Jason Cohen on Hidden Multipliers

Jason Cohen, founder of WP Engine and Smart Bear, joins Jacob to talk about his new book Hidden Multipliers. They dig into why engineers avoid marketing, the onboarding math behind SaaS trials, finding your ideal customer, and what canceled trials teach you. Jason also shares his take on code review and testing in the age of AI, and whether SaaS is dead.00:00 - Introduction02:11 - Why engineers build instead of market04:11 - Jason's path and the Cisco code review study10:58 - Code review in the age of AI23:17 - Why Jason wrote Hidden Multipliers28:52 - The onboarding math32:35 - The happy path37:14 - Learning from canceled trials40:31 - Finding your Carol (ICP)42:27 - Inciting events48:41 - Strengths, weaknesses, and deal breakers55:33 - Is the solo founder a market?1:04:14 - What ICP clarity unlocks1:07:38 - Onboarding questions1:15:05 - Time to value1:16:22 - Response rates and NPS apathy1:23:16 - What failure really teaches1:29:08 - Trying ideas on like clothes1:33:42 - A/B testing vs explore and execute1:40:54 - Where to find the book1:44:56 - Is SaaS dead?1:52:03 - Fear of the unknown and AI1:54:05 - Wrap-upResources Mentioned:Hidden Multipliers: https://hiddenmultipliers.com?utm_source=elixir-mentorFree AI skills for the book: https://skills.asmartbear.com?utm_source=elixir-mentorA Smart Bear: https://longform.asmartbear.com?utm_source=elixir-mentorSmart Bear Live: https://smartbearlive.com?utm_source=elixir-mentorKinSwitch: https://kinswitch.app?utm_source=elixir-mentorConnect with Jason:X: https://x.com/asmartbearLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncohen/SUPPORT ELIXIR MENTORhttps://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

Filipe Cabaço, team lead on Realtime at Supabase, returns after two years to talk about his side projects: Vitro, a browser for every AI agent with a replayable timeline of what each one did, and Ampoule, which packs an Elixir release into one file by compiling the BEAM to WebAssembly. We also get into MCP, persona testing with agents, token costs, why launching is the scary part, AI and security, and what learning and hiring look like now that agents write the code.00:00 - Introduction02:35 - Welcome back and ElixirConf in Chicago05:31 - Vitro: observability for browser agents11:01 - Persona testing with agents13:56 - Why MCP is the right interface16:59 - Compute off your laptop, subsidies ending22:30 - Three AM agents and attention24:06 - Token costs and picking models27:47 - Side projects: doodle discs and a patio defender33:31 - Reverse engineering bad apps with agents37:14 - AI, hiring, and skipping university47:07 - iHub and entrepreneur networks49:32 - Afraid to launch your side projects51:28 - Open source and self hosting54:14 - Security and vibe coded leaks57:49 - MCP auth should be SSO59:34 - How Vitro is built: Elixir and Firecracker1:02:48 - Market the result, not the features1:05:51 - Tool sprawl and agent subscriptions1:10:53 - A local AI gateway1:14:40 - Home servers and bare metal1:17:42 - Ampoule: Elixir anywhere via WebAssembly1:22:48 - An Elixir mesh network on phones1:27:32 - Cold email and deliverability1:34:11 - Naming agents after Star Trek1:36:39 - Why every agent needs its own browser1:42:10 - Cloudflare's MCP and too many tools1:44:21 - Peter Ullrich and funding the Erlang FoundationResources Mentioned:- Vitro: https://vitro.run/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Ampoule: https://filipecabaco.github.io/ampoule/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- ex_tauri: https://github.com/filipecabaco/ex_tauri?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Burrito: https://github.com/burrito-elixir/burrito?utm_source=elixir-mentor- KinSwitch: https://kinswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentorConnect with Filipe:- X: https://x.com/filipecabaco?utm_source=elixir-mentor- GitHub: https://github.com/filipecabaco?utm_source=elixir-mentor- LinkedIn: (fill in)SUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

