60 Mins of Brutal Product Truth: 11 Leaders on AI, User Testing & Why NPS Is Killing Your Product

What happens when you stop asking users what they want — and start watching what they actually do? This supercut brings together 11 of the sharpest product and UX leaders from the UX Stories podcast for 60 minutes of unfiltered takes on building in the age of AI, vibe coding, and a generation of builders who've never done a usability test. From "NPS is the worst thing to happen to product" to an AWS leader declaring every user deserves a VIP AI experience — this is the product conversation the industry needs. ⏱️ TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Aaron Montana (LaunchDarkly) — 57 trillion data points & the psychology of building wrong 2:21 Abhishek Vyas (Auditoria) — Is agentic AI enterprise-ready? The rise of AI committees 6:55 Alex Pyatigorskiy (Vama) — The "Torture Room" that C-suite executives fought to get into 9:43 Alina Hernando Paleno (Agile Engine) — Predicting user needs before they arise: the CIFM framework 14:13 Apurva Garware (Invisible Technologies) — Teaching AI like teaching children + the future of hybrid teams 16:60 Arvind Duhan (DispatchTrack) — Are vibe coders treating customers as guinea pigs? 25:10 Dan Breyre (Sofar Ocean) — The 14-pound equipment lesson that changed everything 28:14 Fy Knight (Recidiviz) — "The money always follows when you listen to users" 31:07 Fy Knight (Recidiviz) — Henry Ford's real lesson: skateboard → scooter → car 35:12 Jason Levine (AWS) — The trumpet thrown over a fence & knowing your real user 37:12 Jason Levine (AWS) — AI that adapts to YOU: the end of one-size-fits-all UX 40:46 Jason Levine (AWS) — The trumpet story: your buyer ≠ your user 42:17 Jason Moore (Planful) — The UX myth that's killing designers' careers 44:40 Jason Moore (Planful) — Why the smallest research team is a leadership failure 47:28 Manish Upasani (Utimaco) — Trust as invisible UX: when encryption just works 48:59 Mazen Letayf (Alkami Technology) — "NPS is the worst thing to happen to product in 20 years" 🎙️ ABOUT UX STORIES Hosted by Lihong Hicken, co-founder of TheySaid (built by the original UserTesting.com team). Every episode explores the gap between how fast we build and how slowly we listen. 👉 Try AI-moderated user testing free: https://theysaid.io #ProductManagement #UXDesign #UserTesting #AIProduct #VibeCoding #ProductStrategy #UserResearch #SaaS #StartupAdvice #DesignThinking

What is UX Stories Podcast?

If you want to understand your customers more deeply and unlock growth that doesn't rely on guesswork, this series is for you. Founders, operators, and product leaders tune in to learn how real conversations shape better products, better decisions, and better outcomes.

In each episode of UX Stories Podcast, you'll explore how fast-growing teams uncover meaningful insights using smarter feedback loops and authentic user conversations. Inspired by the approach behind TheySaid, this show digs into why traditional surveys fall short and how modern teams gather richer, more actionable signals that drive real business impact.