🎥 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kas27lxen4 🛠️ Hire me to implement AI in your business: https://mjs.link/work?s=fbp-ep97 🎓 Join my community and learn how to leverage AI: https://mjs.link/mbs?s=fbp-ep97 💡 Book a 1:1 advisory call with me: https://mjs.link/advisory?s=fbp-ep97 🎙️ About this episode with Lars Faye Lars Faye is a self taught developer with about fifteen years in the trenches, co founder of Chee Studio in Buffalo, and the guy who wrote "Agentic Coding is a Trap." That article hit the front page of Hacker News, got read on air by Theo (t3.gg), and got covered by Cal Newport. He and I actually met arguing about this stuff in the comments on LinkedIn, so this conversation is the long version of that argument. We trace his whole path first: five years old on an MS DOS prompt, a computer repair job he hated, his wife telling him he could just do it himself, first client websites in 2008 right as the economy collapsed, then going all in on agency work. Then we get into it. Lars is not anti AI. He uses agents every day and says every developer alive wants to type less. His argument is that there is no free lunch, that the tools which make you fast are the same tools that quietly stop you from learning, and that only a sharp developer can catch what a model gets wrong. We cover why he thinks the real problem is composition rather than code quality, what he means when he says the agents start to own you, why pointing an LLM at your own back catalog makes you stagnant, and the part I did not expect, which is that he thinks LLMs are going to cause the biggest surge of real programmers in history. I pushed back on a lot of this. He pushed back on me. If you are a builder trying to figure out how hard to lean into agents without hollowing yourself out, this is the conversation. Read the article: https://larsfaye.com/articles/agentic-coding-is-a-trap 🔗 Connect with Lars Faye Website: https://larsfaye.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@larsfayedev LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/larsfaye/ Company: Chee Studio https://cheewebdevelopment.com 🔗 Connect with Mark Szymanski Website: https://markszymanski.co Facebook: https://mjs.link/fb?s=fbp-ep97 Instagram: https://mjs.link/ig?s=fbp-ep97 LinkedIn: https://mjs.link/li?s=fbp-ep97 X: https://mjs.link/x?s=fbp-ep97 YouTube: https://mjs.link/yt?s=fbp-ep97 🎧 About this show Fueled By Progress is a long-form conversation series with builders, operators, and thinkers exploring business, technology, and what it actually takes to build a meaningful life in a modern world. If you're new here, welcome. If you've been here since episodes recorded in my car, thank you. We're still just getting warmed up 💪 🆓 Free Value - Get your AI Resource Bundle: https://mjs.link/resources?s=fbp-ep97 - Full AI Crash Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cd_ntgOuY - Claude Code Beginner's Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nJ_8_77Yg - Follow my thinking between videos: https://mjs.link/newsletter?s=fbp-ep97 ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Cold open 00:40 Intro 05:56 Meet Lars Faye 06:25 The article that went viral, and Theo reading it on air 07:42 Where "agentic coding is a trap" actually came from 16:14 You need a job to get expertise and expertise to get a job 23:08 Self taught from MS DOS, computer repair, and going solo 26:14 First websites in 2008, then going all in on agencies 36:05 Right tool for the job, and the sites nobody ever touches 37:57 Why developers get ossified in one stack 45:14 Writing custom blocks, and learning to love Gutenberg 47:25 Building brand guardrails clients can't break 52:27 Two ways into business, and the e myth trap 55:57 I don't sell a tech solution, I sell the collaboration 59:16 Enter AI 1:01:09 Every developer wants to type less 1:06:19 Cursor, OpenCode, and moving to Chinese models 1:10:20 The three ways people actually use AI 1:14:56 Why he won't hook an agent up to his Gmail 1:16:25 Would he let an agent build the whole site? 1:23:23 Code quality is fine, composition is the problem 1:24:22 At that point, the agents own you 1:27:55 Point an LLM at your old work and you go stagnant 1:31:51 There's no such thing as a free lunch 1:34:13 What happens to a generation missing expertise 1:39:46 You can't learn to cook by watching 1:40:49 Why a surge of real programmers is coming 1:44:33 The steelman, the personal computer and the secretary 1:47:21 Why he's long term optimistic 1:51:29 We're arguing in front of the 0.01% 1:53:26 Have LLMs already plateaued? 1:56:00 Where to find Lars 📃 Ethics Statement: https://markszymanski.co/policies/ethics-statement/

🛠️ Hire me to implement AI in your business: https://markszymanski.co/work-with-me 🎓 Join my community and learn how to leverage AI: https://ModernBuildersSociety.com 💡 Book a 1:1 advisory call with me: https://markszymanski.co/advisory 🎙️ About this episode with Caleb Ralston Caleb Ralston is the brand strategist behind some of the biggest names online. He scaled Gary Vaynerchuk's TikTok from 300K to 3.5 million in three months, built an 18 person media team that generated billions of organic impressions for Alex and Leila Hormozi, and then stepped out on his own to teach founders how to do this for themselves. In this conversation we trace that whole path (carrying lights at his church, the Crush It book that changed everything, Team Gary, VaynerMedia, and the leap to going solo) and then get into the frameworks he teaches now. We cover why most people build a prison instead of a brand, what