Takeaways
- Josh's career began in graphic design before transitioning to user experience design.
- The startup scene in Australia was evolving during Josh's early career.
- User experience design was not widely recognized in Australia at the time.
- Josh's early experiences shaped his understanding of digital transformation.
- The environment at Neo fostered innovation and risk-taking.
- Understanding human needs is crucial for effective design and services.
- Transitioning to remote work changed the dynamics of their business.
- Josh experimented with various tools before discovering no-code solutions.
- APIs have revolutionized the way developers can build applications.
- The journey of building Juno involved significant learning and experimentation. You need to believe in the value proposition to sell effectively.
- The upfront effort required to see value in a product can be a barrier.
- AI can enhance the capabilities of qualitative research.
- Building a strong team is crucial for navigating challenges.
- Sales strategies should focus on long-term relationships with customers.
- Understanding the market's needs is essential for product development.
- AI technology is evolving rapidly, creating new opportunities.
- The future of AI will involve specialized models for different domains.
- Human behavior complexity must be considered in AI development.
- Just because technology can replace a task doesn't mean it will.
Chapters
00:00
Introduction to Josh and Hey Juno
02:54
Josh's Unconventional Career Path
05:47
The Evolution of User Experience Design
09:09
Navigating Early Career Challenges
12:08
The Mission Behind Neo
15:11
Transitioning to Remote Work and Technology Exploration
18:00
The Birth of Juno and Initial Experiments
21:05
Building with No-Code Tools
23:52
The Journey of Experimentation and Learning
27:12
The Power of APIs and Simplifying Development
34:14
From Idea to Product: The Journey Begins
39:56
Harnessing AI: The Role of GPT in Development
46:16
Building a Team: The Importance of Partnership
52:44
Navigating Sales: Strategies for Success
56:25
The Future of AI: Predictions and Possibilities
People, Companies, and Organizations
- Brent Schlender
- Cited as a previous podcast guest; former Wall Street Journal/Wired reporter who covered Steve Jobs and Bill Gates.
- Steve Jobs & Bill Gates
- Mentioned as historical tech figures in a conversation about technological innovation.
- Magnus Carlsen
- Referenced as an example of how humans remain relevant in fields (like chess) that AI can also perform.
- Bubble
- A NoCode development platform that JD used to build early versions of his AI research product.
- daily.co / daily.io
- Video API/service integrated for user interviews and conferencing.
- AWS Transcribe
- Used for transcribing interviews and audio files automatically.
- OpenAI’s GPT (GPT-3, GPT-4, etc.)
- The family of large language models JD used to develop AI-driven interviews and insights.
- Slack
- Mentioned as the communication tool enabling remote and distributed work.
- Calendly
- Referenced as a scheduling solution JD integrated in his early product prototypes.
- Prolific & Respondent
- Platforms for recruiting participants for user research.
- Hey Juno
- AI research tool and company cofounded by JD and Michelle, the focal point of the discussion.
- The Loop
- A creative-industry “LinkedIn-style” platform where JD began as an intern.
- Neo
- A pioneering user experience/service design consultancy in Australia, founded by Michelle. JD worked there for ~10 years.
- Train
- A training arm/spin-off that Neo launched to build in-house research capabilities for other organizations.
- InGogo
- An Australian ride-sharing/taxi app, mentioned as an early Uber competitor JD worked with at Neo.
- NAB (National Australia Bank), Woolworths, ATO (Australian Tax Office)
- Examples of large enterprises JD and Michelle worked with on digital transformation projects.
- 4Square
- Referenced as part of the early wave of map-based social apps.
- OpenAI
- The AI research organization behind GPT models.
- R/GA
- One of the big branding/agency firms JD references when discussing design agencies in Australia.
Frameworks & Strategies
User-Centered Design (UCD) / Service Design Frameworks
- Description: UCD and service design focus on understanding people’s needs through direct research (e.g., interviews, observation, workshops) and then co-creating solutions to address real problems. This often includes the “Double Diamond” or similar frameworks for discovery and delivery.
- Resource Link: What is User-Centered Design? (Interaction Design Foundation)
Lean / Bootstrapping Strategies
- Description: Bootstrapping refers to building a business with minimal outside funding, focusing on rapid learning, small iterations, and organic revenue generation. Often paired with “lean startup” principles, which emphasize validated learning, fast experimentation, and pivoting based on user feedback.
- Resource Link: The Lean Startup (Eric Ries)
Agile Methodologies
- Description: Agile methodologies (like Scrum or Kanban) break development and design into short iterative cycles (“sprints”), with continuous feedback from stakeholders and end-users.
- Resource Link: Agile Manifesto & Principles
NoCode Development Approach
- Description: NoCode development enables creators to build complex web apps and workflows without traditional programming. Tools like Bubble simplify design, logic, and database management through visual editors.
- Resource Link: Bubble Official Website
(Also check out other NoCode tools like Webflow or Adalo for different use cases.)
AI Agent / GPT Fine-Tuning Strategies
- Description: Agentic AI is when a model is given a goal and can make a series of decisions (a “chain of thought”) to achieve it. Fine-tuning involves training a base model (like GPT-3 or GPT-4) on specialized data or instructions so that it performs better for specific tasks—e.g., user research interviews.
- Resource Links:
Human-in-the-Loop Research
- Description: Human-in-the-loop refers to leveraging AI automation for efficiency (e.g., analyzing transcripts, scheduling) but still involving real people at critical points for quality assurance, empathy, or nuanced decision-making. In user research, that means speaking to real participants, not synthetic bots.
- Resource Link: Human-in-the-loop AI (Harvard Business Review)
Digital Transformation Strategies
- Description: Digital transformation is the strategic adoption of digital technologies to improve business processes, culture, and customer experiences. This often includes rethinking how products, services, and internal workflows operate from a digital-first perspective.
- Resource Link: What is Digital Transformation? (MIT Sloan)
Continuous Learning & Feedback Loops
- Description: A continuous feedback loop ensures that real-world usage data, user feedback, and new insights lead to rapid improvements. It’s a core concept in lean, agile, and modern product development frameworks.
- Resource Link: Continuous Feedback in Product Development (Atlassian)
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