Now that the holiday break is over, how are we feeling about 2026? We're talking about the new ideas we have to build or work on, as well as predictions for 2026 in AI, building, normal tech usage, and social media.

Timestamps:

• (00:07) - New year, new excitement
• (01:40) - What has changed since the holiday break?
• (06:18) - Is Justin going to republish Marketing for Developers?
• (11:30) - Building a membership site in Ghost
• (18:37) - How Justin might release the updated content and podcast
• (24:42) - Focus on original instead of the average
• (37:25) - How Brian used Claude to generate visuals for a course on Claude Code
• (46:43) - If everyone is jumping on AI coding in 2026, how is Brian set up to meet the demand?
• (01:00:56) - Prediction for 2026: Standing out from the crowd is going to be key
• (01:05:31) - What's stressing Brian about social media in 2026
• (01:09:36) - Partnerships are going to be very important in 2026
• (01:11:01) - The new media will just become the media
• (01:15:14) - OpenAI will fade from the lead position
• (01:20:36) - AI adoption by normal people needs a better paradigm
• (01:27:13) - AI in music and tv wont' be significant
• (01:29:44) - The problem or the blessing of building even faster with AI in a year
• (01:38:29) - Bootstrapping will become the norm again in 2026
• (01:42:12) - Meta is going to have a big year in 2026

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Links mentioned in this episode:

• Marketing for Developers
• Ghost CMS
• Technical knowledge to build an app
• Acquired 10th anniversary
• Acquired sponsorship rates
• Adam's morning walk episode
• Adam's tweet
• Brian's Claude Code course
• Claude Skills / Design World

We're looking back at what our thoughts were about 2025, and scheming ideas and plans for 2026. How do you hand over decision making in your business in an AI world? How does remote work first affect junior developers? And do you panic when sales slow down? Adjust? Rethink everything?

Timestamps:

• (00:06) - Does Transistor get quiet around the Xmas holidays?
• (02:08) - Dealing with insecurity in business
• (05:34) - The Panel in 2026
• (07:09) - Looking back on 2025
• (12:54) - What kind of person is going to do well in 2026?
• (20:51) - Figuring out how to hand over decision making to junior developers
• (28:10) - Remote work vs local work
• (32:35) - Every business is a people business, every problem is a people problem, every solution is a people solution
• (41:03) - We can make requests and we can have boundaries
• (45:08) - What do I want?
• (48:29) - Should Brian diversify his marketing funnel away from YouTube?
• (01:05:06) - Building a cloud service for my products
• (01:24:04) - Building Inbox Summaries
• (01:28:27) - Rewriting for Marketing for Developers for AI

• 🎤 Send us an audio or video message
• 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com
• 📺 Leave a comment on YouTube
  
• 🦋 Reply on Bluesky
  

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Bootstrapped Web | 2025 recap & 2026 outlook
• Design OS
• Adam Wathan
• Chris Enns / 🍋
• Tuple
• Taylor Otwell
• Obsidian
• Every
• ONCE
• Lars Lofgren
• Marketing for Developers

Justin shares his thoughts on competition crushing his business, Brian contemplates open sourcing an idea for front end AI tooling, and when should you run with a new idea vs knowing when to drop it.

Timestamps:

• (00:00) - Get into it!
• (00:47) - A founder has to worry about threats and opportunities
• (17:55) - What got us here won't get us there
• (28:42) - Why are trials increasing in 2025?
• (34:20) - An update on Builder Methods
• (40:11) - Deciding when to drop or maintain a project
• (51:07) - People want AI on rails
• (01:12:28) - 37Signals new product Fizzy
• (01:15:52) - What's the benefit to open sourcing a project?
• (01:32:59) - Leaving some value on the table

• 🎤 Send us an audio or video message
• 📧 Email us: panelpodcastshow@gmail.com
• 📺 Leave a comment on YouTube
  
• 🦋 Reply on Bluesky
  

Links mentioned in this episode

• Adam’s morning walk podcast
• Brian’s personal site
• Brian’s DesignOS announcement
• 37signals Fizzy
• Nathan Barry “Leave some value on the table”
• Tailwind CSS Insiders
• Rework podcast “picking a price”