AMA
Answers are getting cheaper. Judgment is getting more valuable.
I’ve spent the last few years across product design, engineering, indie development, and startups. Along the way, I’ve rebuilt how I work around AI.
AI tools are the easy part. I spend more time turning what I know into prompts, workflows, memory, and agents.
That gives me leverage. Judgment still decides what to build, what to skip, and where to go next.
If you’re working through questions like that, let’s talk.
- Duration
- 60 minutes
- Price
- US$99
- Format
- Google Meet or Tencent Meeting
- Notice
- 24 hours
- Booking window
- Next 30 days
About me
I’m Cali, founder of Zolplay. My work spans web, iOS, engineering, product design, and indie products. Through Zolplay, I’ve helped teams at Apple, Insta360, and YC-backed startups with strategy, product design, and turning ideas into working products.
Before that, I worked at game studios in Seattle on large projects with Niantic, Microsoft, and Google.
My software factory connects product judgment, design, engineering, and operations. Ideas start in Linear; Codex, Claude Code, and Cursor help with research, scoping, implementation, and review; the work returns to Slack and the team.
I also run a self-hosted OpenClaw setup that orchestrates agents across PM, finance, and day-to-day operations. Many processes now run end to end on their own.
Zolplay isn’t a one-person company. But I borrow the useful part of that model: put knowledge into systems, hand repetitive work to agents, and keep human attention on judgment and taste.
I believe an AI-native approach will become an essential part of company culture.
Topics
AI doesn’t have to be the starting point.
Careers, products, and engineering can look like separate problems. Often they come down to the same judgment: what’s worth doing, what a system can handle, and what still needs your judgment.
- Web, iOS, and full-stack engineeringTechnical choices, architecture, and shipping with agents.
- Product strategy and designWhat to build, how to shape it, and how the interface should feel.
- AI workflows and coding agentsPrompts, memory, and multi-agent workflows that actually ship.
- Career moves and cross-disciplinary workChoosing opportunities, changing fields, and learning fast.
- Startups, product building, and GTMStrategy, MVPs, validation, pricing, and what comes next.
- Teams, collaboration, and leadershipTurning personal experience into systems the team can reuse.
- Anything else on your mindIf it’s on your mind, it’s fair game.
Booking
- Pick a time. Everything is shown in your time zone.
- Tell me what you want to work through, and drop in any useful links.
- Payment happens in Stripe Checkout, so your card details never touch this site.
- After payment, you’ll get the calendar invite and meeting link by email.
- That email also includes your Manage Link, where you can reschedule or cancel.
Rescheduling and refunds
If we’re at least 24 hours out, you can reschedule or cancel for free. Cancellations are refunded automatically. Inside 24 hours, refunds are no longer automatic.
What people said
"Thank you for the chat last time. I have since received three offers and accepted one."
"After I shipped an MVP in my first week, the company converted me to full time right away, skipping the three month probation."
"Thank you so much for today’s AMA. I learned a lot, and your experience and advice felt sincere and insightful. You answered so many of my questions."