What’s up everyone, today we have the pleasure of sitting down with Jared DeLuca, Director of Operations at Appcues. Summary: Jared takes us inside the mad but amazing world of martech at Appcues – the top product adoption SaaS on the planet. We cover his transition from demand gen to ops, how he’s integrated demo bookings within the product using RevenueHero, the difference between ops and revops. We also cover a ton of ground on AI topics for marketers like machine learning lifecycle management, how to QA AI-driven messages and how to leverage AI to uncover incremental lifts in your campaigns. About Jared Jared started his career with a few internships in PR before joining a Market Research firmThat firm was later acquired by a UK based marketing data and analytics company where he worked his way up to Marketing ManagerHe then had a brief detour from SaaS at Keurig Dr Pepper in IoT Marketing Automation and Connected Panel Ops Finally Jared landed at Appcues, first in Demand Gen then Senior Martech and Ops Manager Today Jared is Director of Operations at AppcuesMoving from Demand Gen to Front-End Development Jared’s shift from demand generation to front-end development was a mix of opportunity and curiosity. When his team’s operations lead left, he stepped in naturally. As the demand gen guy who relied heavily on those systems, Jared was the most logical choice. It wasn’t a calculated career move—it was about filling a gap. That’s how things go in startups, where you often find yourself doing a bit of everything. His transition into front-end development had a different spark. Budgets were tight, and they didn’t have the luxury of hiring contractors. With years of HTML and CSS experience under his belt from working on emails and landing pages, Jared figured he could handle some of the coding work. AppCue supported the idea, allowing him to stretch into JavaScript. For small teams, having someone in-house with a broad skill set is invaluable, and Jared was more than willing to step up. What made this shift special was Jared’s personal interest in coding. He enjoyed it. Coding wasn’t just a job; it was something fun to experiment with. One evening, while watching TV, he built a lead-gen magnet prototype in just an hour. It was born from a simple idea pitched by the content team, but Jared’s ability to quickly turn that into a working model showed the kind of spontaneous creativity that startups thrive on. The prototype may soon go live on their website. Jared’s experience highlights the unpredictable nature of roles in smaller companies. You often find yourself taking on responsibilities you never planned for, and those unexpected opportunities can lead to new skills and career growth. For him, it wasn’t about following a clear path—it was about being adaptable and ready to learn. Key takeaway: In a startup, being adaptable and willing to learn new skills can lead to unexpected career opportunities. It's less about having a perfect plan and more about being open to filling gaps when they appear. How AI Tools Are Shaping HTML and CSS Learning When asked if tools like ChatGPT make learning HTML and CSS easier today, Jared didn’t hesitate to agree. He pointed out how much simpler it is for anyone looking to pick up coding now compared to when he started. Back then, you had to figure things out manually, while now, AI tools can assist with the heavy lifting. However, there’s a caveat—knowing what to ask for is still crucial. Jared challenged the idea that AI is replacing developers. Instead, he emphasized that understanding the underlying structure of HTML and CSS is still key. Tools like ChatGPT can help speed up the process, but without knowledge of where to apply that code, the benefits are limited. AI can’t tell you how to structure a website; it can only help fill in the blanks once you know what you need. He highlighted that while AI can handle repetitive keystrokes, the real value