5 Rules for Building AI Agents That Work in Production | Nan Yu & Jacob Shumway

5 Rules for Building AI Agents That Work in Production | Nan Yu & Jacob Shumway

Author: Peter Yang August 9, 2026 Duration: 38:26

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Nan and Jacob built Linear Agent, which has transformed how the $1.25B company gets work done. In this episode, they took me from the initial memo to launch, showing how to give an agent tools to find the context it needs, use evals to improve reliability, and more. This episode is a must-watch if you want a concrete, behind-the-scenes example of how to build a production agent end to end.


We talked about:

(00:00) What’s holding AI agents back as models improve?

(00:51) Three things every good agent needs

(03:00) Demo: The internal memo that started Linear Agent

(09:50) The biggest mistake to avoid when building agents

(11:29) Demo: From Slack to code in 6 minutes with the agent

(17:01) When prototyping, “use the biggest model until it works”

(24:02) Give agents tools to find context, not more context

(34:07) The first thing to do before building an agent


Thanks to our sponsors:

Oceans: Hire AI-native EAs http://oceanstalent.com/peter

Riverside: All-in-one AI studio for podcasts and video https://creators.riverside.com/PeterYang

Linear: The AI agent platform for modern teams https://linear.app/behind-the-craft


📌 Get the takeaways: https://creatoreconomy.so/p/5-rules-for-building-ai-agents-in-production-linear-nan-jacob


Where to find Nan and Jacob:

Nan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thenanyu

Jacob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-shumway-314a8366

Linear Agent: https://linear.app/docs/linear-agent


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For anyone building the future, Behind the Craft is a conversation with Peter Yang that moves beyond theory and into the tangible details of creation. This podcast lives in the messy, rewarding space where ideas become real products. Each episode is built on candid interviews with experts who have been in the trenches, dissecting the pivotal decisions, the unexpected hurdles, and the hard-won lessons that rarely make it into a polished case study. You’ll hear the unvarnished stories behind the features and companies shaping our world, focusing on the practical frameworks and mental models that effective product leaders and creators rely on daily. It’s about understanding the craft from the inside out-the strategic shifts, the team dynamics, the user insights that truly move the needle. Tune in for a direct, no-fluff dialogue designed to accelerate your own journey, providing actionable guidance you can apply immediately to level up your own work. This is where the blueprint meets the build.
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