principles to spot what’s broken & where AI can help 15:00 – Life as a journey of discovery, learning and updating your story 20:01 – Philosophy as a toolkit for uncertainty and AI-driven change 25:00 – Tim’s path: from researcher to AI educator and innovation partner for leaders 30:00 – Human + AI superteams, synthetic intelligence & where the “magic” happens 35:01 – Training subject-matter experts, managers & execs to act as AI leads 40:02 – Why many leaders are naive about AI and why practical wisdom matters 45:00 – Historical parallels: electricity, revolutions and what this AI moment signals 50:01 – Helping people bring their “magic” into work & unlock grassroots innovation 56:01 – Custom GPTs, Typing Minds & teaching people to build useful agents 57:00 – How to join Tim’s AI programs, why 2026 will be a big AI year & closing remarks Check out:Superesque: https://superesque.com/Tim Rayner:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-rayner-superesque/In this episode you’ll learn:Why universities are being forced to rethink the traditional degreeHow one business school is restructuring its graduate programs around AI, project-based learning and “build-first” mindsets, and what that signals for employers and students.From tools to teammates:What separates “AI as a fast calculator” from “AI as a collaborator”, and how to frame agent workflows so they support, rather than replace, human judgment.Hacker culture and innovation inside big organisationsTim’s take on the “hidden hackers” in every company, and how leaders can give them space, scaffolding and safety to run meaningful experiments instead of gimmicky pilots.Cognitive offloading vs. cognitive lazinessWhen it is smart to lean on AI for heavy lifting — and where you need to keep humans in the loop so your team doesn’t atrophy its own thinking.Philosophy as a practical AI skillHow ideas from Socrates and modern ethics show up in real product decisions: from incentives and power, to who benefits, who’s left out, and how you decide what “good” looks like.FuturSupport the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

Can AI make game dev truly “prompt to play”?Jack Wakem (Founder, Tempest AI) breaks down how his team is building “Lovable for games” — a consumer platform where anyone can prompt, iterate, and ship, including a timeline that lets you scrub your build like a YouTube video.Tempest started as an AI-native RPG engine (RAG, context engineering, custom schemas) and evolved into a fast, consumer game-creation workflow. We dig into the hard parts (state, memory, assets), product pivots, and what Jack learned dropping out, working night shifts, and building in public with Build Club (Annie Liao).What you’ll learnWhy “AI-native games” are hard (context tracking, long-running state) and the pragmatic path that worked.How Tempest’s timeline lets creators jump to any checkpoint, edit, and keep playing, slashing iteration time.Where AI fits today in game development vs. live asset generation (and what’s still rough).“Lovable for games”: lowering the barrier so non-devs can prompt changes directly in-game.Market context: gaming + AI is ~USD $1.5–2B today with projections to “tens of billions” by 2029.Founder mindset: give yourself a focused year, keep lights on with a job, compress learning through reps.Timestamps:00:00 – Gaming is huge; meet Jack (Tempest AI)03:02 – Farm kid to game dev: early life04:19 – First console memories (Nintendo DS, strict screen time)07:00 – Designing engaging games; making content to learn08:05 – Indie projects, clients, and the post-school fork in the road12:00 – De-risking vs passion; finance path vs gaming; GPT-3 moment16:03 – Dropping out; night jobs while building Tempest17:26 – Founder psychology: knowledge, ego, experience20:20 – Community fuel: Annie Liao & Build Club24:00 – Tempest focus + the gaming-AI market snapshot25:18 – Vision: AI-native “never-ending” games (and the hard bits)28:04 – Context engineering; gen-AI in the dev pipeline30:00 – What Tempest is: “Lovable for games” (consumer prompt UX)31:18 – The slow iteration problem in game dev32:07 – Coding agent + timeline scrubber (edit your game like a video)33:28 – Building with users: sit-with testing to dashboards35:10 – Will AI reduce or amplify creativity?38:05 – The next 5 years: more personal, more experimental games39:31 – Fundraising: where the round is at40:08 – How they raised: two years of public building & updates42:00 – Wrap and where to follow TempestGuestJack Wakem — Founder, Tempest AI. Rural NSW origin story → Uni (Finance + CS) → drops out, works nights (pest control/industrial cleaning) while building Tempest.About Tempest AIStarted by prototyping endless, AI-driven RPGs with custom context schemas and an in-house engine to give LLMs reliable world state. Pivoted ~3 months ago into a consumer game-creation platform with a friction-free UX and a unique timeline editor.Tempest website: https://alpha.tempestengine.ai/Jack Wakem: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-wakem-ab7170230/Quote to remember“You only lose when you quit… keep working at one thing long enough and compounding kicks in.”Join the converSupport the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

