Insights
Field notes on product decisions, architecture, and shipping software.
Inheriting a Codebase: What I Check in the First Two Days, Before I Change a Line
October 202610 min read
A new developer's first instinct is to fix things. A better first move is to find out what's load-bearing. Here is the two-day audit I run on any inherited codebase, and what each check tells a founder.
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The Maintenance Bill Nobody Quotes: What It Actually Costs to Keep Software Running
The build quote is a one-time number. Running the product is a recurring liability nobody prices. Here's what the maintenance bill is actually made of, realistic ranges, and how to structure it without overpaying for a retainer you don't need.
Product strategy13 min
Read articleShipped by AI, Stuck at Feature Five: What Actually Breaks in Vibe-Coded Codebases
AI-generated MVPs ship fast and then stall. Here's what actually breaks — duplicated logic, schema drift, decorative tests — and how founders can diagnose it without an engineer.
Product strategy12 min
Read articleBuild vs. Buy: The Hidden Cost of Writing Code You Could Have Rented
Founders often burn months of runway building commodity features from scratch to save on SaaS subscriptions. Here's how to make better build vs. buy decisions and ship faster.
Product strategy11 min
Read articleResume-Driven Development: Is Your Team Over-Engineering Your MVP?
Slow MVP development is not always caused by product complexity. Learn how resume-driven development leads to over-engineering, bloated infrastructure, and delayed launches.
Product strategy14 min
Read articleRewrite or Refactor? The Decision That Burns Founder Money
Before rebuilding your app from scratch, learn when a rewrite is worth it, when refactoring wins, and the hidden costs founders miss.
Product strategy10 min
Read articleThe MVP Trap: How Quick and Dirty Code Makes Every Feature Expensive
Quick MVP code feels cheap until every feature ships slower—learn how founders avoid paying twice for the same product.
Product strategy9 min
Read articleFrom Z-Scores to MongoDB Indexes: Building a Real Football Scouting Platform
On a real scouting platform, heavy MongoDB searches started around 22s—until targeted indexes, lean queries, and caching brought the worst paths down to roughly 3–4s. Read the architecture choices behind the win.
Architecture9 min
Read articleSlashing AWS Costs by 70%: From 80+ Lambdas to 15 Without Breaking Scale
One production SaaS had 80+ route Lambdas behind API Gateway; reshaping around domain boundaries cut that infrastructure slice ~70%, steadied latency, and gave the team fewer deployables to babysit. Read the architecture breakdown.
Architecture11 min
Read articleHow to Hire a Remote Full Stack Developer (Without Costly Mistakes)
Remote hiring fails when scope is fuzzy and proof is thin—vet delivery, communication, and fit before you commit.
Hiring9 min
Read article5 Mistakes Teams Make When Moving to Next.js (And What Actually Matters)
Teams move to Next.js expecting SEO and speed fixes—often the friction was never stack-deep. Learn what actually breaks migrations and what fixes them.
Architecture6 min
Read articleHow Long Does It Take to Build a Web Application? (Real Timelines + Hidden Delays Explained)
A simple MVP can take 2–6 weeks; a scoped SaaS MVP often takes 4–8. See realistic web app timelines and the scope decisions that change them.
Product strategy7 min
Read articleThe Most Expensive Mistake in Software Projects (And Why Teams Miss It)
Teams ship working code that misses the real problem—then pay for rework, politics, and lost months. Align on the problem before you pour concrete into code.
Product strategy4 min
Read articleWhat I Learned Building Real Products in 2025
Lessons from shipping multiple products: scope beats polish, boring stacks beat clever ones, and speed comes from constraints—not heroics. Ask a question if a lesson resonates.
Product strategy2 min
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