Emmanuel Paraskakis

Cohort 1 - Build AI-Ready APIs: A Hands-On Workshop for Engineers and PMs

Cohort 1

API Fundamentals for Product Managers, Cohort 2

Cohort 2

Cohort 4

Cohort 3

Cohort 5, API Fundamentals for Product Managers

Cohort 5

Cohort 8

API Fundamentals for Product Managers, Cohort 1

Cohort 7

API Product Mastery for Experienced PMs, Cohort 1

Prolific 1

API Fundamentals for Product Managers, Cohort 3

Prolific 2

API Product Mastery for Experienced PMs, Cohort 2

API Product Mastery for Experienced PMs Cohort 5

API Product Mastery for Experienced PMs - Cohort 6

Cohort 6

Build AI-Ready APIs: A Hands-On Workshop for Engineers and PMs - Cohort 4

API Fundamentals for Product Managers - Cohort 6

Build AI-Ready APIs: A Hands-On Workshop for Engineers and PMs - Cohort 5

Get this 20-point checklist to assess your organization's API Governance readiness.Share the Google Sheet with your team, and once complete, use it as an action list to improve!

API Lifecycle & Governance Checklist

In the coming months, you’ll want to make sure your API Product is usable by Agents. Use this checklist to develop your API Product Roadmap. Score your organization and prioritize the gaps in your roadmap to address them.

Build AI-Ready APIs

Learn about API&nbsp;standards&nbsp;and&nbsp;conventions, and why it's a good idea to adhere to them. Ensure API users are not surprised&nbsp;and make&nbsp;API products usable&nbsp;and compatible with tooling. Contents:<ol><li>Web API Styles and when to use them</li><li>How APls Work</li><li>Naming, Vocabulary, and Data Types/Structures</li><li>Conventions and Best Practices</li><li>API Design Patterns</li><li>Authentication Types and Standards</li></ol>

API Design Fundamentals

❓Most people think API Product Management is a technical discipline. ❗️ But in reality, it's mainly about the business aspects of APIs. ✅ This information sheet clearly explains API business terms, audiences, personas, growth drivers, and high-level use cases to help you ship APIs as Products.

The Business of APIs

🚨 Many API Providers focus on the API and Documentation and forget that API adoption is all about the user journey. 🧑‍💻 But the API Developer's user journey has to be meticulously designed and measured. ✅ Here’s what you should know about the 4 stages of DX onboarding, including goals, metrics and what tools to introduce at each stage.

The Four Stages of the API Developer Experience (DX) Funnel

🧑‍💻 Most API Product Managers go with the metrics collected by engineering. ❌ But your Datadog dashboards alone won’t help you make informed product decisions. ✅ Here’s what you should be tracking (12+4 Metrics) instead and why.

API Metrics for Product Managers

Visualize and plot your API PM Career progress on this canvas from my How to break into API Product Management lesson.

API Product Manager Career Canvas

A Hands-On Workshop for Engineers & PMs:
Design, build & deploy MCP-enabled APIs that LLMs & Agents actually use.
 

Founder, Level 250 | 3x VP, API Products

15+ years in APIs | Product Consultant for AI-Forward Companies | 3x VP PM

Senior Product Manager

Product Manager

Become an expert API Product Manager and learn how to scale and manage an API portfolio.

15+ years in APIs | Product Consultant for SaaS and API Companies | 3x VP PM

API Product Mastery for Experienced PMs

BIM and API Specialist

Technical Product Manager

IT Manager

Group Product Manager

Senior Technical Product Manager - Track API at FedEx

Enterprise Products API Lead

API Product Manager

Digital Product Manager.

Verisk

Moodys

Oracle

SmartBear

Precisely

If you’ve shipped an API product already and want to level up your expertise, this course is for you. You’ll learn how to design and deliver API products that meet technical standards but also drive measurable business impact. We’ll go beyond the basics, building APIs that empower both developers and business stakeholders, while solidifying your role as an API thought leader within your organization.You’ll walk away with a practical toolkit for everything from rapid prototyping to scaling API products for high-volume use:Understand APIs at a deeper level, enough to earn the respect of peers, leadership, and technical teams• Drive business impact by setting measurable goals and KPIs for your API products• Build a clear path to product growth through monetization, internal advocacy, and advanced GTM strategies• Deliver a stellar Developer Experience with better documentation, security, and onboarding flows• Become the API champion who can confidently guide decision-making and position APIs strategically in your organizationWhen you complete this course, you’ll have the skills and perspective to deliver real value and confidently guide and scale the next generation of API portfolios.

Accelerate Your Career and Become the Go-To API Expert in Your Organization

Define a Winning API Strategy for the Future

The API Lifecycle: Understand How Great APIs Are Made

Drive API Adoption with an Effective Go-to-Market Strategy

Design and Build a Working API Using Best Practices

Future-Proof and Protect your API Portfolio

Network and Collaborate with your peers

Product Managers with some API PM Experience who want to take on more responsibility and become experts at shipping public and internal API

Product Managers who have shipped API Products but want to gain a deeper understanding and scale to an API Portfolio

Product Leaders who want to hire and manage a team of API Product Managers.

