
# The Big Idea

It's not divine intervention; it's just someone who did a damn good job.

<a
  href="https://www.paddle.com/events/webinars/web-revenue-labs-what-to-do-in-this-post-apple-ruling-landscape?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=webinars_fy2025_q2_apples_app_store_ruling&utm_content=tiny-improvements"
  className="text-xs lg:text-xs xl:text-xs"
>
  Brought to you by Paddle
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## Go on, put your back into it

North Carolina summers are like being slowly baked inside a damp sock. Triple-digit heat. Humidity so thick you could bottle it and sell it as soup. It’s the kind of weather that makes you question your life choices.

But the moment you step into a perfectly air-conditioned room: one that hits you with that crisp, fresh chill on a blistering day - that is what salvation feels like. Not just relief, but a stark, physical reminder of the incredible effort that has gone into the built environment.

Now and then, I get the same feeling from software, too. When someone really puts every bit of their intellectual might into making something that feels _alive_.

### Creative works that just feel different

**[Blue Prince](https://www.blueprincegame.com/)** and **[Animal Well](https://www.animalwell.net/)** are two recent games that twist themselves into meta-puzzles, daring you to notice every pixel. I hardly play games at all nowadays, but I can feel the love in every corner of these worlds. It’s intoxicating.

**Small touches added to Android** - instant translation of any text on any screen (even from an image!), no app-switching needed. Spam calls? Silenced. Texts from bots? Blocked. It feels like magic, but it’s just good design.

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/passion-and-the-hand-of-the-creator/google-translate"
  alt="Translation feature on Android"
  caption="Translation in-app is such a thoughtful feature."
/>

[PostHog's new AI Wizard](https://posthog.com/docs/getting-started/install?tab=wizard) - I ran a single npx command and it read my codebase, set up analytics, and configured AI suggestions like it knew exactly what was needed for Craftwork's specific architecture. That’s not a fluke - that’s care, craftsmanship, and context-awareness built into the bones.

<small clasName="text-xs italic text-gray-500">
  (side note: posthog is a past sponsor of Tiny Improvements - but this is not a
  sponsored message. I'm just that damn impressed..)
</small>

### Now go do the damn thing

These examples are more than just little features. They’re evidence of effort, of risk, of someone pushing past “good enough.”

And that’s the work that sticks with me; because it has a **pulse**.

Recreating that sensation... the feeling of a blast of AC on a boiling day - is what I want to do with every product I work on.

**What will it take** to give your work a pulse?

## Mobile app revolution: What to do in this post-Apple ruling landscape

In the latest turn in the Epic Games v Apple legal saga, Apple is now required to allow developers to link to external payment options without imposing additional fees or restrictions. With the freedom and the complexities of taking payments for your app on the web, the real question is: what to do next? Join Paddle as they answer your burning questions and give practical advice you can execute today.

📆 Live Webinar: May 13, 12–1pm EDT
[Register now](https://www.paddle.com/events/webinars/web-revenue-labs-what-to-do-in-this-post-apple-ruling-landscape?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=webinars_fy2025_q2_apples_app_store_ruling&utm_content=tiny-improvements) - it's free!

## Links plucked from my gray matter

One of the things I like most about my job is being able to take inspiration from all over the place. These are some of the things that have stuck with me recently:

- [Unreasonable Hospitality](https://amzn.to/4idMvHZ) is The best book I've read in the past year, hands down. I liked it so much I read it twice, [wrote a newsletter about it](https://mikebifulco.com/newsletter/unreasonable-hospitality-and-design), and bought copies for friends and teammates.
- The [Besties Podcast on Blue Prince](https://thebesties.substack.com/p/blue-prince-is-the-first-must-play) is what convinced me that there was something special in the source code for the game. Host Justin McElroy's quote about "feeling the hand of the creator" sold me on it. What a masterpiece.


I want to feel the hand of the f%#king creator

Mobile app revolution: What to do in this post-Apple ruling landscape


## The Big Idea

<a
  href="https://www.paddle.com/events/webinars/lessons-from-saas-founders-whove-done-it?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=webinars_fy2025_q2_core_fireside_founder_chat_30apr&utm_content=tiny-improvements"
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>
  Brought to you by Paddle
</a>

Opportunities don't "just happen" - they come from staying connected, helping others generously, and trusting your instincts when the right path shows up.

## Serendipity isn't magic

Opportunities don't "just happen" - they come from staying connected, helping others generously, and trusting your instincts when the right path shows up.

Years ago, when I was fresh out of college and living on my own for the first time, I read a book called _Never Eat Alone,_ by Keith Ferrazzi.

I don’t agree with everything in it - the title alone feels a little over the top - but the core idea stuck with me: Stay connected. Help when you can. Introduce people who can help each other.

I've carried that theme with me ever since.

