The Origins of this Chatbot.
Why did I build this?
I listen to every episode of Alex Hormozi's podcast, The Game, and even started from the first episode. After months of taking notes, I realized: Was I truly learning if I wasn't applying these ideas? Yes, I am building a business (which I'm currently working on). However, the real value of Alex's insights goes beyond just listening; it lies in wrestling with them, testing them, and discussing them. But let's be honest, I can't exactly pick up the phone and chat with Alex about my half-formed thoughts.
So, I built the next best thing: a chatbot that lets me talk to Alex. It's AI-powered and thoroughly grounded in real podcast transcripts.
A simple experiment inspired me. I did recently on Replit, where I used a few YAML files with a very crude chatbot on top of them. I started with the same approach but decided to take it further by incorporating full episodes, transcribing audio using Deepgram, organizing metadata in YAML, and adding intelligent chat capabilities. This made the project significantly more complex.
You don't just search for episodes; you can chat with them, ask questions, and get personalized responses. Think of it as your AI-powered coaching session based on hundreds of Alex's podcast episodes.
I automate the process. So, no more copy-paste into your own custom ChatGPT.
Technical steps.
The steps were backward, but it was the most logical for me to learn at every step.
I started by parsing RSS feeds, creating reliable audio downloads, and ensuring they were stored correctly. Then, I integrated the transcription magic using Deepgram API with a batch processing mechanism and organized every piece of metadata in YAML files. Replit helped me create a flask-based interface to manage every episode and have a quick status. By the way, I'm giving all this information for free in the link in the chatbot and making the data and transcripts publically accessible. Please don't abuse it.
The chatbot layer was added later using Versal AI SDK, and a context-aware conversation was built using Open AI. Then, I quickly applied a dark theme using Tailwind's basic components. I didn't want to customize it too much, so it stayed robust and scalable.
Everything is working, except for the deployment. I tried various approaches, but most of my time went into debugging. So, I decided to create a new, barebones project. Now, everything is back on track. I still have a couple of debugging tasks to handle with the RSS pipeline and the Deepgram implementation, but I think I’ll keep this version running for a few days.
What I Learned
I'm not a coder. I'm a UX designer with 25 years of experience. I spent my first cup of coffee of the last week working on it every morning. Is it robust? Nope. Is it full of bugs? It is.
I digress. I'm learning much about new platforms, prompting, and using design systems using modern tools like Replit. But not knowing what language to use was a pain. Creating a Phyton dashboard and applying Next.js on top was a big mistake. Creating static files was a good prototype, but I should have started over with a database. And why did I spend so much time caring about uploading the audio? I don't know. But all that made my understanding of how to prompt a lot better.
I created some important design specification documents to reuse for critical components. Additionally, I developed comprehensive audit and refactoring specification documents. In this process, Claude from Anthropic is an excellent tool that allows me to establish foundational systems and methodologies to support other tools. I do have a better toolbox now.
In my previous experience, many people disliked writing product requirement documents (PRDs) while I was passionate about creating them. This skill is highly leverageable with the help of AI. I can apply my 25 years of experience in business, consulting, and design to communicate effectively with AI.
Talk To The Game is one of many personal experiments and proofs of concepts. It may resonate with others, and even Alex himself will notice. ;)
What's next?
The current deployment is just version v1. I'd love for you to give it a spin. Ask questions, break things, or even ask seemingly silly questions—that's precisely why it's here. Do you find something weird? DM me on Twitter, email me, see me, and we will talk. I'm not investing too much money because I don't have it, but I'll invest my time. Any collaboration is welcome.
If you're inspired to have something like this for your podcast, newsletter, or YouTube channel, reach out. This tool may be the start of a valuable service--— it may just be a learning journey. Either way, it's genuine.
Final thoughts
This project came from frustration, curiosity, and a genuine love for learning. To be clear, it's not affiliated with Alex Hormozi or Acquisition.com. It's purely a personal project, built thoughtfully and with care.