Become an API Product Manager. Go from generalist to specialist and ship winning API products.

This course will help you bridge the gap between your current expertise and the technical knowledge needed to build products that power experiences for millions of users.Here’s why an API PM role might be your next big career move:• You’ll develop deep technical skills without needing to be a full-time coder.• You can position yourself as a niche specialist, potentially earning a premium salary.• You’ll have greater autonomy once you understand the ins and outs of APIs.• You’ll build and launch products that are core to modern digital ecosystems. API Fundamentals for Product Managers focuses on the essentials, getting you up to speed quickly so you can confidently talk to developers, gather requirements, and launch your first API product.Here’s a preview of what we’ll cover in this live, cohort-based course:• What makes an API Product successful• Gathering API requirements from customers• Examples of strong API design and usability• Building a great Developer Experience as a PM• Monetizing APIs• Key metrics and KPIs for API ProductsBy the end of this course, you’ll have the skills and perspective to deliver real value and confidently guide the next generation of API-driven products.

Are you a PM looking to accelerate your journey into the world of APIs?

Build a Strong API Foundation

Gain Hands-On API Skills

Master the Business of APIs

Deliver Exceptional Developer Experiences

While you don't need API experience, it's a good idea to know PM fundamentals. 

Some Product Management Experience Required

Product Managers with no API experience who want to launch and manage winning API Products.

New API Product Managers who are transitioning into the role.

Leaders who want to hire and manage API Product Managers.

The API landscape is shifting. LLMs and AI agents are rapidly becoming critical consumers of APIs, but most existing APIs weren't designed with them in mind. Organizations shipping these APIs struggle with integration failures, poor discoverability, and miss the emerging opportunities of the agentic economy.This intensive workshop bridges that gap in just 6 hours. You'll move from traditional API thinking to AI-first design, from basic endpoints to MCP-enabled services, from static documentation to AI-enhanced developer experiences.You won't just learn theory—you'll build, test, and deploy a working AI-ready API prototype using the exact tools and workflows that the best API companies are adopting today. By the end, you'll have a functional MCP server MVP and the skills to transform any API into an AI-native service.More importantly, you'll become the person who can confidently lead API initiatives in an AI-dominated future. The architect who designs systems that last. The PM who ships products that win. The executive who drives market conversations and charts a forward-thinking API roadmap. The leader who sees opportunities while others see obstacles.

From API builder to AI-economy leader: Ship APIs that agents love to use

Use AI to Design & Deploy a Mock API for Market Validation

Build Your First AI-Generated API MVP

Create Professional API Documentation That Developers Love & Agents Can Use

Deploy & Monitor Your API Like a Pro

Ship Your First MCP Server and Publish to a Registry

Create an AI-Ready Roadmap for Your Organization

This is a fast-paced, hands-on course, and while you don't need to be a coder, it helps to understand HTTP basics or to have shipped an API.

Some API knowledge is required

Consider taking API Fundamentals for Product Managers first: https://maven.com/emmanuel/api-pm-fundamentals

If you need to brush up on your API skills:

We'll walk you through building with LLMs and AI Codegen tools, even if you've never used them before.

Little or no AI experience is expected

Software Architects &amp; Engineers who want high-quality, scalable APIs that Agents will use long into the future.

Product Managers who want to stay ahead of the curve and quickly deliver API products that win in AI-dominated markets.

Founders &amp; Executives who want to transform their companies and fully leverage AI &amp; Agentic opportunities.

Build an MCP Server for ChatGPT Apps

Founder, Level 250 | 3x VP, API Product

Understand the two main parts (Web component + MCP server) and what the Store will evaluate.

Map ChatGPT Store requirements

Use your existing API to generate tools and host a remote MCP server in under 20 minutes.

Generate a hosted MCP server

Wire the server to a minimal UI and test end-to-end tool calls.

Connect MCP to a simple Web component

Know what to document, test, and package before you submit to the ChatGPT Store.

Submit with a practical checklist

Create MCP Tool Evals Before You Ship

Learn how LLMs select MCP tools, what drives success rate, and common routing failures.

Understand tool calls and failure modes

Install MCPJam, connect to a remote MCP server, and verify tool calls end-to-end.

Set up MCPJam with a sample MCP server

Add sample prompts + assertions to validate tool selection and outputs for key user requests.

Build a repeatable tools eval harness

Execute the harness, read pass/fail results, and diagnose tool mismatches.

Run evals and collect data

How to scale your workflow by with the MCPJam CLI and CI, collect real user prompts, and re-run as APIs and data evolve.