Whether it’s friends, colleagues, or online pals (like the [developer community](https://apisyouaonthate.com) I run with two people I've never met in person), I try to be helpful when I can - without keeping score.

## Choosing to be helpful

Around 2018, I had the opportunity to watch some friends complete the Techstars startup accelerator, where I picked up another mantra:

_Give without the expectation of receiving._

Many people people are doing mental accounting all the time - who owes who what, who's "worth it." It's exhausting. For me, it misses the point.

The people I've encountered who seem to have endless opportunity around them are the ones who _help_ first, without asking what’s in it for them.

## Some people do suck

This is important - **you don't owe everyone your time.**

If someone makes a habit of taking advantage, wasting your energy, or treating you poorly, you are not obligated to stay engaged. Good faith should be earned - and kept.

Trust your internal barometer, use your powers for good.

### A framework for building your own luck

- Help people when you can. Make intros. Cheer people on. Share what you genuinely admire.
- Be open to new people and ideas. Take introductions seriously - you never know which one will change your life.
- Trust your instincts. Only you know the full context of your life and goals. When something feels right, follow it.

Most of all, **protect your time**. Being generous doesn’t mean being a doormat.

Serendipity isn’t magic. It’s built by your choices and actions over a longer period of time than you might expect.

---

## From Idea to Exit: SaaS Founders Spill Their Secrets

Why do some SaaS ideas soar while others stall? Paddle's panel of seasoned SaaS founders will talk on idea validation, bootstrapping vs VC funding, scaling tactics & hard-won lessons. It’s a founder therapy session disguised as a webinar.

**📆 Live Webinar**: April 30, 12–1pm EDT

[Save your seat](https://www.paddle.com/events/webinars/lessons-from-saas-founders-whove-done-it?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=webinars_fy2025_q2_core_fireside_founder_chat_30apr&utm_content=tiny-improvements)

---

## What I'm reading

**[Never Eat Alone](https://amzn.to/4cSy23f)** by Keith Ferrazzi, helped forge my outlook on building a strong network, as a bright eyed college grad.

I just finished **[Careless People](https://amzn.to/3GubN7A)**, a memoir by Facebook's first Director of Public Policy. It is a gut-punch of a book, divulging some serious details about the casual relationship that Zuck and company had with ethics as they grew to an incomprehensibly large company. The book had me doing karate kicks in my living room.

A while back, I published a treatise on hiring called **[Your Resume Sucks](https://mikebifulco.com/newsletter/your-resume-sucks)**. A reader this week reached out with a great example of someone going the distance to stand out from other applicants: check out [The unhinged application I used to get a job at a fast-growing startup](https://userobsession.substack.com/p/the-unhinged-application-i-used-to) from Finn Lobsien.

Shout out to Rusty in Seattle for sharing!


Serendipity isn't an accident

From Idea to Exit: SaaS Founders Spill Their Secrets


## The Big Idea

<a
  href="https://www.paddle.com/events/webinars/lessons-from-saas-founders-whove-done-it?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=webinars_fy2025_q2_core_fireside_founder_chat_30apr&utm_content=tiny-improvements"
  className="text-xs lg:text-xs xl:text-xs"
>
  Brought to you by Paddle
</a>

**Freedom builds trust.** People don’t want to feel trapped by the products they use. In an ecosystem full of walled gardens, openness and interoperability are your competitive advantage.

---

## Freedom Is a Feature

**Platform lock-in is one of the tools of the trade for companies building products without a real moat.**

If you can’t win on quality or experience, maybe you can trap people just long enough to squeeze some revenue out of them.

But people feel it: Lock-in creates friction; it quietly drains trust.

The better path? Leave the door open, and make a product so good people don't want to leave.

### Enter MCP

That’s what makes **MCP** such a fascinating case study.

Introduced by Anthropic in 2024, **MCP (Model Context Protocol)** is an open standard that helps developers guide LLM agents to use specific tools and workflows-no more spray-and-pray guessing. It brought structure and predictability to AI automation in a way that hadn’t been possible before.

And crucially: **Anthropic [open-sourced](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/introduction) it.**

This has quickly sparked a shift across the industry. Since its launch in November 2024, MCP has become _the_ way to build reliable, agent-powered workflows.

Adoption has been explosive. It's gained so much traction, so quickly, that every major player has adopted it.

**OpenAI included.**

With $62B in funding and a massive head start (vs. Anthropic’s ~$18B), OpenAI could’ve tried to ignore MCP, or bury it with their own proprietary solution.

Instead, they embraced it.

Supporting MCP was the only reasonable move - and ultimately, a smart one.