Gary really meant by document don't create, the student vs expert distinction that tells you exactly how to position yourself, why niching down is non-negotiable even though everyone tells you not to, the name as brand play behind Ralston, and how he uses AI as a multiplier of his own thinking instead of a source. If you have ever felt like you should be putting yourself out there but do not know how to start without sounding like everyone else, this one is for you. Watch Caleb's 6-hour course on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch4Sl0POBhU 🔗 Connect with Caleb Ralston YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CalebRalston Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calebralston LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebralston X: https://x.com/calebralston Website: https://calebralston.com 🔗 Connect with Mark Szymanski Website: https://markszymanski.co Facebook: https://mjs.link/FB Instagram: https://mjs.link/IG LinkedIn: https://mjs.link/LI X: https://mjs.link/X YouTube: https://mjs.link/YT 🎧 About this show Fueled By Progress is a long-form conversation series with builders, operators, and thinkers exploring business, technology, and what it actually takes to build a meaningful life in a modern world. If you're new here, welcome. If you've been here since episodes recorded in my car, thank you. We're still just getting warmed up 💪 🆓 Free Value - Get your AI Resource Bundle: https://markszymanski.co/ai-crash-course-resources - Full AI Crash Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cd_ntgOuY - Claude Code Beginner's Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nJ_8_77Yg - Follow my thinking between videos: https://mjs.link/Newsletter ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Intro 04:25 Meet Caleb Ralston 05:23 Carrying lights to GaryVee, VaynerMedia, and the Hormozis 14:08 Why he finally bet on himself 19:30 Getting the guts to step in front of the camera 20:33 A personal brand vs a prison you are stuck in 22:52 Why most founders can't brand themselves 28:23 What Gary really meant by document, don't create 32:18 Student vs expert, and picking your pond 38:03 Why niching down is non-negotiable 41:18 The name as brand play, rebranding Ralston 46:20 Show your persona while dispensing expertise 49:02 The lines he won't cross 55:33 AI as a multiplier, not a source 59:54 Where to find Caleb 📃 Ethics Statement: https://markszymanski.co/policies/ethics-statement/

🛠️ Hire me to implement AI in your business: https://markszymanski.co/work-with-me 🎓 Join my community and learn how to leverage AI: https://ModernBuildersSociety.com 💡 Book a 1:1 advisory call with me: https://markszymanski.co/advisory     🎙️ About this episode with Mansel Scheffel Mansel Scheffel is an independent AI builder and consultant (AtomicOps) breaking down what actually works in production with Claude Code, agentic workflows, and AI automation. He went from a hungover 22 year old pianist in South Africa to a solo consultant landing some of the largest banks and governments in the world, all without a degree and without ever hiring full time staff. In this conversation we trace that whole path (the leap to London, learning Splunk by getting thrown to the wolves, and the intermediary layer playbook he used to reach clients a solo operator should never have been able to reach) and then bring it into the present, where he runs his AI consulting business AtomicOps alongside a fast growing YouTube channel and community. We get into the no hype, no doom view of AI that we both share, the Anthropic billing change that just broke a lot of the elaborate AIOS builds people sell on YouTube, why he builds constraints first, and how he thinks about vibe coding, security, and what a software engineer is actually worth in a world where the model writes the code. If you are a builder or a solo consultant trying to figure out what actually ships, this one is for you.     🔗 Connect with Mansel Scheffel AI Transformation Academy (Skool community): https://www.skool.com/ainative LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mansel-scheffel/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mansel.scheffel     🔗 Connect with Mark Szymanski Website: https://markszymanski.co Facebook: https://mjs.link/FB Instagram: https://mjs.link/IG LinkedIn: https://mjs.link/LI X: https://mjs.link/X YouTube: https://mjs.link/YT     🎧 About this show Fueled By Progress is a long-form conversation series with builders, operators, and thinkers exploring business, technology, and what it actually takes to build a meaningful life in a modern world.    If you're new here, welcome. If you've been here since episodes recorded in my car, thank you. We're still just getting warmed up 💪      🆓 Free Value  - Get your AI Resource Bundle: https://markszymanski.co/ai-crash-course-resources  - Full AI Crash Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cd_ntgOuY  - Claude Code Beginner's Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nJ_8_77Yg  - Follow my thinking between videos: https://mjs.link/Newsletter      ⏱️ Chapters  00:00 Intro  04:00 What Mansel does now (banks, cybersecurity, AI, solo)  07:54 South Africa to London at 22  10:25 Splunk, the first big bank, going solo  14:14 The worst risk is not taking the risk  17:59 The first solo year and land and expand  20:00 The intermediary layer playbook  22:48 Big clients vs small, and why he started a community  33:38 Starting YouTube and content as lead gen  46:48 No hype, no doom, and who is actually watching  50:01 The Anthropic billing change and constraints first  59:41 The community and the live workshop playbook  1:07:24 Syntax vs orchestration and vibe coding  1:14:38 Making AI builds secure, and the future software engineer  1:25:23 The AI skeptic at the family table      📃 Ethics Statement: https://markszymanski.co/policies/ethics-statement/