Next Steps: Operationalize evals to prevent drift

Master MCP Essentials for PMs

Understand clients/servers, tools/resources, and how MCP lets agents and LLMs "see" your data.

Explain MCP in plain PM language

Map MCP to agents and connected apps, API strategy, and what it enables for ChatGPT experiences and Store-ready apps.

Spot product bets MCP unlocks

Know what’s stable vs evolving, plus auth, security, and how governance is shaping the protocol.

Assess spec maturity and risks

Add a remote MCP server, and run a few tool calls end-to-end, so you can brainstorm product ideas for the future.

Try MCP inside an LLM (hands-on)

Leave with the key docs, links, resources, and communities to follow as MCP evolves in 2026.

Where to find the best next resources

Upgrade Your API Design with AI

James Higginbotham

API and AI Transformation Coach

We walk you through a complete, annotated design session using the ADDR process (Align, Define, Design, Refine)

Learn a Structured API Design Method

Walk through of an actual API design session that includes prompting tips, guardrails, and example outputs.

Experience a Real API Design Session

Select an LLM model that best fits your needs and is trained to solve API design challenges.

Choose Your Own AI API Design Tools

Use AI to generate job stories, profiles, and OpenAPI specs in minutes.

Cut API Design Time by 60%

Auto-generate high-fidelity OpenAPI 3.1 specs and README documentation that align with your style guide.

Generate Production-Ready Specs

Design a Partner API That Drives Revenue

Understand how partners work today and which platform features can be used to power their automations.

Map Partner Workflows to Platform Capabilities

Not all features matter equally. We'll learn how to rank API capabilities by what drives partner success.

Synthesize Requirements and Prioritize by Revenue Impact

Walk away with a standards-based OpenAPI spec you can use as a prototype & share with real users for validation.

Generate an API Design & Spec to Gather User Feedback.

Build in support for AI agents and MCP so your API is ready for how partners will work tomorrow.

Design for AI Agents from Day One

Design a Public API Product from Scratch

We'll take data and ideas collected from existing users and use AI to organize into patterns & use cases you can act on.

Collect & Organize Developers' API Requirements

Translate what users' needs into specific API endpoints and payloads they can use, including useful error messages.

Break Down Use Cases into Automation Outcomes

You'll use my prompts to generate a blueprint for an API, using your context and market insights.

Generate an API Design as a Hypothesis

Once you have a solid design, we show you how to validate it against standards and how to get feedback from your users.

Get Ready to Validate the API with Real Users

The Double Life of the API Product Manager

APIs are a technical discipline and your customers are developers, so you have to be able to speak their language.

Why so few PMs know APIs & MCP well & how you can join them

Your product is powering solutions you might never have imagined. As a result you'll work harder and be irreplaceable.

Why API PM is 2x challenging but also super rewarding

I'll show you the 5 in-demand skills needed, on top of your regular PM know-how. (hint: AI and specs feature heavily).

Top 5 ways to do API PM really well (that most people miss)

Organizations like Stripe, Twilio & OpenAI rely heavily on the API Product Management discipline, hiring top candidates.

What the top API-as-a-Product companies do differently

Build your plan to learn more and practice the skills needed to become a more technical PM.

How to become more technical as a PM in 2026

Publish Your First MCP Server Today

Learn what's in the 2025-11-25 spec release and how MCP enables AI agents to safely access your API tools and data.

Understand the Model Context Protocol specification

Follow along as we build and publish a working MCP server that lets LLMs and agents discover and "see" your APIs.

Publish your first MCP server in minutes

Connect your MCP server to Claude and other tools that help you test and debug it.

Connect and test MCP servers with agents

Learn common security pitfalls and basic precautions to consider when connecting agents to your systems.

Understand security risks when exposing APIs to AI

How to Get Hired at an AI Startup

Ty Dunn

Co-founder & CPO @ Continue (YC S23)

Learn how founders evaluate talent & product sense and why some candidates immediately stand out.

Understand the Founder Mindset

Understand how AI startups redefine the boundaries between Product, Engineering, and Platform roles.

Spot Emerging Roles in AI

Discover how to present your experience so founders see you as someone who amplifies team impact, not just fills a role.

Position Yourself as a Multiplier

Get strategies for thriving in the ambiguity, speed, and experimentation that define successful AI startups.

Navigate Early-Stage Environments

Walk away with practical frameworks for deciding whether to join, lead, or found in the AI startup ecosystem.

Chart Your Career Path

Land Your Next Technical Product Manager Job With AI

Itay Sharfi

Product Lead, AI Platform @ Zendesk | CS Professor | Ex-Google

Learn how to target high-growth companies that are hiring for roles that are in demand.

How to Make the Odds Be in Your Favor

Tailor your applications and outreach strategy. Leverage referrals, standout resumes, and personal connections.

Emmanuel Paraskakis

Emmanuel Paraskakis

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