**Openness won,** and builders, developers, and end users are all better off for it.

### Meanwhile, in Cupertino…

Apple’s absence from the LLM conversation is starting to look more and more like Microsoft’s infamous fumble on mobile in the early 2000s. Siri has missed the moment - and unless Apple makes a major acquisition soon or has a surprise launch in their back pocket, they may be sitting out the next platform shift entirely. 🍎

---

## From Idea to Exit: SaaS Founders Spill Their Secrets

Why do some SaaS ideas soar while others stall? Paddle's panel of seasoned SaaS founders will talk on idea validation, bootstrapping vs VC funding, scaling tactics & hard-won lessons. It’s a founder therapy session disguised as a webinar.

**📆 Live Webinar**: April 30, 12–1pm EDT

[Save your seat](https://www.paddle.com/events/webinars/lessons-from-saas-founders-whove-done-it?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=webinars_fy2025_q2_core_fireside_founder_chat_30apr&utm_content=tiny-improvements)

---

## 🧠 Further Reading

- [**Model Context Protocol (MCP) Docs**](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/introduction)
  The official intro to MCP; it's still early days and these docs are evolving quickly, but they are _the_ place to start.

- [**OpenAI Agents SDK – MCP Support**](https://openai.github.io/openai-agents-python/mcp/)
  OpenAI’s implementation of MCP, complete with setup and examples.

- [Google's Agent Development Kit](https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/ai-machine-learning/build-and-manage-multi-system-agents-with-vertex-ai) mentions support for MCP as part of their three-pillar approach to building production AI products.

- 🎙️ [**Accidental Tech Podcast – Ep. 635: An Effective Operator**](https://atp.fm/635)
  ATP digs into Apple’s LLM absence, and why it might haunt them long-term. (Marco’s comments on this feel… prophetic.)

---

## Sensing some subtext here?

For my 🇺🇸 readers:

Republicans in Congress have introduced the _SAVE Act_ - a bill that would make it nearly impossible for millions of eligible Americans to register to vote.

This bill would require in-person registration with a passport or birth certificate-which tens of millions of Americans don’t have easy access to. It's not about security. It’s about suppression.

So much for openness and freedom.

They’re counting on you to be too tired, too distracted, or too polite to fight back. Prove them wrong.

Save yourself from the worst type of vendor lock-in imaginable.

Call your goddamn senator, and give 'em hell.

👉 [5calls.org/issue/save-act-voter-suppression](https://5calls.org/issue/save-act-voter-suppression)


Freedom is a Feature: why competition is a good thing


## The Big Idea

When the world feels shaky, your steadiness matters more than ever.

<a
  href="https://www.vpdae.com/redirect/svufr105vnsrt8wft6ggddi6gpl"
  className="text-xs lg:text-xs xl:text-xs"
>
  Brought to you by Whalesync
</a>

---

Last weekend I saw [The Tallest Man on Earth](https://thetallestmanonearth.com/) play in Saxapahaw, NC. It was the first day of the Swedish singer-songwriter's North American tour, at a modest venue in a quaint mill town in the middle of nowhere.

Throughout the show, it ws obvious that he was going through something. Between songs, he talked about how he lived in the US for years, and that it's a country he's always loved - and that it's felt different lately.

I'll second that.

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/what-to-do-when-the-bottom-falls-out/tallest-man"
  alt="The Tallest Man on Earth"
/>

He also said something that really stuck with me: if we could all just focus on being cooler humans, we'd live in a much better world.

I can't stop thinking about that.

I'm the first to tell you that I can't fix other people - but who I am is squarely in my locus of control.

So, let's start there.

## Never let a good crisis go to waste

Here’s the truth: we can’t control the economy, or the stock market, or the news cycle.
But we can control how we show up.

When the bottom falls out, the instinct is to panic, to isolate, to hunker down and wait it out. But that’s not how we rebuild. Not really. What gets us through the hard stuff is community, clarity, and actions - even small ones.

So, what can you do?

- **Check in on your people.** Like, _really_ check on them, and listen to what they're saying.
- **Share what you’re learning.** You never know who might benefit from it; and personal growth tends to open doors.
- **Make introductions.** Serendipity can't be created, but it can be seeded. The right connection at the right time can change someone’s life.
- **Keep building.** Not for the headlines, but for the people who’ll benefit from what you make - and for yourself.

The builders who keep showing up - kindly, consistently, with purpose - tend to be sources of support and community when it matters most.

tl;dr: Give without expecting anything in return, and be a cooler human.

---

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---

## Making a case for doing good things

If you need evidence benevolent behavior is good for business, look at who’s done it before:

- [Ben & Jerry’s](https://www.benjerry.com/values) has built their brand by showing up for people who can’t always speak up for themselves. They've made advocacy part of their product.
- [Notion](https://www.notion.com/product/notion-for-education) gives away tools to students and teachers as part of their mission to help people learn and grow.
- [Fastly](https://www.fastly.com/company)'s devtools platform is accompanied by a strong mission to make the internet a better place.

