Misaligned Requirements
We should strive to align the requirements positions with the traits that lead to success in it. That alignment is getting increasingly unusual, though.
Badge of Honor
A year ago i left my role as a startup CTO and co-founded a consulting company. This has been an eye opening experience in many ways. A lot has changed for me during this time. The most obvious shift has been my perspective around working hours.
Startup Culture Doesn't Come From the Top
One of the common mistakes among startup leadership is the belief that culture comes from the top. This is incorrect. The culture of a small company is an organic, evolving thing. It will grow and respond in unpredictable ways.
Common Mistakes When Hiring Software Engineers
The goal of an engineering interview is not to find the candidate who is most confident or thinks on their toes the best. Coding interviews should identify the people who are most likely to be successful on your engineering team.
2018 MacBook Air: A Recalcitrant's Review
A review of a laptop i ask to replace my 2012 Air, which i have used daily for 7 years and consider close to perfect.
Lessons of a Startup CTO
For the last 4 years i have been the head of technology for MeetMindful (TS W16). I moved on a couple of weeks ago. It was time.
Choosing Lifestyle Companies
Lifestyle companies trade the unicorn dream for a vision of freedom. These are some of the challenges to expect along the way.
The Dark Side of Startups
The startup scene is, in many ways, a plethora of good. But as the saying goes, the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows.
Wizards of Our Age
I used to work with an engineer named Tim. Tim, for all i could tell, was a wizard. He employed advanced and arcane magics such a sed and awk to achieve bizarre but desirable outcomes.
Goal Setting for Engineers
One of the first things new team members learn about me is my outspoken detest for the word "manager". I am not a manager.
"I would describe my codebase as _____ and _____."
If you had to pick a pair of everyday words to describe the nature of your codebase, what would they be? Take a moment and fill in the following blanks. "I would describe my codebase as ______ and ______" Now, answer a similar question about your ideals: "I would
Lessons from MicroConf Day 3
The third and final day of MicroConf 2017 was focused on a few themes: revenue, time and value. Any conference Patrick McKenzie (patio11) speaks at will surely have a simple message: double your prices. Patrick has been making this case tirelessly for years and with good reason. His own page
Lessons from MicroConf Day 2
"Leverage your failures." if i were to summarize day 2 into a single statement, that would be it. In a conference focused on bootstrapping products, a lot of the information has been about parlaying opportunities. The first full day of talks was equal parts inspiring and exhausting. You
Lessons from MicroConf Day 1
I bet you've considered building a product and earning enough income to quit your job. I'd even bet you already have one; partially built, sitting in digital mothballs. You are not alone. The dream is shared by us all. As is the reality: our SaaS products, incomplete, dashed upon the
The One Thing to Avoid While Coding
At a recent talk, one of the attendees asked me, "What is the one thing to avoid when coding?" My answer lacked the foresight a question like that deserves. In the time since i've mused over this very topic. What is the most important thing to avoid when
How to Communicate as an Engineer
There is a running joke at my company that i communicate with analogies. I take it as a compliment. Reason being that i have found no better way to explain abstract technical topics to lay people. Consider this common example. My coworker, Tim, doesn't understand why two similar-looking development tasks
Scaling to Millions of Users
Companies are like boats. The small ones are quick and agile. They move fast and pivot on a dime. But that agility comes at a cost: they are notoriously unstable. The rough seas of the market define what they can and cannot do. Make a bad turn and they risk
Quotes That Changed How I Approach Software
When you say enough words, the law of averages ensures that some of them will be profound. One of the neat things about blogging is that you have a record of when you manage prophetic statements. On that note, if you aren't current blogging or journaling, start. More on that
Whiteboard Coding Measures Penmanship While Nervous
Every time i go through the interview process i am reminded just how terrible tech interviews are. We ask questions that tell us if a candidate has read an algorithms book lately and assume it speaks to their ability to code well. This approach isn't just flawed, it's uninviting. Interviews
A/B Testing Features by Segmenting Users
"A/B test everything." Those of us in the startup world hear it routinely. But it is a useless statement. Ask "how" and you will be met with the shifting eyes of the ignorant. Indeed, A/B testing is powerful but tricky. Whole companies have been
The Internet is Fundamentally Flawed
Why has the internet been so transformative in the last 20 years? I would argue any complete answer to that question would need to speak to 4 major points: Anonymity Interconnectivity Information sharing Equal platform for individuals and companies But these aspects are the drivers for the internet's success. The
There Can be No Ego in Products
Software engineers are an opinionated bunch. We hold unreasonably strong opinions on how code should look, read, be styled and where it should go. Hell, we can't even talk about tabs and spaces without rising to violence. This isn't a bad thing. It is important that we feel strongly about
Choosing a Stack for Your Side Project
Selecting a stack is the first technology decision in a side project. Unfortunately, it is also one of the biggest factors in determining whether or not your project launches. This is not because there are right or wrong technology choices. All widely adopted technologies are different flavors of good. The
Hosting Multiple HTTPS Domains from the Same Server with Let's Encrypt and Nginx
This post is a continuation of my original, How to Set Up HTTPS with Let's Encrypt and Nginx. If you have not read that post, i suggest starting there. HTTPS is increasingly required for websites, as it should be. Chrome now explicitly marks HTTP sites with password or credit card
The Hardest Things to Learn in Programming
Coding continues to gain popularity in the professional world. As it does, people who didn't major in programming are using coding bootcamps as a way to enter the field. As my friends consider a transition, i am often asked, "What is the hardest thing to learn about coding?"