Digital Nexus Ep 42: Annie Liao, From Community to Company: Building AI Products That Actually ShipWhat does it take to turn AI hype into shipped products? Annie Liao (Build Club / Relevance AI) joins us to unpack agentic workflows, community-led product discovery, and the mindset founders need to go from idea to MVP and revenue, fast.Annie shares the playbook behind The Builders Club AI and her work at Relevance AI, including how to validate problems, run lightweight experiments, and use agentic patterns without creating black-box chaos. If you build, design, or lead AI products in Australia, this one’s for you.Links:https://www.buildclub.ai/https://www.buildclub.ai/waitlistIn this episode you’ll learnHow to go from “cool demo” to a product customers will pay for (and what to kill early)Agent vs agentic workflows: clear definitions, when to use each, and common failure modesCommunity-led discovery: using a builder community to source problems, testers, and early adoptersRapid validation: lean experiments, success thresholds, and “stop/iterate/scale” criteriaDesigning controllable AI: transparency, evaluation, and guardrails that teams actually useFounder operating cadence: weekly rituals that compound learning without burning outGTM for AI tools: positioning, ICP focus, and the signals that you’ve hit early product-channel fitHiring the first 3 roles for an AI product team (and what to outsource)Metrics that matter: activation paths, retained use, and qualitative proof you’re solving a real jobAustralia’s AI ecosystem: where builders are winning now and what’s nextAbout Annie LiaoAnnie is a community builder and operator behind Build Club (The Builders Club AI) and serves as Chief of Staff at Relevance AI. She sits at the intersection of community, product, and execution—helping teams turn AI capabilities into customer value.Chapters00:00 Intro02:28 What is Build Club? Hackathon energy & projects04:34 Annie’s path: UTS scholarship → Westpac → internal startup05:08 Falling in love with tech: coding, PM, CRM build08:19 Nov 2022 shift: GPT boom and the “build anything” moment12:01 Founding story: After-hours at Aura Ventures → “Aura’s Build Club”14:03 Community vs monetisation: mission to democratise AI learning17:00 Joining Relevance AI (while growing Build Club)21:35 SF vs Australia: risk culture, density & talent25:53 How Australia can catch up (culture & ecosystem)29:31 Enterprise agents: handover pain & the education gap36:24 Bounty marketplace: matching AI builders with demand41:01 Roadmap: AI matching, pricing benchmarks & starter templates51:40 Rapid-fire: the tools we actually use53:18 Build Club for enterprise: AI upskilling (waitlist)53:47 Wrap-up & where to find Annie#AI #AgenticAI #ProductManagement #Startup #UX #SydneyTech #BuildClub #RelevanceAISupport the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

From hacking mainframes to building Haven (mental health) and now Indy, an AI co-pilot helping families navigate paediatric and developmental care, Jeff Quach shares a builder’s journey grounded in anthropology, trust, and real-world impact. We unpack when AI should support human care (not replace it), why guardrails matter, how to find the right co-founder, and the gritty reality of bootstrapping (“the desert walk”), plus practical tools and workflows you can use today.Time stamps00:00 – Intro: Jeff Quach, Indy & what this episode covers05:53 – From Haven to Indy: why the pivot in mental health tech06:00 – Anthropology in product: culture, reciprocity & trust08:11 – Designing for trust: small choices that compound10:17 – Where AI supports, not replaces, human care12:09 – Problem space: parents, families & complex journeys14:14 – Haven lessons: support across age stages and scope17:27 – Early builder stories & shipping fast21:15 – Founder persistence and the “desert walk”24:04 – ICP clarity: serving parents first26:17 – Finding the right co-founder (Antler signals & fit)31:33 – Parent outcomes: progress they can see35:00 – Mental health models: what AI can/can’t solve37:02 – Inside Indy: product shape & value moments41:40 – Workflow stack: Notion (AI), ops, cadence44:53 – Safety & guardrails: avoiding overreach49:30 – Tools recap: Claude, Notion AI, practical tips51:30 – Closing: key takeaways & what’s nextWhat you’ll learn- Applying anthropology to product: cultural relativism, reciprocity & trust → better UX and retention- The limits of “self-solving” mental health; designing tech that restores human-to-human connection- Why Jeff wound down Haven and built Indy with safety guardrails and a parent-first journey- Co-founder fit via Antler: complementary skills, oxygen for the journey, signals that you’re on the right path- Hyper-personalisation that isn’t creepy: small preference shifts that build long-term trust- Tools & stack: Notion + Notion AI, Claude (Code), rapid prototyping, lightweight agents- Career & founder advice: go wide, ship often, persist, and avoid “big-name” co-founder trapsAbout JeffProduct and AI leader with roots in financial services and SafetyCulture, a background in social anthropology, and founder/operator across Haven (mental health) and Indy (AI for parents). Jeff’s lens: build value where people feel it daily—then earn trust with clear trade-offs and smart guardrails.Who this episode is forFounders and PMs shipping AI into health, family & education contextsUX/CX leaders chasing evidence-backed trust and adoptionBuilders validating AI products without losing the humanEpisode links:Check out the Indi App: https://projectindi.com/Check out Jeff Quach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyquach/Support the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

