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.
Being away from the hustle
TAG: growth STUFF
24 postsWizards 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
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. My job is not to manage
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
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
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 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
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
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
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
Untold Benefits of a Software Blog
Starting a software blog can feel out of reach to most. Without readers our time will be wasted, right?
Wrong.
Thousands of dollars. That is what blogging about software will make you,
2017: The Goals
If i had to summarize my learnings of 2016 to a single lesson, it would be the importance of goal setting and measurability. In the same vein, it is time that i
Side Projects: Avoiding Failures to Launch
The story is a familiar one.
An excellent idea, simple but valuable. A fresh codebase, like a world of possibilities. A side project is born. A weekend of delivered pizza and whirlwind
Software Engineering Lessons Worth Learning Early
College didn't teach me what i needed to know. It taught me how to learn what i needed to know.
I read this quote on a pamphlet in RIT's Software Engineering office
Design By Ideal
I find myself asking the question, "How would this work in a perfect world? What is the ideal here?" more and more lately. It seems to fit in so many
I Skipped Eye Appointments for a Year and Became a Better Coder
I skipped my yearly trip to optometrist last year. This was not entirely by choice. Like many in the early stage startup world, "benefits" including "insurance" are a
Building Your Nirvana: The Perfect Coding Environment
We each have memories of our best times reading. The great book with the fascinating characters. The couch with the perfect cushions to rest our heads. A time when we were lost
The Value of Personal Projects
If i had to hire engineers on their answer to a single question, that question would be "tell me about your personal projects". That may sound silly, but i haven't
Be Your Team's Resource
Programmers are a curious bunch. I mean this literally: we are curious by nature. That is a good thing given how rapidly the tech world evolves. That curiosity keeps our skills relevant
Be The Better Rails Developer
Rails has been very prominent in web development the last 5-7 years, and for good reason. It is relatively easy to learn and its abstractions make it easy to build features quickly.
Good Problems to Have
Some scale problems should go unsolved. No. Most scale problems should go unsolved.
"To your pitchforks!", you shout. "Burn the heretic!"
Hear me out.
The thing is, most
Technology: Signal vs. Noise
Software is vast and growing. It seems like every week a new editor, library, framework, or language is released. I've written before about the value of learning things that are unnecessary, but
Learn the Unnecessary Things
The world's best programmers share exactly one thing in common: a passion.
That passion is not for code.
The passion is for creation. We are addicted to creation, whether it's solutions, websites
Editor as Artbush
Editors are tools. Rarely, however, do we consider our abilities with an editor as part of coding mastery.
In traditional canvas art, we can see the painter's mastery of their tools in