We make 2 big announcements about changes to The Panel. Then we debate whether there's a founder branding advantage and how AI will affect small software teams in 2026.

Timestamps:

• (00:46) - Our first announcement
• (02:20) - Why are we bringing Jordan on as a co-host?
• (06:51) - Why did Jordan want to join The Panel?
• (14:48) - What's the new format for The Panel?
• (18:29) - Is there a founder branding advantage?
• (37:03) - How is AI going to affect Saas in 2026 and beyond?
• (43:32) - How small teams can adapt easier than larger teams to 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
• Marketing for Developers
• A Mexican standoff Happening in AI
• The five stages of losing our craft
• Justin is the co-founder of Transistor.fm
• Brian is the founder of Builder Methods
• Jordan is the co-founder of Rosie

Important: we're no longer livestreaming on Justin's personal YouTube channel. Make sure you're subscribed to ​The Panel's channel​ to get notified when we go live:

Subscribe to The Panel YouTube here -->

Join us FRIDAY (tomorrow, Feb 20) at 11 AM Pacific (2 pm EST) for a surprise announcement:
https://www.youtube.com/live/sxASjnzAYkw

We'll be announcing:
- A new ███████ ██████ ████
- And a brand new ████ ███████
- New livestream/recording time: Friday, 11 am Pacific
- Livestreams will now be streamed from ​The Panel YT channel​, not Justin's personal channel

Brian and Justin jump off Matt Shumer's "Something Big is Happening" article to ask questions like is something big happening in AI that even regular folks need to be preparing for? Is this the most important year of your work as a software developer? Should you be getting your financial house in order to prepare for what's about to hit us all?

Timestamps:

• (00:12) - Sick snow
• (02:46) - Something big is happening here (AI edition)
• (21:02) - Not having to be held down by legacy code speeds you up
• (28:36) - Warnings to the non-technical world about AI
• (45:35) - Humans have a hard time assessing their field of view in the future
• (48:55) - This might be the most important year of your work
• (51:12) - AI in education with kids
• (56:05) - Seeing the world the way it is vs the way it was
• (58:23) - Getting your financial house in order
• (01:04:14) - The job market and the economy
• (01:13:00) - Sometimes you have to play the game not on the field

• 🎤 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:

• Justin's snowboard adventure in Revelstoke
• "Something Big is Happening" – The viral Matt Shumer article (76M views)
• Matt Shumer's blog
• Matt Shumer's company (HyperWrite)
• "Tool Shaped Objects" – The response to Shumer's post
• Justin's new RSS feed
• Builder Methods video library (Claude Code course)
• Moneyball: "Adapt or die" clip
• Justin's post on XSLT going away