The blog · since 2015

Insights for founders,
CTOs & investors.

Essays, playbooks and field notes from our CTOs, architects and leads. Written for people shipping real product.

Latest posts

Engineering

Lynx: a new contender in cross-platform development?

Lynx could revolutionize cross-platform mobile development with its unique approach and performance benefits. Is it time to switch from React Native or Flutter?

Leadership

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.

AI

Three cursors walk into a codebase

A cautionary tale about interns, AI tools, and outsourcing delivering 80% of a project—leaving internal teams with the clean-up. Learn why shortcuts often come with hidden costs.

madewithlove

Making an impact by combining our services

Madewithlove combines interim CTOs and staff engineers to help SaaS scale-ups align strategy with execution and build resilient tech teams.

Engineering

Another early-stage SaaS founders dilemma: buy a pre-built app or build one from scratch

Should SaaS founders buy or build their MVP? We compare pre-built apps vs custom development across cost, time, scalability, and code quality — so you can choose the right foundation for your product.

Engineering

Branded types in TypeScript: when string just isn’t enough

Discover how branded types can improve your TypeScript code quality, make your intent clearer, and catch bugs before they even compile.

Engineering

🌶️ Why Native PHP shouldn’t exist

Building desktop apps with NativePHP misuses Laravel’s core strengths, creating potential security risks and practical limitations.

Leadership

Why involving engineers in product meetings saves time and money

Involving engineers in product specification meetings reduces costly iterations and accelerates feature launches for SaaS startups.

Engineering

🌶️ 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.

Due diligence

Should we really ship fast and break things?

Should startups test everything before shipping? We break down how to balance testing with product velocity—and why 100% coverage is often the wrong goal.

AI

Vibe coding and the junior developer dilemma

AI tools are transforming how we code, but they're not replacing the experience needed to build real software. Let’s talk about what vibe coding gets right—and what it gets very wrong.

madewithlove

So you messed up

Everyone breaks production eventually. This guide walks through how to take responsibility, communicate with your team, and make real improvements after something goes wrong. A must-watch for engineering managers and developers.

CTO

When don't you need a fractional CTO

Does every startup need an interim CTO? Fractional CTOs can accelerate growth and solve complex challenges—when brought in at the right time. Learn when it’s too early, too risky, or simply not the right fit for your business.

AI

AI overdose: When developers stop thinking and start prompting

AI tools are reshaping how junior engineers approach problems, often replacing simple solutions with overly complex ones. Here’s why foundational thinking still matters. A real-life case of AI over-engineering gone wrong highlights why understanding problem domains still beats prompting.

madewithlove

Eliminating SPOFs: the importance of documentation

Single points of failure (SPOF) in startups lead to lost revenue, delays, and investor concerns. Building a documentation culture early reduces risk and ensures scalability.

AI & agentic tooling

AI-first engineering

We use AI and agentic workflows daily. From coding agents to AI strategy, we help teams adopt what actually works.

Read our AI insights

Engineering leadership

CTO Insights

We <3 sharing content for CTOs, senior engineers and founders with real-world insights.

40+ expert authors

For investors & VCs

Due diligence done right

Technical audits, codebase assessments, and risk analysis for portfolio managers making investment decisions.

Explore our investor content
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