Making progress without a technical leader
Startups without a technical co-founder can still build great products, but only if they avoid the usual traps of overengineering, needless infrastructure, and late developer involvement.
20 posts
Pricing strategies in the era of AI: why hourly billing no longer works
AI tools are changing how agencies work and how they should bill. Fewer hours, faster results, and ballooning token costs are reshaping agency economics. We dive into what comes next, and why value pricing might be the way forward.
Building a customer support machine: a pragmatic approach for startups
When customer support becomes a blocker for engineering progress, it’s time to build more than just your product—you need to build your support infrastructure. This article explains how to scale support before chaos kills your velocity.
🌶️ SaaS startups should never use microservices. Like, never-ever.
Many SaaS startups over-engineer their architecture with microservices. Here's why that's usually a costly mistake—and what to do instead.
Why you shouldn't let customers pay for features
Selling bespoke features to customers might seem profitable, but it changes your SaaS business model. Instead of a scalable product, you become a service provider, stuck maintaining one-off features. Learn why this approach is risky and how to build for long-term success.
How to start growing talent in-house
Startups thrive on rapid growth, but when it comes to scaling talent, they often hit a wall. Enterprise-style feedback systems sound great—until they become a productivity sink. So how can you build structured talent development without overcomplicating things?
How to stop depending on that one developer
Key Person Risk (KPR) arises when a team relies too heavily on one specialist. To reduce this, shift their role to an advisor. The specialist guides, others do the work. It’s slow at first, but builds team knowledge, confidence, and better documentation.
Do we even need a moat?
A technical moat is often seen as a product's defensive edge, but does every product really need one? For AI products, the choice between building proprietary tech or leveraging existing solutions like OpenAI is complex. True value lies in solving customer problems—not just in owning the technology.
Scaling the A team
In recent audits, I've noticed a less obvious pattern: overly talented start-up teams. While smart, experienced teams thrive early on, they struggle to scale. Scaling requires structure, documentation, and room to grow talent in-house.