APIs, CLIs, MCPs, Oh My! A PM's Guide to Agent Interfaces

Hosted by Sherveen Mashayekhi

Fri, May 8, 2026

5:00 PM UTC (30 minutes)

Virtual (Zoom)

Free to join

By continuing, you agree to Maven's Terms and Privacy Policy.

Invite your network

Go deeper with a course

Breakthrough Job Search for the Tech Industry

Sherveen Mashayekhi

View syllabus

Fri, May 8, 2026

5:00 PM UTC (30 minutes)

Virtual (Zoom)

Free to join

Invite your network

Go deeper with a course

Breakthrough Job Search for the Tech Industry

Sherveen Mashayekhi

View syllabus

What you'll learn

How does each paradigm work under the hood?

APIs, CLIs, and MCPs aren't *actually* interchangeable. Let's discuss the definitions and nuances.

Walk through a real product that ships all three

We'll dissect a product with an API, a CLI, and MCP support – showing how each layer serves different users and agents.

Which interfaces to build, which to use, and which to ignore

Whether you're shipping a product or using AI agents day-to-day, you need a mental model for what's worth your time.

Why this topic matters

The AI agent era is fragmenting how products are accessed – not just by humans through UIs, but by agents through APIs, CLIs, and the emerging MCP protocol. If you're a PM, designer, or GTM leader, this isn't just an engineering decision anymore. It affects your product's surface area, distribution, and how AI tools discover and interact with what you've built. And it's changing every day.

You'll learn from

Sherveen Mashayekhi

Founder & CEO @ Free Agency, AI Product Leader & Investor

Sherveen has been an AI product leader and founder in tech for over a decade, but more importantly, is a long-time obsessive about startups.

He's a first adopter of AI tools and sits in exclusive circles of founders + venture capitalists building the cutting edge of applied AI products. As the founder and CEO of Free Agency (backed by investors like Maveron, Bloomberg Beta, Kevin Durant, and Kygo), he now helps tech professionals navigate the modern hiring landscape, with clients landing roles at companies like OpenAI, Amazon, and Stripe.

He's the host of three shows + podcasts about early stage tech: The Feedback Loop, Three Course Founders, and The Sherveen Show, where he talks multiple times a week with the most exciting technologists, CEOs, and investors building the future.

See more: https://youtube.com/@sherveenshow

Clients hired at companies like...

By continuing, you agree to Maven's Terms and Privacy Policy.