Peter Ullrich returns to talk about Pushin.eu, the European GitHub alternative he's building in Elixir. Five months in, it has about 700 confirmed registrations after going viral on Hacker News, and Peter walks through what's next: webhooks, managed CI on microVMs, subscriptions in January, and a plan to win universities with free self-hosting. We also get into how he builds with Codex writing and Claude reviewing, importing from GitHub with the pun CLI, bootstrapping vs VC, why Indie Courses is shutting down, and his new news podcast, Macro Mayhem.00:00 - Introduction01:15 - Peter returns with Pushin03:14 - Luck, sharing ideas, and your network06:16 - What pushed him to build a GitHub competitor06:43 - From bad Sonnet code to Opus 4.511:36 - Thinking big and building something European12:32 - Bootstrapping vs VC16:21 - Letter to Yourself and Indie Courses26:11 - KinSwitch rebrand and check-in safety nets32:48 - Securing uploads with BunnyCDN34:55 - Going viral on Hacker News37:51 - Roadmap: webhooks and managed CI39:35 - Pricing tiers and self-hosting46:49 - Five months in: users and growth49:46 - Selling to universities and governments55:31 - Macro Mayhem and the PHP-pocalypse59:34 - Crypto hype and The Careless People1:11:18 - Goatmire, the most creative conference1:17:08 - Switching from GitHub with the pun CLI1:19:34 - Forgejo, Codeberg, and GitLab1:21:03 - Making sites ready for AI agents1:26:35 - Tangled and the AT Protocol1:30:34 - Simplifying UX: mobile first and shortcuts1:35:07 - Codex writes, Claude reviews1:40:52 - Reviewing code from your phone1:43:30 - Deploying with Kamal1:46:42 - Keeping users updated with changelogs1:55:27 - Wrap-upResources Mentioned:- Pushin: https://pushin.eu/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Macro Mayhem: https://macromayhem.fm/?utm_source=elixir-mentorConnect with Peter:- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/peterullrich.com?utm_source=elixir-mentor- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/pjullrich?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Website: https://peterullrich.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentorSponsors:- BEAMOps: https://beamops.co.uk/?utm_source=elixir-mentorSUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

Nathan Hessler, organizer of ExMex and RBQ Conf, is back four weeks out from ExMex 2026 in Austin. We cover MCing Rails World, how he picks speakers and keynotes for a single track, what running a Ruby conference taught him, and the free CFP he built on Google Sheets that's turning into an agent friendly event harness. Then we get into TUIOS and agents that talk to each other, why PR review still matters, bootstrapping vs VC, and why conferences beat job boards for landing your next role.Use code MentoredFriends for $50 off your ExMex ticket (enter it in the promo code field on the site, not the checkout pop-up).00:00 - Introduction01:38 - MCing Rails World and introducing DHH05:45 - Picking speakers for a single track08:26 - What makes a great keynote10:41 - Why he doesn't curate topics14:01 - Four weeks out: hurry up and wait16:14 - How RBQ Conf went18:42 - Scheduling a single track19:50 - Using AI for conference marketing21:58 - Privacy and what agents can see25:36 - A free CFP built on Google Sheets32:30 - An agent friendly event harness38:52 - TUIOS and agents that talk to each other43:23 - Why PR review still matters with agents45:03 - MCP, skills, and usage rules51:23 - Building is the easy part56:30 - Bootstrapping vs VC59:01 - ExMex promo code and swag1:06:47 - Why go to conferences1:09:00 - Hiring, AI slop, and referrals1:14:02 - Do conferences make money?1:18:27 - MicroConf comes to Austin1:23:33 - Remote work still needs in person1:27:07 - Free community ticketsResources Mentioned:- ExMex: https://exmexconf.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- ExMex community tickets: https://exmexconf.com/community-tickets?utm_source=elixir-mentor- RBQ Conf: https://rbqconf.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- KinSwitch: https://kinswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentorConnect with Nathan:- X: https://x.com/spune?utm_source=elixir-mentor- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhessler/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Hessler Consulting: https://hesslerconsulting.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentorSponsors:- BEAMOps: https://beamops.co.uk/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Paraxial.io: https://paraxial.io/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Jido: https://agentjido.xyz/discord?utm_source=elixir-mentorSUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

