Latest posts from Tim's Journal
In a recent podcast, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek presents a provocative idea: happiness is a trailing indicator of impact. He argues that the conventional pursuit and measure of happiness -- money -- leads to mere contentment than true fulfillment. When I first heard this, I can’t help but think about how tone-deaf he sounded. After all, this is coming from a guy who made $10m at 22. When you’re that…
I feel like I haven't learnt anything new in a while. A lot of applying stuff I've learned at work (growth stuff) but honestly brain's feeling a bit rusty after not reading/learning about new topics. Feel like I need to immerse myself in a new topic...read more biographies? Read more fiction? Read books I've picked up back then but never read? I think I need to read more. Spend ~30 mins a day just…
One of the biggest losers I’ve worked with was ex-Tesla & Uber with 7 years of SWE experience. But zero risk appetite. No self-belief. Refused to touch AI tools. Gives up at the slightest drop of discomfort. Working in Big Tech is comfy af. You float around in a sea of corporate backpacks, ping pong tables, and on-tap kombucha. Clock in, do minimal work, clock out, and collect a generous paycheck.…
For the first time, I’m starting to think my mentor might be nudging me off-course instead of pointing me to the right direction. I grabbed a latte with Kevin this morning. After the usual catch-up, he asked what I really wanted to do in life. “Easy,” I said. “I want to be you. Build the next big consumer company in the region.” He shook his head. “Your ideas are too small. Look into building a…
May 21 - Working on Perch didn't work out. Mike pulled the trigger on hiring me too early for a role in a venture that he discontinued. Felix is shutting down ADP List. Maybe we're gonna work together on something. Brief is still in progress. Supposed to catchup with Fred again this week but haven't scheduled time yet. 'Buildspace'/YC for Kids seems promising. But even if we start it, will take…
To build a company is a 10-year long endeavor. If you're not called to build -- if you don't have the itch to create something that burns deep within you right now -- then don't build. I like to say that not everyone is meant to be a founder. I want to add to that: Not everyone is meant to be a founder right now . Timing matters. A lot. If the time is not right, don't force it. Be patient. Find a…
Well isn't at the plot twist of the year. Tim Wijaya - the man who has always been a vocal critique of the corporate life - has a day job. Yeah...I can see that sly smirk on your face. Drink it in and enjoy telling me "I told you so..." Four days ago, I was getting ready for bed when Mike McGuiness (Perch/Startup Archive) texted me: Naturally I was surprised. First at the offer, and then at the…
Growing a consumer internet product is part art, part science. The art is product taste—intuition, empathy, and the ability to build something that feels inevitably right to a specific group of people. The kind of product that feels like it was made just for them . That’s how true word of mouth begins. Paul Graham calls this “a small, intense fire”—people so obsessed, they spread it organically.…
It’s a question every founder should ask themselves. While herds flock to trends, the best founders elect to build companies where they have an unfair advantage. Take Pedro and Henrique. They got into YC with a Virtual Reality idea, but quickly realized they had no idea what they were doing. Both were ready to quit. But within the orange walls of YC, the partners gave them a simple piece of…
Last night I was coding a new project. An error popped up—I tried fixing it. Again and again. But I kept failing. On the 40th try, I gave up and rebuilt it from scratch. No errors this time. Sometimes, starting over is the smartest move. Not out of weakness, but the courage to choose better. A clean slate beats dragging broken code—or baggage—into your next chapter. The same applies to ventures,…
It’s 12:50 am. I have to be up by 4 am because I have a 10-mile run in the morning. But I can’t sleep. So after an hour of tossing around in bed, I decided to open up my laptop to squeeze every ounce of brain energy until I inevitably crash. Let me write about stuff I’m excited about in the coming months. - I’m excited to work with Fred. He’s a good builder and is nimble enough to kill/test many…
This dude just vibe-coded a performant, native-feeling iOS app with another app called VibeCode. It drops May 1. I’ll be using it to prototype Brief rapidly. Imagine the possibilities. I can think of a new gesture, interaction, or feature - and have a functioning prototype in minutes. Something I can touch and feel in the palms of my hands, without talking to a dev. My thoughts and prayers go to…
The first James Bond book was written in 8 weeks. Oscar-winning film Whiplash was filmed in 19 days. Rocky’s screenplay was finished in 3 days. The world belongs to the restless. What did you get done this week?
Every time I head out for a 10km run, the hardest part is always the first 5km. When my watch beeps after the first kilometer, I roll my eyes and dread the idea of having nine more to go. But once I hit 5km, something shifts. The resistance fades. I’m no longer negotiating with myself. I’m just running. It feels…easier. Reaching the halfway point is always the hardest. You’re too far in to quit,…
Yesterday, I talked to several users about Brief. It’s clear that WhatsApp users' pain points and feature requests closely mirror email issues—specifically the ones that Superhuman has addressed. Most Requested Features: Smart Inbox (Important vs Others) Schedule Later (Draft a message, send later) Snippets (Frequently Used Messages) Reminders A good starting point would be to replicate…