RS338:  Balancing Your Use of AI with Aaron Francis

RS338: Balancing Your Use of AI with Aaron Francis

Author: RogueStartups February 26, 2025 Duration: 52:12
Ever wonder what's happening behind the scenes when your dev team says they're "leveraging AI"? As a non-technical founder, you don't need to understand every line of code, but knowing how AI is actually being used in your business is becoming essential. Today I'm sitting down with Aaron Francis, who pulls back the curtain on AI in development work. We'll explore the surprising differences between how veterans and newcomers in the field are using these tools, the common pitfalls teams fall into, and the unexpected ways AI is transforming how products get built. Whether you're trying to speak your developer's language or just want to ensure your company is using AI effectively, this conversation will give you the insights you need.   Highlights from this Episode: Are junior developers utilizing AI too much? Creating a balance between overusing AI and being a Luddite How Aaron uses Claude for “discrete” tasks Developers aren’t going away anytime soon Balancing the use of AI without depending too much on it Harnessing the power of AI for your business AI tools are both calming and scary for founders Aaron’s different uses for 01 Pro What AI can do versus what AI should do and undeniably human tasks Where to go to educate yourself about AI The importance of testing and checking AI work   Resources and Links from this Episode: Try Hard Studios: https://tryhardstudios.com/ Aaron Francis: https://x.com/aarondfrancis Reforge: https://www.reforge.com/profiles/brian-balfour SWYX: https://x.com/swyx https://www.youtube.com/@JeffSu https://www.youtube.com/@SkillLeapAI https://www.youtube.com/@MATGpod Email me: podcast@roguestartups.com Find me on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TheCraigHewitt

Behind every new company is a story, and Rogue Startups digs into the real ones-the messy, uncertain, and exhilarating paths founders actually walk. This isn't about polished success tales; it's a candid look at the day-to-day grind of building a business from the ground up. You'll hear directly from entrepreneurs in the thick of it, along with seasoned experts who specialize in the crucial engines of growth: sales, marketing, and product development. Conversations focus on practical tactics, particularly around scaling productized services and SaaS offerings, exploring the real "how" behind their growth hacking strategies. The value of this podcast lies in that shared experience-hearing how others navigate the very obstacles you might be staring down, and learning what moves actually led to a win. It’s for anyone who prefers the unvarnished truth of entrepreneurship over theory, offering a sense of camaraderie and a toolbox of ideas drawn from the front lines. Tune in for authentic dialogue that skips the fluff and gets straight to the challenges and victories of building something new.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Rogue Startups
Podcast Episodes
RS337: Building AI Native SaaS w/ Jordan Gal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:06
Today, Craig chats with Jordan Gal from Rosie about starting a business centered solely on AI. While many of us use AI to help with our work tasks and streamline certain jobs, Jordan’s whole business is AI. They discuss…
RS336: Claude Project Deep Dive with Alison French [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:43
On today’s episode of Rogue Startups, Craig continues his AI series with founder, marketer, and Claude-user Alison French. They discuss the hesitation creators feel when working alongside AI and what Alison did to overco…
RS335: Evaluating AI Model Performance with Stuart Grey [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:06
In today’s episode of Rogue Startups, Craig sits down with AI expert Dr. Stuart Grey to discuss how AI is transforming both his personal and professional life. Dr. Grey also shares how he educates his students and client…
RS334: How AI Saves Me 10 Hours A Week [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:51
Today, I’m kicking off a series on AI—how I’m using it personally and professionally to grow my business, make life easier, and operate at a higher level. Over the next few episodes, I’ll be chatting with folks about the…
RS333: Grading My Business (and yours!) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:03
In this New Year's Eve 2024 episode, we dive into a framework for evaluating SaaS businesses across eight crucial criteria. Instead of doing a typical year-in-review or making predictions, we explore how to assess the fu…
RS332: Competing with Stripe and Hubspot (ft. Geoff Roberts) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:14
Hey everyone! Just had an awesome chat with Geoff Roberts from Outseta (outseta.com). They're doing something pretty wild - basically smashing together Stripe and HubSpot into one platform for subscription businesses. Ho…
RS331: I'm Still Here... [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:23
After a 2+ month hiatus, we're back! Watch on YouTube Sorry for the pause in episodes, but thank you for tuning in this week. In this episode I talk through why the forever long break in the podcast, what I've learned in…
RS330: Product-Led Playbook with Wes Bush [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:52
Wes Bush is a leading authority on product-led growth (PLG) and is here to guide Craig through the playbook for implementing product-led strategies in your business. This episode is invaluable for entrepreneurs eager to…
How To Hire For Growth [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:20
In this episode of Rogue Startups, I dug into several pressing questions from the community. From knowing when to pull the plug on a marketing channel to the debate around hiring for support versus sales, we covered grou…
RS328: Are you Productive or Effective as a founder? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 14:27
Running a business is both incredibly rewarding and exhausting. Over the years, I’ve experienced highs of motivation and productivity, but I’ve also hit those low points, battling burnout and loneliness. In this post, I…