AI isn’t the enemy, it’s the experiment of our lifetime. At SXSW Sydney 2025, we took Digital Nexus onto the floor and into the streets to ask a simple question: doom or hope? From late-night hackathons to founders shipping agentic workflows, this episode captures how Australians are actually building with AI.We go behind the scenes with builders and community leads from Build Club, hands-on teams using Relevance AI, Lovable, and Bolt.new, and ecosystem voices like the National AI Centre, plus candid vox pops from attendees who think AI is either saving creativity… or killing it. If you’re a founder, product leader, or designer trying to turn hype into shippable outcomes, start here.You’ll learnWhy “AI doom vs. hope” is the wrong frame, and what builders are doing insteadWhere agentic workflows beat black-box agents (and when they don’t)How tools like Relevance AI, Lovable & Bolt.new compress idea to MVPPractical adoption patterns we saw across Aussie startups and teamsWhat the National AI Centre says about responsible rollout in AUThe real skills founders need next (UX, data, orchestration, governance)Keywords: AI Australia, SXSW 2025, SXSW Sydney, Build Club, Relevance AI, Lovable AI, Bolt.new, National AI Centre, AI agents, agentic AI, Anthropic, NVIDIA, ChatGPT, Gemini, founders, product design, UX, startup growth, Australian startups, AI podcastTimestamps / Chapters01:02 – Intro at SXSW Sydney 2025 (what we’re testing & who we met)03:18 – Street takes: “AI apocalypse” vs “AI accelerator” (vox-pop highlights)06:45 – Builder mindset: why agentic workflows beat pure agents09:12 – Hands-on demos: rapid prototypes with Relevance AI & Lovable11:00 – What does the public say about AI?16:30 – Saanvi Y - Founding Member of Build Club20:04 – Ishita Gupta from Kinso AI23:11 – Community spotlight: inside Build Club (skills, projects, outcomes)27:06 – Rita Arrigo from the National AI Centre on responsible AI in Australia31:40 – Teams & tooling: when to choose ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini35:22 – From fear to shipping: practical prompts, guardrails, and QA loops38:05 – Creativity & jobs: what changes, what doesn’t, what gets better41:10 – Takeaways: our SXSW checklist for founders & product leads43:02 – Outro & next steps: links, resources, and how to get involvedSupport the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

Can AI help understand our emotional state? Nicole Gibson, founder of Love Out Loud and co-founder of inTruth, shares how a recovery journey became a product mission, and how she’s using AI in mental health to scale evidence-based impact, leadership, and a love-led culture.Watch for:From anorexia recovery to national advocate → AI product leaderThe origin of Love Out Loud and community design that changes behaviourinTruth: AI ethics, data consent, and measurable outcomes in mental healthProduct mindset for founders: ICP clarity, tight feedback loops, and validation before codeLanguage, rituals, and narratives that convert without sensationalising traumaPractical advice for young leaders on purpose, pressure, and burnout🎙 Guest: Nicole Gibson — founder, author, former National Mental Health Commissioner; Love Out Loud, inTruth👥 Hosts: Chris & Mark — Digital Nexus Podcast (Australia)👉 Subscribe for founder stories from Australia’s AI ecosystem👉 Share this with someone building in health, education, or social impactChapters00:00 From Rogue & Rouge to Love Out Loud, Nicole’s Mission05:30 Overcoming Anorexia: Nicole’s Turning Point10:59 Building Love Out Loud: From Grassroots to Movement16:28 Healing Mental Health: Shame, Support, Recovery21:56 Inside Eating Disorder Recovery: What Actually Helps27:27 Trauma, Belonging & Community Healing32:57 The Philosophy of Love Out Loud (Connection over Fear)38:26 inTruth by Nicole Gibson, Building a Trust Layer43:55 Compassion in Practice: Everyday Mental Health Tools49:25 inTruth in Action: Authenticity, Privacy & Safety54:55 Advice to Young Women: Finding Your Voice1:00:24 Founder Journey: Building Movements, Not Just StartupsLinks & MentionsNicole Gibson — Love Out Loud / inTruth https://intruth.io/Digital Nexus Podcast — Chris & Mark (Australia) https://www.digitalnexuspodcast.com/Tools & topics: AI for mental health, ethical AI, customer validation, product mindsetWhy this mattersIf you’re a founder, designer, clinician, or policy maker, this episode is a practical blueprint for building ethical AI in mental health with real-world outcomes — from research and validation to community design and leadership.Hashtags#AI #MentalHealth #NicoleGibson #inTruth #LoveOutLoud #ProductMindset #EthicalAI #AustralianStartups #DigitalNexusPodcastSupport the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