Alex Koutmos, CTO of EagleMMS and author of Elixir Patterns, is back with two books in beta: Programming Nerves, which gets web developers building hardware from Livebook, and Elixir For Finance, written with his brother Dimitri on real market and Federal Reserve data. Then we ask whether anyone still buys technical books, and get into running on one server, what canceled trials teach you, and a laid off engineer with 1,000 applications.00:00 - Introduction02:41 - Programming Nerves: from Etch A Sketch to joystick05:36 - The Patio Defender07:40 - Why the book starts in Livebook13:12 - Is anyone still buying technical books?14:40 - DHH's Campfire rewrite and knowing your tools18:00 - Shipping without a staging environment20:42 - Cold outreach and email reputation28:27 - Elixir For Finance: Yahoo Finance and FRED data33:57 - Info products after AI38:51 - Start on a single server43:05 - Lessons from a failed two sided marketplace47:04 - Splitting EagleMMS with his brother51:55 - What canceled trials taught me58:03 - Putting your work out there and ignoring trolls1:04:45 - Laid off, 1,000 applications, and the death of software engineering1:10:10 - Standing out in a tough job market1:15:37 - Niche SaaS for the trades1:20:21 - Grok Bots for clips and cold email1:23:21 - AI pricing and platform risk1:28:08 - Writing books without AI, and where books go next1:30:18 - AI training and the authors' class action1:35:24 - Where to find Alex1:37:24 - What to buy for Programming NervesResources Mentioned:- Programming Nerves: https://www.programmingnerves.dev/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Elixir For Finance: https://www.financialelixir.dev/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Nerves Livebook: https://github.com/nerves-livebook/nerves_livebook?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Killswitch: https://killswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentorConnect with Alex:- X: https://x.com/akoutmos?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/akoutmos.bsky.social?utm_source=elixir-mentor- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-koutmos-b8b2bb93?utm_source=elixir-mentorSponsors:- BEAMOps: https://beamops.co.uk/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Paraxial.io: https://paraxial.io/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Jido: https://agentjido.xyz/discord?utm_source=elixir-mentorSUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

Mike Hostetler, creator of Jido and ReqLLM, is back for round three. Jido 2.0 hit the top of Hacker News and took his docs server down with it, and Jido v3 betas are already on Hex. We get into agentic back pressure, why models write better declarative Elixir, why most actors don't need an LLM at all, durable workflows with Jido Flow, and the multiplayer harness he's building on OTP.Plus Grok Bots and personal agents, reverse engineering bad IoT apps, and live questions from chat.00:00 - Introduction02:56 - The Jido 2.0 launch and a Hacker News hug of death06:27 - Lessons from Ralph Wiggum loops08:51 - Why models write better Elixir11:44 - Agentic back pressure14:22 - Jido v3's Spark DSL20:48 - When do you need 10,000 agents?26:28 - Q&A: A public actor mesh?27:59 - Actors vs agents: Jido without an LLM30:38 - Halo 2 NPCs and classical AI33:36 - What's new in Jido v335:03 - Durable workflows with Runic and Jido Flow39:34 - Property and fuzz testing with agents42:27 - Who's building on Jido44:27 - Q&A: TermUI and the Jido harness48:28 - DASP, the Durable Actor Session Protocol50:39 - Q&A: Pods, topologies, and the signal bus55:01 - Grok Bots, Dots, and personal agents57:20 - Reverse engineering IoT apps with an LLM1:06:24 - LLMDB and LLM Catalog1:07:51 - 600 PRs a month and vibe coded PRs1:12:12 - The Founder Playbook skills repo1:14:37 - Teaching and community after LLMs1:17:31 - Will AI replace engineers?1:22:57 - A hard lesson migrating Killswitch data1:25:01 - What's next for Jido and the harnessResources Mentioned:- Jido: https://jido.run/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Runic: https://github.com/zblanco/runic?utm_source=elixir-mentor- LLM Catalog: https://llmcatalog.dev/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Founder Playbook: https://github.com/getagentseal/founder-playbook?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Killswitch: https://killswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentorConnect with Mike:- X: https://x.com/mikehostetler?utm_source=elixir-mentor- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikehostetler?utm_source=elixir-mentorSponsors:- BEAMOps: https://beamops.co.uk/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Paraxial.io: https://paraxial.io/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Jido: https://agentjido.xyz/discord?utm_source=elixir-mentorSUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

