Writing · Nº 041065 essays
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Ideas from inside the work. Explore technology, entrepreneurship, and the practice of building things that last.
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Clear filtersOperatingThe Context-Switching Tax a Solo Operator PaysContext switching is the real cost of running many companies alone. Here is what the switching tax actually is and how a solo operator drives it down to near zero.OperatingHow to Tell a Dying Portfolio Company From a Slow OneA company that is slow and one that is dying look identical on a dashboard. The difference is the trend of one leading input. Here is how I read it.EngineeringHow to Roll Out Breaking Changes Across a PortfolioRolling out breaking changes across a portfolio of products means expand, migrate, contract. Never break twenty apps at once. Here is the safe sequence I use.OperatingWhen to Kill a Portfolio Company You Run SoloKilling a venture is a prioritization tool, not a failure. Here is how a solo operator decides when to shut a portfolio company down and free the attention it eats.StrategyWhy Your Agency Portfolio Doesn't Win DealsA pretty agency portfolio rarely closes clients. Here is why your portfolio fails to convert and what proof buyers actually need before they hire you.ThesisTrust Is the One Thing You Cannot RebuildAcross a portfolio carrying one name, a single confident lie does not break one feature. It breaks the reason anyone trusted the whole system. That asymmetry sets the rules.StrategyWho Pays for the Internal Platform in a PortfolioWho pays for the internal platform when it serves twenty products? The first product carries it, and every product after that pays almost nothing. Here is the math.OperatingCadence Beats Hours: Scheduling a Solo PortfolioRunning a solo portfolio is won on cadence, not hours. Here is why a fixed rhythm across ventures beats grinding, and how one operator schedules twenty companies.OperatingBatch Similar Work Across Companies, Not One at a TimeFinishing one company before the next feels organized but taxes your focus. Batching the same type of work across all companies cuts the switching cost.EngineeringHow to Version a Shared Foundation Without Breaking AppsVersioning a shared foundation across many products means additive changes, deprecation windows, and pinned versions. Here is how to upgrade without breaking apps.OperatingHow to Catch Burnout Early as a Solo OperatorBurnout in a solo portfolio shows up as operational symptoms before you feel it. Here are the early signs I watch, and what I do when they appear.OperatingHow to Never Drop a Thread Across Twenty CompaniesA solo operator never drops a thread because of a capture and review system, not memory. Here is how one person tracks open loops across twenty companies.