Ascent
Building great products is hard. Let's get better at it.
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Badge of Honor

September 03, 2019
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.
process
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Startup Culture Doesn't Come From the Top

March 15, 2019
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.
TeamCommunication
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Common Mistakes When Hiring Software Engineers

March 05, 2019
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.
HiringTeam
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Lessons of a Startup CTO

December 22, 2018
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.
Teamgrowth
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The Dark Side of Startups

October 19, 2018
The startup scene is, in many ways, a plethora of good. But as the saying goes, the brightest lights cast the darkest shadows.
Teamhr
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Wizards of Our Age

October 03, 2018
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.
growth
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"I would describe my codebase as _____ and _____."

July 30, 2017
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
code as artTeamtips
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Lessons from MicroConf Day 3

April 16, 2017
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
growthproduct
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Lessons from MicroConf Day 2

April 14, 2017
"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
growthproduct
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Lessons from MicroConf Day 1

April 13, 2017
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
growthproduct
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The One Thing to Avoid While Coding

April 12, 2017
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
growthside projects
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How to Communicate as an Engineer

April 09, 2017
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
CommunicationTeam
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Scaling to Millions of Users

April 01, 2017
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
techgrowthscale
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Quotes That Changed How I Approach Software

March 28, 2017
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
growth
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Whiteboard Coding Measures Penmanship While Nervous

March 21, 2017
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
processinterviews
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The Internet is Fundamentally Flawed

March 11, 2017
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
techsecurityprivacy
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There Can be No Ego in Products

February 18, 2017
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
productCommunicationTeam
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Choosing a Stack for Your Side Project

February 18, 2017
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
techside projects
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The Hardest Things to Learn in Programming

January 30, 2017
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?"
growth
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User.pronoun() is a Time Saver

January 28, 2017
Usability is all about the little things. Small changes in how your copy reads can have big effects in how your users react to things. This is one reason why designers love to use gender-specific language in copy. For example: "Hey Ben, [first name] just sent you a gift!
techtipsruby
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