Michael Lubas, CEO of Paraxial.io and the first guest ever on this podcast, is back to check in on the state of security. We get into Microsoft's record Patch Tuesday, why AI keeps lowering the bar for attackers, the OpenAI sandbox escape story, and whether the AI labs are overstating the risk.Michael shares why cheap foundational checks still beat a frontier model, why small companies should skip bug bounties, and why Elixir gets no credit for its security. Plus live questions from chat.00:00 - Introduction02:34 - ElixirConf US and the Hex pentest talk06:20 - Microsoft's record Patch Tuesday13:50 - Engineers who stopped reading their code14:54 - LLMs as offensive security engineers17:40 - Sandbox escapes and the OpenAI incident23:00 - Are the AI labs overstating the risk?26:09 - The open weights debate29:32 - Developer anxiety and the Rails World keynote35:00 - Why it's getting worse for defenders38:30 - Run grep before a frontier model41:11 - Why Elixir has an edge right now45:21 - Patch windows in the AI era47:11 - Can a startup stop a nation state?50:06 - Securing your Elixir app with AI57:17 - Letting AI patch production live1:01:38 - Learning security as a developer1:03:42 - Why small companies should skip bug bounties1:04:54 - Insecure MCPs and AI assistants1:10:14 - Verifying beneficiaries in Killswitch1:12:36 - Q&A: Simulating catastrophic events1:13:25 - Q&A: Learning ethical hacking with AI1:16:22 - Kids, social media, and regulation1:23:17 - Q&A: Are garbage collected languages safer?1:27:26 - Where to find MichaelResources Mentioned:- Securing Hex: https://paraxial.io/blog/hex-pentest?utm_source=elixir-mentor- PortSwigger Web Security Academy: https://portswigger.net/web-security?utm_source=elixir-mentor- The Web Application Hacker's Handbook (2nd ed.)- Killswitch: https://killswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentorConnect with Michael:- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaellubas?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Paraxial.io on X: https://x.com/paraxialio?utm_source=elixir-mentorSponsors:- BEAMOps: https://beamops.co.uk/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Paraxial.io: https://paraxial.io/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Jido: https://agentjido.xyz/discord?utm_source=elixir-mentorSUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

Adam Gusky, solo founder of Blawgy, on how businesses get recommended by ChatGPT and other AI tools, and what technical founders get wrong about marketing. Adam went from a college wrestling meme page and 30 side projects to quitting his job, selling Blawgy as a hand-built service, watching it churn, and rebuilding it into a product agencies now run for their clients.We get into SEO vs AEO, whether a post every day still works, and why most people will buy software instead of vibe coding it. I share how customers are finding Killswitch through AI answers, the Grok Bot team behind its marketing, and the partner program I'm building with attorneys and financial advisors.00:00 - Introduction02:19 - A college meme page and 30 side projects04:05 - What Blawgy does04:51 - Is SEO dead? SEO vs AEO and GEO07:18 - How long before it works10:34 - FoodBuddy and the menu item calorie play12:21 - Agent readiness and llms.txt15:23 - Customers finding Killswitch through AI18:35 - Quitting the job to build Blawgy22:12 - From hand-built service to real product24:26 - Guardrails and multi-pass quality checks26:17 - The Blawgy pixel and refreshing old posts33:30 - Why people buy software instead of vibe coding it38:37 - Handoff plans for solo founders45:23 - Blawgy's stack, AI coding tools, and Tmux54:06 - Marketing Killswitch with Grok Bots56:31 - CAPTCHAs, bots, and AI slop on social58:48 - A partner program for attorneys and advisors1:01:09 - Local cold outreach that gets replies1:03:02 - Why Blawgy sells to agencies1:09:50 - Tiered pricing and finding agencies with Apollo1:13:23 - SEO agencies, backlinks, and a cold email experiment1:16:34 - Is a post every day overkill?1:19:08 - Building an AI podcast producer1:27:42 - Where to find AdamResources Mentioned:- Blawgy: https://blawgy.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- MyFoodBuddy: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/myfoodbuddy/id6505124191?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Is It Agent Ready: https://isitagentready.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Killswitch: https://killswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentorConnect with Adam:- X/Twitter: https://x.com/adamc0dez?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Blawgy on X: https://x.com/blawgyseo?utm_source=elixir-mentorSponsors:- BEAMOps: https://beamops.co.uk/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Paraxial.io: https://paraxial.io/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Jido: https://agentjido.xyz/discord?utm_source=elixir-mentorSUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

