The Aboard Podcast
Hilary Mason: Product First, Then AI
April 7, 2026
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43 min 4 sec
Sure, you can build “stuff” with AI, but is anyone paying attention to product these days? On this week’s episode, Paul and Rich sit down with someone who is: Hilary Mason, CEO of the immersive online roleplaying game company Hidden Door. After discussing Hilary’s background in data science and machine learning, Paul takes a spin through a game scenario (Brooklyn vampires in a fantasy tavern!) while Hilary outlines the product decisions around Hidden Door’s game mechanics, AI-related or otherwise. Plus: Rich outlines his own attempts to make a game with AI for a family gathering, which, in his words, “led to children crying.”
Show Notes
- That’s Hidden Door, and you can find Hilary on Bluesky and LinkedIn.
- Rich was not kidding about Richard Dawson…
- “The New Bot Should Clean up the Old Bot’s Mess”
Transcript
Transcript coming soon!