Writing · Nº 041065 essays
The writing
Ideas from inside the work. Explore technology, entrepreneurship, and the practice of building things that last.
13 essays found · Page 1 of 2
Clear filtersStrategyWhat Belongs in a Shared Foundation and What Doesn'tA checklist for deciding what belongs in a shared foundation across products: the plumbing to centralize, the product logic to keep out, and the test to apply.EngineeringStarter Template vs a Living Foundation: The DifferenceA starter template and a living foundation both bootstrap new products, but only one compounds. Here is the difference and why it decides whether reuse pays.EngineeringReuse vs Rewrite: When to Share Code Across ProductsReuse vs rewrite is the daily decision behind a compounding foundation. Here is the rule for when to share code across products and when to just copy it.EngineeringHow to Standardize Auth, Billing, and Deploy OnceStandardize auth, billing, and deploy once in a shared foundation and every new product inherits them. A practical guide to the three that pay back fastest.ThesisThe Marginal Cost of the Next Product Should FallIn a portfolio built on a shared foundation, the marginal cost of the next product falls toward the cost of its differentiated part. Here is the economics of that.ThesisThe Paved Road Beats a Free-for-All in Every CodebaseA paved road, one default way to build with the shared foundation, beats letting every product pick its own tools. Here is why the golden path wins at scale.EngineeringDoes a Shared Foundation Slow You Down? Not If Built RightThe objection that a shared foundation slows teams down is real but fixable. Here is when reuse actually drags, and how to keep the shared core an accelerator.StrategyWhen to Build Shared Infrastructure (and When Not To)A decision checklist for when to build shared infrastructure versus copy per project, based on ship frequency, overlap, and the maintenance tax you can carry.EngineeringMistakes to Avoid When Building a Shared FoundationThe common mistakes that turn a shared foundation into dead weight: premature abstraction, no owner, leaky product logic, and versioning you skipped.EngineeringHow to Ship SaaS Faster With a Shared FoundationA governed base layer that every new venture inherits is why company number two costs a fraction of company number one. Here is what belongs in it and what does not.EngineeringMonorepo vs Polyrepo for a Portfolio FoundationMonorepo vs polyrepo when a shared foundation feeds many products: the real tradeoffs, when each wins, and the hybrid I run across a portfolio of companies.EngineeringHow to Build a Reusable SaaS Foundation That CompoundsA practical guide to building a reusable SaaS foundation: what to standardize first, what to leave per product, and how to keep the shared core from rotting.