Want clearer, more consistent AI outputs? In this episode, we break down three prompting skills that help founders, PMs, and UX leads go from idea → clickable MVP fast—using ChatGPT and Claude. Guest Bastian Epskamp shares his 3-phase system (prepare → implement → learn), how to ship prototypes stupid fast with V0/vibe-coding, and a case study on building Auction Buddy (AI for buyer-side property decisions).What you’ll learnThe 3 skills: framing, constraint design, and iterative prompting (ChatGPT & Claude).Prompt templates that work: turn vague asks into structured tasks for reliable outputs.Speed to MVP: V0/vibe-coding, docs-as-leverage, tight feedback loops.Real product examples: how “Auction Buddy” scores inspections, plans bids, and does live auction maths.Team craft: pair human creativity with AI to reduce cycles and increase signal.Who this helps: Founders, product managers, and UX leads shipping LLM apps, agentic workflows, internal knowledge assistants, and customer-facing AI features.Timestamps:00:00 Intro — Meet Bastian (BE Innovations) & the “product lens”03:25 Why AI is a product superpower05:40 Early builds: Dreamweaver sites, custom PCs, first “maker” wins08:45 Research & prompting in practice (talk to AI like a teammate)16:05 Teams, mistakes, and building with intent19:30 Exit story → starting a strategy/innovation lab21:00 Monetisation & prioritisation: pick the sharpest pain points24:30 AI = remove repetition, keep judgment (why experience still matters)29:10 Aussie ecosystem: capital cycles, resilience, and pivots31:00 Upskilling across functions (seeing the whole system)35:30 Prompt frameworks that work (structure, constraints, examples)38:20 Rapid loop: Prepare → Execute → Learn39:10 Property tools: “Auction Buddy” & decision support for buyers👍 If this helped, like, subscribe, and share with a builder who needs faster MVPs.#ChatGPT #Claude #PromptEngineering #AIProduct #MVP #LLM #Prototyping #VibeCoding #Startups #UXSupport the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

Build Real AI Products (Fast): Product Manager to Community Builder with Kurt Yang (Fintech & EdTech, RAG, Embedded Finance)From banker to PM to community catalyst, Kurt Yang shares how non-engineers are shipping functional AI prototypes, validating with customers, and turning meetups into massive and strong ecosystems.Chapters:4:17 – Community lessons for PMs8:34 – De-risking AI with stakeholders12:50 – Tooling spotlight: Lovable in practice17:07 – Prototyping workflows that scale21:24 – Embedded finance & risk-based pricing25:41 – RAG in fintech/edtech (what works)29:57 – Stack, Supabase, and next stepsWhat you’ll learnFrom frustration to community: how Kurt spun up GenAI for Fintech & EdTech and grew it to ~800 members.Lean PM, real signals: why working, functional prototypes beat pretty mockups—and how to run smoke tests with real users.Tooling that compounds: using Lovable + Supabase (+ ChatGPT) to ship usable prototypes you can measure.RAG, demystified: practical walkthroughs and when retrieval-augmented generation actually reduces hallucinations.Fintech shift: embedded finance + dynamic risk-based pricing and alternative credit scoring to hyper-personalised offers.Enterprise adoption: winning over senior stakeholders in regulated industries (trust, governance, records).Founder traps to avoid: solution-first bias, over-scoping; how to pick a lower-risk wedge to earn trust and revenue.Mindset: “Don’t just think, start.” Momentum over perfection.About Digital NexusA founder-led podcast where Australia’s AI builders go beyond the hype with real workflows, decisions, and lessons from shipping. Hosted by Mark Monfort & Chris Sinclair.Support the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

