#020 - Matthew Smith @Whale

Mike McAlistair is a designer, software engineer and course creator from the Midwest, USA. For nearly two decades, Mike has been crafting quality WordPress products, achieving significant success when WP Engine acquired his Array Themes and Atomic Blocks. Following this success and leveraging his shipping experience, he created the Liftoff course to help creators bring their products to market. Today, we delve into his new Ollie WordPress block theme, how he plans to monetize it, AI shortcuts and his preference for the long road, his passion for space photography, and what the first order of business would be if he took over at WordPress.Watch the full interview on YouTube:https://yo.fm/mikeSponsor:A massive love-filled thanks to Webflow who encouraged me to go all-in on the video format. They are the full season 3 sponsor Chapters:(00:00) AI vs Human Touch(02:54) Milwaukee(05:04) Intermission: No Context(07:02) Aliens Exist (WP UX)(07:25) Sponsor: Webflow(08:29) Ollie Block Theme(14:34) Salvage WordPress(19:01) Aging UI in video tutorials(21:53) Ollie Pro(27:49) Future of WP block editors (feat. Noel Tock)(31:18) Me or We (feat. Patrick Posner)(32:27) Step away and get paid(35:38) Intermission: Overrated, Underrated(36:53) Liftoff Creator Course(39:05) Promo: Yo.FM(39:50) Course Distribution(53:10) Space Photography(56:55) No Shortcuts(01:01:18) Where to follow Mike(01:02:06) Outro (Art is Hard)

Grace Walker is an independent web designer, developer and course creator. For years she has been delivering high quality websites to her clients and has earned her a reputation as an S-tier freelancer in the Webflow community. We delve into her new Fast Forward Freelance course, the tech stack behind it, the transparency behind her Twitter annual reports and we get creative with a fun case-study on how Grace would execute a local deli website redesign from concept to deployment.Watch the full interview on YouTube:https://yo.fm/graceSponsor:A massive love-filled thanks to Webflow who encouraged me to go all-in on the video format. They are the full season 3 sponsor Chapters:(00:00) From Calgary to Cape Town(01:03) Calgary: No place like home (02:37) Cape Town: Bucket list(03:34) Intermission: No Context(05:01) Fast Forward Freelance(10:58) Cohorts vs 24/7 sales(12:50) Sponsor: Webflow(13:55) Cohort promotion benefits(14:25) Course Tech Stack(17:45) Future courses?(20:05) Family planning(21:08) Cameo: Mike McAlister S3E4(21:40) Transparency earning reports(28:14) Intermission: Overrated, Underrated(29:21) Minimalism vs Essentialism(30:02) This week at home(31:12) Case-study: Designing a local deli website(37:15) Losing control(38:00) Why follow Grace?(43:19) Carving your own path(45:37) Outro(47:02) Behind the scenes

Rogie King is a larger than life designer who rides the intersection of art and code. For decades he has carving up digital screens, producing the most delicious pixel treats. Each layered with subtle details and personality. We chat about his designer advocate role at Figma, what makes a good community, how to get started with your first Figma plugins, what he'd do if he took over Dribbble and we rank the all time horror film greats in a brand new intermission called Rogie's Fright Night.Watch the full interview on YouTube:https://yo.fm/rogieSponsor:A massive love-filled thanks to Webflow who encouraged me to go all-in on the video format. They are the full season 3 sponsor Chapters:(00:00) The Pixel King(01:10) The horse-headed crocodile(03:54) Moving to Salt Lake City(05:16) Sponsor: Webflow(06:20) Introvert Extrovert(08:26) Intermission: No Context(10:46) Scary Fast Figma(11:59) Designer Advocate?(18:59) Figma community(23:08) How to start a community(25:17) Who is doing community right?(27:11) Collecting Disney pins(28:40) Rob birding and nerding(31:05) Cameo: Yo! Grace Walker (S3E3)(31:15) How would you revive Dribbble?(35:35) Creating Figma plugins(45:22) Intermission: Overrated Underrated(47:34) Hunting and eating your own meat(53:10) The Sandwich Generation(60:01) Find your people(62:37) Where to follow Rogie(64:00) Bonus: Rogie's Fright Night

Dann Petty is a freelance designer, educator, event host and prolific maker with a big portfolio of side projects. His energy is infectious and you can just see he is having so much fun with his work. We chat about freelancing, what it takes to say yes or no to opportunities, his favorite client gift, the creative process behind his fun tech ads, and I put Dann on the spot to design a freelance portfolio from scratch. Watch the full interview on YouTube:https://yo.fm/dannSponsor:A massive love-filled thanks to Webflow who encouraged me to go all-in on the video format. They are the full season 3 sponsor Chapters:(00:00) Yo! Returns  (00:56) The Right Hander  (01:49) Intermission: No Context  (05:20) Design Full-Time P1(05:59) Sponsor: Webflow  (06:48) Design Full-Time P1(08:12) Creating Courses  (09:35) Rob from the Edit  (10:58) Yes or No  (12:41) Design Commercials  (16:40) One Page Love Sponsorships (18:15) Cameo: Yo! Rogie King (S3E2)  (18:46) Dreaming of Snow  (20:06) Dann's Inspiration  (21:09) Intermission: Overrated, Underrated  (22:57) YouTube vs Twitter  (26:54) Outsourcing Video  (28:32) Cameo: Yo! Grace Walker (S3E3)  (29:35) How to Design a Portfolio  (32:11) Anxiety  (34:07) "Can I get a health talk"  (34:56) How much is enough?  (37:43) Where to follow Dann  (38:47) Art is Hard.

