Building to Understand, Storytelling, and AI Adoption Friction with Joel Cloralt

Joel Cloralt is Director of Product at Smartcar, a connected vehicle API platform that helps developers build applications connecting to cars, from routing Uber EVs by battery level to smartly managing grid load when everyone plugs in at 5pm. He's spent 15 years building products across fintech, developer tooling, and connected vehicle tech, all while shipping his own apps on the side. Stephen and Joel get into what it actually takes to make a hard pivot work, why clarity beats charisma in leadership, and where AI is genuinely changing how engineers work and where it's just noise. **Main Topics Covered:** - Leading the B2B to B2C pivot at Vault and the decision-making process that made the Acorns acquisition possible, and how to move on 80% conviction when 100% isn't an option - Why Joel builds his own apps as a product leader: shipping a Japanese-learning app in Tokyo taught him the difference between what's impressive and what people actually use - Introvert leadership in practice: why the room doesn't need you to be an extrovert, it needs you to be clear, and how preparation becomes the whole advantage - Storytelling as an organizational tool: why ideas that travel through a company are wrapped in narrative, not bullet points, and how playing a customer interview video to an engineering org beats any slide deck - AI at Smartcar: building a developer-facing MCP, making documentation agent-friendly, and the real heavy lift of making sure what the agent responds with is actually accurate - The underrated skill of knowing when to stop: in product, the effort gets praised, but judgment about what not to build is rarer and worth more **Links & Resources** - Connect with Joel Cloralt: LinkedIn - Connect with Stephen Koza: LinkedIn - Connect with EverOps: Website | LinkedIn **Books & References:** - Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks - The Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto - The One Thing by Gary Keller