Brice Ayres, founder of Axio Intelligence, on fractional engineering and what changes when one senior engineer can run a team of AI agents. Brice went from the Army and a 3.7 million follower Facebook cause to finding Elixir at Topgolf, leading engineering orgs, and going out on his own.We get into managing agents like an engineering org, whether you still need to read every line, and why Ash keeps LLMs on the rails. I share how a team of Grok Bots handles marketing, support, and QA for Killswitch, and we close with Brice's playbook for cutting cloud costs.00:00 - Introduction02:51 - Web dev class, the Army, and a viral nonprofit08:38 - Finding Elixir at Topgolf13:00 - What is fractional engineering?16:10 - Vibe coding and why engineers still matter24:03 - Think like an engineering manager26:32 - Reviewing AI code, Ash, and established patterns29:55 - Offmic, a live AI podcast producer35:18 - Running agents like an engineering org40:51 - Read-only agents in prod and self-healing infra42:05 - A Polymarket bot with agent consensus47:06 - Marketing Killswitch with Grok Bots52:06 - Lighthouse scores and agentic browsing56:13 - Getting found by LLMs59:27 - Order with Surf: agentic food ordering1:02:48 - Agent QA and local testing with K3s and Floci1:05:40 - Data labeling, synthetic data, and edge AI1:08:55 - Nerves, Peridio, and Avocado OS1:11:47 - Bot traffic, analytics, and self-hosting1:16:00 - Hardware stories and real-world edge cases1:26:24 - When engineers ship faster than you can plan1:29:10 - Monoliths, Postgres scaling, and ETS1:36:40 - Where to find Brice1:37:44 - Cutting cloud costs: logging and AZ trafficResources Mentioned:- Axio Intelligence: https://axiointelligence.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Grok Bot: https://x.ai/news/introducing-grok-bot?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Killswitch: https://killswitch.app/?utm_source=elixir-mentorConnect with Brice:- X/Twitter: https://x.com/briceayres?utm_source=elixir-mentor- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briceayres/?utm_source=elixir-mentorSponsors:- BEAMOps: https://beamops.co.uk/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Paraxial.io: https://paraxial.io/?utm_source=elixir-mentor- Jido: https://agentjido.xyz/discord?utm_source=elixir-mentorSUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR- Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor#ElixirLang #MyElixirStatus #ElixirMentor

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I step a little outside the BEAM to talk with Francesco Ciulla, Head of DevRel at Zerops. Francesco came up as a Rust developer and content creator with a 300,000-subscriber YouTube channel, and we get into the problem every builder runs into: getting developers to actually adopt what you ship.Francesco shares how he went from a corporate developer role at the European Space Agency to going independent, building an audience, and publishing his own Rust book. We talk about why distribution matters as much as the work itself, how public speaking changed him, and what being a developer looks like in 2026 with AI in the mix.From there we get into developer relations directly. Francesco explains what the job actually is, why you can't advocate for a product you don't believe in, and how he builds credibility for something he didn't write. He breaks down what Zerops does as a platform, how it compares to running things on GCP, and where developers fall off between signing up and getting real value.We also cover building a brand by declaring it and not stopping, why negative comments are a sign your audience is growing, language tribalism in tech, the risks of shipping vibe-coded projects without thinking about security, and what it takes to run Elixir on Zerops. A useful conversation for anyone trying to get a tool, a project, or themselves in front of developers.Resources Mentioned:- Zerops:https://zerops.ioConnect with Francesco:- X/Twitter:https://x.com/FrancescoCiull4- Website:https://francescociulla.comSponsors:- BEAMOps:https://beamops.co.uk- Paraxial.io:https://paraxial.ioSUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR- Elixir Mentor:https://elixirmentor.com