Traf is a Canadian designer and digital craftsman, with an impressive portfolio of online creations. His journey skyrocketed in 2020 when his minimal iOS12 icon pack became a viral hit. He amassed a staggering six-figure sum in just six days, and has since raked in upwards of $400,000. Now paved with runway, Traf further leaned into his passions, collaborating on NFTs, forging innovative more digital products and more recently launched a course on how he builds with Framer. We rap about the the tech stack behind his online course, working solo and staying lean, his dedication to minimalism, creator mental health and why he's so bullish on the potential of Framer.

Matthew Smith (@whale) is a successful entrepreneur and product designer. He has worked with figures and organizations like Seth Godin, the Gates Foundation, and the US Postal Service. In 2014, he co-created Really Good Emails, which quickly became the world's premier source for email design inspiration. In 2021, driven by his pursuit of meaningful work, Smith co-founded Bunsen, a niche creative studio aiding science-oriented companies with strategy, branding, and messaging. We rap about our inherent desire to curate online inspiration, strategies for effective sales pitches to clients, and just how to find an industry you'll love working in.

Jorn van Dijk  is a Dutch designer, startup investor and CEO of the Framer website builder. After leaving his role as one of the early product designers at Facebook, he co-founded Framer in 2014, which was then a prototyping tool. Nine years and several strategic shifts later, Framer evolved into a robust website builder, earning admiration from top designers worldwide. We rap about the upcoming road to $100m revenue, explore their product roadmap, the potential impact of AI on the template building industry and just how Framer hype up a good product launch.

Michael Riddering AKA Ridd is an experienced designer who recently found huge success teaching online. After strategically providing a ton of free value across multiple networks, he launched his Figma Academy in 2022 earning over $300,000 in the first 4 months. This green-lit and helped boost his next startup Dive, an online learning platform with a world class team to help level up your design career. We rap about what it takes to stand out as a UX designer, how AI could assist online eduction and we get practical with a value-packed case study on how to plan, hype and launch a digital product if you have no audience.

Drew Wilson is an accomplished designer, developer and entrepreneur with a prolific portfolio of online projects. In 2014 he founded payment startup Plasso which was later acquired by GoDaddy. Drew now works on his new venture Logical to help startups visually build and launch web services. We rap about AI disrupting the film industry, surfing with beefy sharks, why Letter Banking closed down, film vs web, his passion project Ryte and exactly what angel investors are looking for in pitch decks.(01:17) Surfing or Legoland(02:36) Road trip across 48 United States(03:42) Sharks vs Orcas(05:34) Intermission: Overrated, Underrated(06:53) What is Logical all about?(12:04) How important is it to distill your idea down into a one liner for potential investors?(13:14) If you can’t narrow your idea to a tagline, is it fair to say you aren’t focused enough on a niche to launch?(14:18) What is essential to include in a deck for potential investors?  (16:47) Logical: will it cater for cached layers?(18:27) Logical: authentication types(19:37) Logical: team members(20:16) Logical: Any investors?(21:00) Intermission: No Context(22:05) Film vs web(23:13) If your Plasso exit was hypothetically 100x - what are you funding next?(26:15) Sonic movie success(27:22) Logan, one of his favourite movies(28:26) Early film projects(29:25) Is there an urge to fix something in film industry or do you want to make great stories?(31:20) Will AI disrupt film?    (36:00) Letter Banking: What happened?(38:35) Letter Banking:In hindsight do you think there were indicators?(39:40) Letter Banking: Could you not replace the Series A investor?(43:35) Letter Banking: What is the silver lining?(45:15) Is Logical a breath of fresh air after a banking startup?(47:37) Do you think startups are missing an opportunity for video to amplify their marketing efforts?(50:27) What is Ryte? Is it danger zone working dual with Logical?(55:14) Ryte: Are you breaking through some engineering feat that hasn't been built before?(55:40) Ryte: Do you build this to solve your own problems or to be acquired?(56:15) AI: What advice do you have for listeners scare of upcoming AI landscape?  

Dru Riley is the founder and editor of the successful Trends.vc newsletter. Boasting over 50,000 subscribers and 1,000 Pro members, Dru dedicates all his time to deliver highly informative reports to his growing community of business owners and marketers. We rap about the software he uses, growth vs retention, mental health, social media vs community, and what it takes to run a premium newsletter publication.