Blog about travel and lifestyle.
Most friendships aren’t broken by conflict. They’re broken by physics. Not literal physics, obviously. But something close. Over time, people end up in different places, moving at different speeds, pulled by different forces. And when that happens, the conversation that used to feel effortless starts to feel… irrelevant. The meetups become catch-ups. The advice becomes generic. The relationship is…
You have an idea. It feels important. So you start “building.” This is the most common excuse. The most noble-sounding form of procrastination. Building feels like progress. You’re writing code, designing interfaces, setting up databases. It’s busy work. It keeps you safe from the one thing that actually matters: the truth . Doing what you said you would is hard. It might fail. So we make excuses.…
I have a rule for taking on new clients: two calls. That’s it. If a decision to work together hasn’t been made by the end of the second call, the lead moves to a low-priority list. It’s not personal. It’s a pattern. The number of calls required to make a decision is a powerful signal. It tells you how successful a founder is likely to be and what kind of results you can expect. The best founders…
I just submitted my third application to Iterative . For my startup, Synscribe . It was a surreal feeling. A part of my brain, the ego, immediately asked, “Really? We’re doing this again?” Then I realized something. The person who sent the first two applications isn’t me. The company he applied with isn’t this one. The fundamentals are different. The metrics are different. The resolve is…
I once had to pick poo out of my robot vacuum. When I’m raising my kids, I clean up pee and poo. I clean the dishes, take the trash out, fix the toilet bowl. When I started my company, I had to do everything. Sell. Code. Plan. When I was a software engineer in the government, I was coding, but also doing the needy work—wiring proposals, writing emails, setting up meetings. There’s nothing beneath…
The code I write today is terrible. My 25-year-old self, who wrote code for monolithic government systems, would be appalled. He would probably fire me. But he was optimizing for something different. Which brings up the only question that matters. What are you optimizing for? In a large organization, you have customers, revenue, and a reputation. You have something to lose. Losing 5% of your…
Right now, this is the best time of my life. The Raymond from five years ago would kill for what I have. And that’s a pretty good feeling. The stars aligning Family I’ve got two amazing kids. They’re healthy, they’re happy, and that’s a win right there. My parents and in-laws? They’re an incredible support system, always there to help with the little ones. It makes a huge difference. We even have…
These innocent words from my two-year-old daughter during our weekly neighborhood cleanup activity struck a chord deep within me. As a parent, I found myself questioning the environment we're creating for our children and the future they'll inherit. This simple observation from a child's perspective opened my eyes to a larger issue that affects not just my family, but our entire society. In…
I'm taking over thinking from AI. One sentence at a time. Something I've observed is that I've become increasingly dependent on AI these days. I use it for coding. It's amazing at repetitive tasks and is becoming adept at more complex codebases. I use it for writing. It's helping me save keystrokes. And for someone whose fingers hurt when typing, it's a literal painkiller. I love how I can do a…
I've been knee-deep in startup data for the past few days. Why? Well, as founder in the ecosystem there are some common questions and assumptions about the space, and I figured it was time to separate fact from fiction. You've probably heard things like: "Everyone's just chasing AI these days." "You need a big team to succeed." or "You cannot succeed as a solo-founder." "B2C does not work in…
This is a story about hunting frogs, a surprising adventure that unfolded at Devcon 2024 in bustling Bangkok. Picture a lively Ethereum conference, buzzing with innovative energy and filled with passionate people. Among this excitement, a simple frog-themed game became the gateway to understanding how movements begin and grow. The Game The game itself was both mysterious and captivating. As soon…
Inspired by numerous people migrating their Next.js applications from Vercel to self-hosted VPS on Hetzner due to pricing concerns, I decided to explore self-hosting some of my non-critical applications. Additionally, I wanted to push my technical boundaries by running Llama 3.2 using Ollama and making its API available to power AI applications for my business, Wisp. The objective was to breathe…
I've recently come across a new program by Block71, named SuperCharge , shared by some influencers on LinkedIn. On first glance, it looked interesting because it’s focused on marketing spend, which is a crucial area for startups. However, spending more time on the website led to alarm bells going off in my head as I noticed various red flags as a startup founder. This made me ponder if this issue…
As an entrepreneur and founder I've spent considerable time on the YC Co-Founder Platform . In this post, I'll share my observations about how I use the platform, the types of people you're likely to encounter there and offer insights on whether it's worth your time if you're looking for a co-founder. Why I'm on the YC Co-Founder Platform As a solo founder of Wisp , a Headless CMS for high growth…
As an entrepreneur who has experienced both venture capital-backed and bootstrapped startups, I'm often asked about the pros and cons of each approach. Recently, a fellow entrepreneur considering starting a new venture after leaving his job asked me how to choose between these two paths. My response? They're not as different as you might think. The VC-Backed Approach Venture capital-funded…
Have you ever hesitated to start a blog because you thought, "What if no one reads it?" Well, I've got news for you – that excuse just flew out the window. I recently came across a brilliant idea from Manuel Moreale (Manu) who offered to be the first reader for anyone starting a blog. The concept is beautifully simple: start writing, send him your post, and boom – you've got your first reader.…
Introduction As developers and CTOs, we're always on the lookout for innovative ways to integrate AI into our business processes. Recently, I took on an exciting challenge: developing an agent-based sales outreach tool that sent over a thousand personalized emails for a side project . This technical blog post aims to share the insights gained from this experiment, providing both a comprehensive…
Angel investing has become an increasingly popular activity, especially with the rise of startup culture and success stories of people making life-changing returns. You've probably seen posts on social media or heard from friends about the allure of investing in early-stage companies and potentially hitting it big when one of them exits successfully. The idea of being an angel investor can be…
When I first heard about Angel Squad (by Hustle Fund), I was intrigued by the concept of a community for angel investors and startup enthusiasts. As someone based in Singapore, the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals from around the world was incredibly appealing so I pulled the plug and joined the community. This is my review of Angel Squad after 1 year in it. What is AngelSquad?…
Earlier today, I ran into an issue when trying to renew the road tax for my vehicle online. After entering my vehicle plate number and owner ID, I received an error message stating: We are unable to renew your road tax. Our records show that your vehicle has insufficient/no insurance coverage. Your current insurance is valid from xxxx to xxxx. [UL00071] This was confusing as I had already renewed…