Momentum is the oxygen of startups. Lose it, and you suffocate. Getting it back is harder than creating it in the first place. Here’s the paradox founders hit early: Both paths kill. They just work on different timelines. Death by Hesitation Friendster is a perfect example of death by hesitation. They had the idea years…
Month: September 2025
Is AI Slowing Everyone Down?
Over the past year, we’ve all witnessed an AI gold rush. Companies of every size are racing to “adopt AI” before their competitors do, layering chatbots, content tools, and automation into their workflows. But here’s the uncomfortable question: is all of this actually making us more productive, or is AI quietly slowing us down? A…
20+ Years as a CTO: Lessons I Learned the Hard Way
Being a CTO isn’t what it looks like from the outside. There are no capes, no magic formulas, and certainly no shortcuts. After more than two decades leading engineering teams, shipping products, and navigating the chaos of startups and scale-ups, I’ve realized that the real challenges and the real lessons aren’t technical. They’re human, strategic,…
Cocoa, Chocolate, and Why AI Still Can’t Discover
Imagine standing in front of a freshly picked cocoa pod. You break it open, and inside you find a pale, sticky pulp with bitter seeds. Nothing looks edible, nothing smells particularly appetizing. By every reasonable measure, this is a dead end. Yet humanity somehow didn’t stop there. Someone, centuries ago, kept experimenting, steps that made…
When to Hire Real Engineers Instead of Freelancers for Your MVP
Building a startup is a race against time. Every day you wait to ship your idea is a day your competitors could gain an edge. That’s why many founders start with freelancers or “vibe coding” to launch their MVP (Minimum Viable Product) quickly. But this fast-track approach comes with hidden risks. There comes a point…