The Blog

Notes on AI, Software
& Building Products

Practical lessons and insights on building, scaling, and shipping AI-powered software.

⌘ K

How to Reduce OpenAI API Cost

Tool calls, bloated system prompts, and defaulting to flagship models quietly multiply your AI costs. Here's the routing pattern that reliably cuts spend by 70-90% without hurting output quality.

AI EngineeringMVP Strategy

Become a Better Developer by Owning Your Mistakes

How admitting a production bug — instead of hiding it — became the moment a client trusted me more, not less.

Career Lessons

A 7-Step Framework for Writing SaaS Landing Page Copy That Converts

Write clear, high-converting SaaS landing page copy using the StoryBrand framework: fix vague messaging and guide visitors to a decision.

Startup Communication

A Founder's Framework for Choosing the Right SaaS Tech Stack

A practical, five-step framework for picking a tech stack based on timeline, budget, and team skill — not which framework is trending.

Tech for Founders

Why 'Built With AI in Two Weeks' SaaS Success Stories Are Misleading

Behind the viral AI-built SaaS success story is three months of iteration and a specific way of thinking, not a lucky prompt.

AI & Automation

What Leading a Global Remote Team Taught Me About Trust

How a high-pressure night-shift support role for a Canadian client base, run from Iran, taught me the fundamentals of remote leadership.

Career Lessons

The SaaS Not-To-Do List: 7 Mistakes That Kill Products Before Launch

The difference between successful and struggling SaaS founders isn't talent, it's discipline. Seven costly mistakes to avoid.

MVP & Product Strategy

Technical Concepts Every Non-Technical SaaS Founder Should Know

You don't need to code to build a startup, but you do need to understand what your developers are talking about to make good decisions.

Tech for Founders

How I Use AI to Ship SaaS Features Faster, Without Losing Control

My actual AI workflow across meetings, design, frontend, and backend work, and where I never let AI make the decision for me.

AI & Automation

What Losing an $11K Project Taught Me About Scoping MVPs

I built a comprehensive proposal instead of the smallest testable version, and lost the project because of it.

MVP & Product Strategy

The Clarity Call Framework: How I Validate SaaS Ideas Before We Build

Five questions that filter out SaaS ideas that aren't ready to build yet, before any money is spent on development.

MVP & Product Strategy

From Validated Idea to Build Plan: My Strategy Call Framework

The seven questions I use to turn a validated SaaS idea into a concrete technical plan, timeline, and budget before writing any code.

MVP & Product Strategy

Build What Users Actually Need: An MVP Validation Framework

Stop asking 'can we build feature X.' Learn how to validate a real problem before writing code, and avoid feature bloat in your MVP.

MVP & Product Strategy

How I Overcame Imposter Syndrome to Land My First Dev Job

A month of hesitation, then a targeted networking and application strategy that turned seven applications into three interviews.

Career Lessons

How I Quadrupled My Developer Salary in One Year

A real account of going from a junior frontend role to a senior full-stack position, four raises, in under twelve months.

Career Lessons

What It Actually Takes to Launch Your Own SaaS: A Founder's Guide

A practical breakdown of SaaS business models, how to find a real idea, and how to build and sell your first version, without the fluff.

MVP & Product Strategy

A 4-Step Framework to Learn Any Skill With Zero Budget

How I learned web development with no paid resources, landed a job in six months, and earned four raises in the first year.

Career Lessons

How Learning Web Development Changed My Life in One Year

From five years of computer science theory to a self-taught path through React and Next.js that actually led to a job.

Career Lessons