🛠️ Hire me to implement AI in your business: https://markszymanski.co/work-with-me 🎓 Join my community and learn how to leverage AI: https://ModernBuildersSociety.com 💡 Book a 1:1 advisory call with me: https://markszymanski.co/advisory 🎙️ About this episode with Jake Goldman Jake Goldman is the founder of 10up, the WordPress agency he scaled to about $45 million in revenue and roughly 300 people over twelve and a half years, before merging it into Fueled and stepping into a partner role. We get into how he started, why he deliberately built a company that was never about him personally, what it looks like to live through the AI transformation as a founder instead of just commenting on it, why he believes customers will keep paying agencies even as AI does more of the work, and his closing call to install one of the tools this weekend and just go try making something you didn't think you could. 🔗 Connect with Jake Goldman LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobgoldman/ Fueled: https://fueled.com 10up: https://10up.com 🔗 Connect with Mark Szymanski Website: https://markszymanski.co Facebook: https://mjs.link/FB Instagram: https://mjs.link/IG LinkedIn: https://mjs.link/LI X: https://mjs.link/X YouTube: https://mjs.link/YT 🎧 About this show Fueled By Progress is a long-form conversation series with builders, operators, and thinkers exploring business, technology, and what it actually takes to build a meaningful life in a modern world. If you're new here, welcome. If you've been here since episodes recorded in my car, thank you. We're still just getting warmed up 💪 🆓 Free Value - Get your AI Resource Bundle: https://markszymanski.co/ai-crash-course-resources - Full AI Crash Course: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cd_ntgOuY - Claude Code Beginner's Guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0nJ_8_77Yg - Follow my thinking between videos: https://mjs.link/Newsletter ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Cold open 00:41 Mark's intro 05:48 Meet Jake Goldman: how he started 10up 12:42 Scaling 10up to $45M and 300 people 18:06 Joyful UX and the developer mindset 23:50 Jake's day to day at Fueled now 25:34 Going all in on AI tooling 37:18 Why this AI shift is genuinely different 39:13 The "golden era" that minted today's web devs 45:03 Personal brand vs entity brand 49:49 Why customers still want humans accountable for code 01:20:00 Emotion, defensiveness, and the AI debate 01:32:49 Jake's advice: just go try and make something 01:34:44 Mark's closing thoughts 📃 Ethics Statement: https://markszymanski.co/policies/ethics-statement/

💡If you like how I think about business, technology, and systems on Fueled By Progress, you can find the best way to work with me or learn more at https://markszymanski.co/start This is a conversation with Josh Hall about building and selling his web design agency, transitioning to courses and community, the identity shifts that come with entrepreneurial evolution, and why being present for family is the real endgame. 🔗 Connect with Josh Hall: Web Designer Pro: https://webdesignerpro.com/ Personal Website: https://joshhall.co/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joshhallco/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshhallco/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshhallco/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JoshHallco 🔗 Connect with Mark Szymanski: Website: https://markszymanski.co Facebook: https://mjs.link/FB Instagram: https://mjs.link/IG LinkedIn: https://mjs.link/LI X: https://mjs.link/X YouTube: https://mjs.link/YT About the show: Fueled By Progress is a long-form conversation series with builders, operators, and thinkers exploring business, technology, and what it actually takes to build a meaningful life in a modern world. If you’re new here, welcome. If you’ve been here since episodes recorded in my car—thank you. We’re still just getting warmed up 💪 Host --- Mark Szymanski Production --- Nathaniel DeHaven (https://elevatedmultimedia.com) Chapters: 0:00 Cold Open 0:40 Mark's Intro 5:29 Welcome and the Freedom of Working From Home 6:18 Topics Preview: Family, Business, and Community 8:07 Josh's Origin Story: Cabinet Maker to Web Designer 10:50 How the Band Translated to Business 13:05 The Evolution of Web Design Over 15 Years 16:05 Why Websites Became the Digital Hub 19:38 The Rise of DIYers and Visual Builders 24:04 Web Designers as Digital Strategists 25:38 Selling the Agency and Going Full-Time Teaching 27:06 What It Means to Be a Community Builder at Heart 30:56 The Learn Build Teach Model 37:55 Knowing When You're Meant for More Than Service Work 43:18 Delayed Gratification and Passion Projects 49:48 What Gets You Here Won't Get You There 53:11 The Trajectory from Courses to Community 59:57 Moving from Lifetime Access to Membership 1:03:12 Staying Relevant After Leaving the Trenches 1:09:57 Identity Shifts as You Evolve 1:15:22 Content Strategy Going Forward 1:21:08 Delegating and Building Mini-Coaches 1:25:43 AI and the Future of Web Design 1:34:36 How Web Designers Should Use AI 1:40:08 Why Family Matters More Than the Business 1:44:41 Wherever You Are, Be There 1:48:03 Structuring Work Around Family 1:54:53 Closing Thoughts and Where to Find Josh