I build custom software and set up AI coding agents for small teams.

I wrote a hands-on guide on agentic AI coding workflows that gets steady organic traffic: https://gabezen.com/guide/

Reach out if you're a:

- Edtech platform that needs to scale past 10k users. Built Peer Feedback for Georgia Tech's online CS program from scratch. 10,000+ students, AI-powered evaluation, Canvas LMS integration.

- Podcast or media company building production infrastructure. Was fCTO at Listen Network (podcast ad tech company). Built their core ad-tech product. Also built my own podcasting SaaS.

- Django app that needs to ship now. Django is my primary weapon. Was fCTO at Cityrow, until acquisition. They had a Django backend.

- Small team that needs a CTO who actually codes. GyftGram's CEO (Techstars '24) said I did in weeks what most dev shops take months to finish.

- Spanish or Japanese-speaking markets. Native English and Spanish. JLPT N2 in Japanese. I lead teams and talk to customers in all three. Not many fCTOs can.

Seed to Series B. 10-20 hrs/week.

Portfolio: https://gabezen.com/projects/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46953935

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

A Windows 95-themed interactive guide on agentic AI coding, with a hidden SkiFree game, original chiptune soundtrack, achievement badges, and a Red Pill / Blue Pill choice that can BSOD your browser. Seven chapters with a codebase readiness scorer, ROI calculator, and copyable artifacts for engineering leads.

Built entirely with Claude Code, which is fitting since the guide teaches the same workflow. It's a labor of love that happens to be made with the tool it's about.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32001450

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31814608

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29260386

Points: 12

# Comments: 3

And if so, what priority should be given to "ease of rapid growth for startups" vs many other issues that determine economic growth and a population's well being?

Also, how much of the problem is due to the issues you raise vs other factors such amount of money spent in R&D? The US has a huge amount of "defense spending" but in fact a lot of that is dedicated to funding research in Universities and direct job creation. Maybe Europe just needs more research Universities, more labs and more state investment into technology. The recent Moderna breakthrough was in part due to a $25 million DARPA investment into the RNA vaccine idea.

As for the issues you mention; solving bureaucratic issues would make things more efficient, and it is definitely desirable. However, I would argue that a heterogeneous market (in terms of language and culture) is more of an advantage than a liability.

Having many cultures and languages could be akin to having biodiversity. Different outlooks in life, different ways of expressing ideas, different ways of thinking can contribute to the development of culture and technology. Look at the Galapago effect that languages had in early computing. The Japanese were able to develop their own vision of "computing" and came up with their own innovations due in part that early western computers couldn't handle Japanese.

Languages and cultures can serve as natural protectionist barriers that allow for each region to develop their own home industries, allowing them to catch up to the world while retaining significant chunks of new wealth creation for their own. Yes, wealth creation is good, but its also important to look at how wealth is distributed. Very unequal societies can break down and lose their cohesion. Cohesion and trust are important features of rich countries. Perhaps many of the issues the US dealing with is because of the huge level of inequalities it has.

Finally, is translation and localization really that hard? Is it that expensive to hire some sales & marketing staff in new markets where you could be making tons of money? I bet translation costs and such are less than a percentage of what Google spent expanding its search engine.

People often choose products based on what their friends are using and what they see people online mentioning.

How can you get in front of people first without spending tons of cash on marketing and paid ads?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22360605

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19069659

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

I have read many people strongly advice against working on consumer SaaS e.g. patio11. The main argument seems to be that companies are way more likely to open up their wallets than consumers. The other argument is that it is easier to get companies to pay up big amounts of money, so that you can get more profit from each customer. That makes marketing easier, because you need less people going through your funnel to get a reasonable amount of income. Finally, companies are less prone to churn. In spite of all of these issues, I am working away very hard at a consumer SaaS app.

Why I am working on a consumer SaaS app?

- I am building a product I want/need for myself, which turns out to be for consumers.

- I am very passionate about my product idea/industry. I could see myself dedicating the next decade or longer on working on this field/idea.

- I think know my market very well.

- I believe I have some good ideas to overcome the marketing hurdle.

What is my project/idea?

I am developing Koipun Reader (koipun.com). Koipun Reader guides you through consuming native materials in steps so that you can reach advanced Japanese.

My goal is to make a 100k a year salary for myself and work on an idea I love.

I dedicate around 50% of my time to Koipun, the rest of the time going to a project that actually pays the bills. Am I stupid to invest a massive time amount of time and energy on a consumer SaaS product? Should I instead work on some B2B idea? Is consumer SaaS viable? Any advice for me?

I am 29 years old and I am dedicating my heart and soul to this project. Above all, I want to be independent while working on something I love. I can not bear the thought of not being my own boss and getting the freedom that comes with being an entrepreneur.

For more backstory checkout: https://www.koipun.com/blog/category/follow-the-koipun-story

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15577782

Points: 4

# Comments: 1

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15238461

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

This is a quick and dirty MVP I put together. I would appreciate any feedback. Would you use it? Do you think there is a market for it? What is your biggest concern?

No, I can not say that confidently about everybody. But for the target audience, developers and founders of small businesses, I can confidently say their time is worth a lot.

It is project based, not time based. It is a flat fee!

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15169346

Points: 7

# Comments: 9

That is not enough though and that problem you are describing is the reason I am developing Koipun Reader(https://www.koipun.com/reader/). My goal for Koipun Reader is to help intermediate level learners go through any arbitrary Japanese text and give them the ability to save words they want to learn, so that they can review them later within the same context of the text they read. I only have preview version of the app right now, but I will release an MVP in a month.

Edit: fix typo