Michelle Gilmore (CEO & Co-founder, Juno) built a digital twin of herself to scale her business.  Juno conducts high-quality, qualitative interviews—turning Michelle's 20+ years, and 10,000+ research projects into an AI “listening engine.” We dive into how Juno runs real conversations at scale, why expertise-in-the-loop beats checkbox surveys, and how a digital twin lets a CEO focus on strategy while the AI handles the heavy lifting.Guest & company:Michelle Gilmore, CEO & Co-founder, JunoJuno is an AI research platform that runs real interviews on your behalfYou’ll learn:What Juno actually does (and how it differs from “conversational surveys”)Why Michelle raised $2.8M from Blackbird Ventures to build a global “listening engine”How she captured her tacit expertise to train agents (principles, role-plays, competencies)Fear vs. reality: AI won’t replace her, it amplifies and scales her impactWhen AI is a feature vs. a product and why the answer is “it depends”Why this matters:Most teams still send surveys and get thin, leading data. Juno probes, follows up, and helps people articulate what they actually think and feel, so product and research teams can act with confidence.Key moments (chapters):00:00  Cold open & why “clone the CEO”06:00  From researcher to founder: Michelle’s path to Juno12:00  What Juno actually does (beyond surveys)18:00  Building the Digital Twin CEO: capturing tacit expertise24:00  Co-CEO in practice: decisions, prioritisation, removing the founder bottleneck33:00  Fear vs reality: risks, adoption, and what leaders get wrong about AI38:00  Scaling quality without burnout: ops, team, and metrics42:00  Founder playbook: what to delegate first + what’s next for Juno👋 New here? Subscribe for weekly founder and industry leader deep-dives on AI and product, a new episode every Tuesday!🔔 Hit the bell so you don’t miss the next founder story.Support the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

From IBM strategist to startup founder, Serena Lam is building Fuzzy AI to reshape B2B sales with hyper-personalized outreach. In this candid conversation, she shares her founder journey, lessons from building in AI, and where sales tech is heading next.👉 Expect practical founder advice, the realities of building with limited resources, and insights into how design thinking and AI workflows are changing the game.⏱️ Chapter Timestamps0:00 – Intro & why Serena flew budget class from Singapore4:33 – How IBM shaped Serena’s mindset as a founder8:32 – First startups, painful failures & losing money early13:02 – The hardest part: finding (and keeping) the right tech co-founder17:48 – Inside Fuzzy AI: turning content & trust into 5x higher conversions22:01 – Killing the “spam cannon” & making outreach human again26:41 – Why Serena prototypes in Figma before writing a single line of code31:38 – AI tools Serena swears by (Claude, Perplexity, Bolt & more)35:54 – Which jobs AI will replace… and which remain uniquely human40:30 – The future of sales: cultural nuance, agentic AI & trust-based buying🔑 Key Takeaways🎯 Startups succeed when founders go all-in — half measures don’t work.🤖 AI isn’t just automation — it’s strategy amplification when applied right.🛠️ Design thinking + scrappy prototyping can save you months of wasted work.💡 The future of sales = humans handling trust + negotiation, AI doing the grind.💡 Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe for more AI founder stories & weekly Digital Nexus tech breakdowns!Support the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus

In this episode of Digital Nexus, we sit down with Sha-mayne Chan, Co-founder of Friyay and Wakey Wakey Sales, to unpack how AI is reshaping startups, SMEs, and big business in Australia.We cover:🚀 How startups can now build products without a tech co-founder📱 The story behind Wakey Wakey, an AI SMS sales assistant helping small businesses scale🏦 Why big corporates are finally moving past endless POCs and into real AI adoption🛠️ The rise of agentic workflows vs. AI agents — and what that means for service design💡 How founders can “build while flying” with today’s AI tools (Bolt, Cursor, Windsurf, Midjourney, etc.)🧠 The ethical, cultural, and human challenges of AI adoption — from junior job pathways to mental health chatbots00:00 Intro05:30 Backgrounds & early career08:30 Small business growth: SMS vs email; 'product‑a‑month'12:30 The Wakey story16:30 Enterprises: from POCs to compliant rollouts19:30 Where the pain is: manual checks & team ops23:30 Service design: account UX, cancel flows, blueprints29:00 Risk, value, and choosing bets34:00 Automation & shipping fast (prompts, traction)37:30 Vibe coding tools → personal app; VC outlook42:30 Wrap‑up + what’s nextLinks:Friyay - https://www.friyay.ai/Sha-Maybe linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shamaynechan/Podcast - https://www.digitalnexuspodcast.com/Support the showOther Links  🎙️our podcast links here: https://digitalnexuspodcast.com/👤Chris on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pcsinclair/👤Mark on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmonfort/👤 Mark on Twitter - https://twitter.com/captdefiSHOWNOTE LINKS🔗 SIKE - https://sike.ai/🌐Digital Village - https://digitalvillage.network/🌐NotCentralised - https://www.notcentralised.com/ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DigitalNexusPodcastX (twitter): @DigitalNexus