Strictly From Nowhere: A Podcast Experiment by Cause of a Kind Will Ruben, Founder @ Workmate | The Hard Part Isn't Building, It's Distribution
Will Ruben spent nearly a decade at Meta building AI products for billions of users. Then he left to build something for everyone: an AI executive assistant.
He is the Founder and CEO of Workmate, the AI Scheduling Assistant who saves you hours and misses nothing. Previously a Product Director at Instagram, Meta, and Coinbase.
In this episode of Forward to Extraordinary, Will shares his journey from leading teams at Meta on Instagram Reels and content recommendations to founding Workmate, a platform that democratizes access to executive assistants through AI.
Topics covered:
Will's journey at Meta building Instagram Reels and AI-powered content recommendations
The traits of entrepreneurs inside large organizations
Why Workmate exists: democratizing executive assistants like Uber democratized chauffeurs
How AI handles scheduling, calendar management, and reduces administrative overhead
The future of agentic collaboration and AI teammates at work
Why distribution and conversion are harder than product development
Building personal brand as a long-term compounding strategy
The difference between getting attention and converting customers
Why being a builder is the most important entrepreneurial trait
Website: https://www.workmate.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/workmatelabs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getaworkmate
X: https://x.com/workmate
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@getaworkmate
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@getaworkmate
Will Ruben
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wruben
X: https://x.com/willruben
────────────────────────────────
LISTEN ON ALL PLATFORMS
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/show/1V4SjmlnG2sntDnck8UrGW
Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/strictly-from-nowhere-a-podcast-experiment-by-cause/id1804380172
iHeart Radio
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-strictly-from-nowhere-a-po-315649122/
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWAstEyCK6YsKVTTRsQr37w
SUPPORT THE SHOW
Patreon
http://patreon.com/StrictlyFromNowhere
CONNECT WITH US
https://www.linkedin.com/company/strictly-from-nowhere
Website
https://strictlyfromnowhere.com
────────────────────────────────
FOLLOW JUSTIN ABRAMS | @cuzzinjustin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cuzzinjustin/
https://www.instagram.com/cuzzinjustin/
X
https://x.com/cuzzinjustin
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@cuzzinjustin
https://www.facebook.com/cuzzinjustin24
Website
https://www.cuzzinjustin.com
────────────────────────────────
FOLLOW MIKE RISPOLI | @mike_rispoli_cto
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-rispoli-cto/
https://www.instagram.com/mike_rispoli_cto/
X
https://x.com/michael_rispoli
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@mike_rispoli
Website
https://michaelrispoli.com/
────────────────────────────────
CAUSE OF A KIND | @causeofakind
Website
https://www.causeofakind.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/cause-of-a-kind
https://www.instagram.com/causeofakind/
X
https://x.com/causeofakind
TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@causeofakind
Newsletter Signup
http://eepurl.com/gcc-yj
Newsletter Archive
https://us16.campaign-archive.com/home/?u=847ea1526d6523a41ef1eb5a5&id=48d53e9627
────────────────────────────────
OPEN SOURCE PROJECTS
CodeDojo
https://github.com/Cause-of-a-Kind/code-dojo-core
OCR Ruby GEM
https://activestorage-ocr-demo.fly.dev/
────────────────────────────────
COMMUNITY INITIATIVES
Long Island Technologists
https://www.longislandtechnologists.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/long-island-technologists-networking
https://www.instagram.com/longislandtechnologists/
────────────────────────────────
Fin Forecasting - Never Lose Money On A Project Again
https://www.finforecasting.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/fin-forecasting
────────────────────────────────
Brought to you by Cause of a Kind
A boutique software development and startup studio from Long Island, New York
Stand up. Show up. Build.