You don’t need an underground bunker. You just need to be one of the people who gives a damn when things feel uncertain.

This is when it matters most. ✌️

Give 'em hell out there,

- Mike


A realist's guide to flattening out unexpected downturns

What to do when the bottom falls out

Get it done with Supabase + Airtable + Vibe Coding


## The Big Idea

The best developer tools make you faster and make you look good. Resend does both - for email, of all things.

## Let's talk about tools

I've had a few conversations lately with other founders and indie hackers about the stack behind my site-and one thing always comes up: how I send emails.

To be clear: **this isn't a sponsored post**. Nobody paid me to write this. I just really like using Resend, and I think more developers should know it exists.

As a startup founder, every one of my days is time-constrained. I’ve always got too much to do, and too little time to do it. That’s why I’m a sucker for tools that do two things at once: save me time and help me look polished.

[Resend](https://resend.com) is one of those rare tools. It makes sending beautiful, functional emails from your app almost feel… fun? Which, if you’ve ever wrestled with email templates, you’ll know is not a word we usually associate with this stuff.

## Why the heck is email so hard?

If you've never tried designing email, it sounds simple-just HTML and CSS, right?

Not quite.

Email clients (Gmail, Apple Mail, Outlook) all render things differently. There’s no real standard, and the rules are weird and inconsistent.

Why? Because email is ancient tech. Email has been morphing and evolving since the 1980s - and once you start trying to send nice-looking emails, you will feel it.

### Resend to the rescue

I use Resend to send my newsletter, as well as transactional emails -- like the confirmation message that new subscribers get. I designed my email templates in Figma like I would any other interface, and use Resend's open source [React Email](https://react.email/) library to bring it to life in code.

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/tools-i-love-resend-react-email/figma-template"
  caption="My transactional email template started in Figma"
  alt="My transactional email template in Figma"
/>

I cannot overstate how difficult this process _used_ to be. That 👆🏾 is an extremely ambitious email format to build from scratch.

In the new world of Resend, it's a familiar pattern:

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/tools-i-love-resend-react-email/code-snippet"
  alt="My transactional email template in React Email"
/>

The code to ship it off to your inbox isn't bad either:

```tsx
const WelcomeMessage = <WelcomeEmail firstName={firstName} />;
const { data, error } = await resend.emails.send({
  from: '💌 Tiny Improvements <hello@mikebifulco.com>',
  to: [email],
  subject: "Subscription confirmed. I'm so glad you're here!",
  react: WelcomeMessage,
  text: await render(WelcomeMessage, { plainText: true }),
});
```

My next.js site is also set up to listen to a few webhooks from Resend, where I can track things like subscription events, opens, unsubscribes, and more.

There's more to it than that, and if you're interested in the nitty-gritty, my site's source code is [available on GitHub for you to check out](https://github.com/mbifulco/blog).

---

## What tools make you look good?

Tips, tricks, and recommendations from my dev-pals is something that I've always loved. When I get around to it, I've got a whole list of recommendations that I'm planning to share -- like the shortcuts I find most helpful with [Raycast](https://www.raycast.com/), and the process I'm using to make Cursor smarter while I code.

I'm really keen to hear from you.

What tools make you look good? What saves you time and makes your life easier? [Send me a note](mailto:hello@mikebifulco.com). I'm all ears!

---

## Some links to keep your brain wrinkling

I'll cop to it: I haven't had a lot of time for things other than work lately. When I have had some time to relax, these videos have stood out from the pack.

- [Frozen orange juice is actually super weird](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wSQ9Zk_9gQ) is a fascinating video essay from Phil Edwards about the surprising economics of something that seems so simple.
- [How do we feel the wind?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0_W4SWHeWY) - part of Complexly's recent video series where people ask Hank Green... well, anything. In this edition, musical supergenuis Jacob Collier does the asking. Really, really interesting to see to _absolutely brilliant_ people interact so candidly.


Tools I Love - Resend and React Email


## The Big Idea

Starting is harder than it looks. And it's easy to waste time doing the wrong things first.

I've had the same conversation a handful of times lately - with friends ready to publish, build, create. They're excited. They're asking about tools, hosting, platforms. They're planning _big_.

And they're already off track.

Here are the 3 mistakes I see most new creators make (and how to avoid them):

### 1. You can't buy creativity

New gear. Fancy tools. Premium subscriptions.

It _feels_ like progress, but it's not.

It's tempting to whip out your credit card from the jump, but you can't buy your way into being a creator.

Buying a domain, a newsletter service, podcast hosting, or a fancy camera _feels_ good, but doesn't move the needle.

<Aside>

**Do this instead:**
Harness your excitement and energy - use it to make something (a video, a blog post, a podcast, whatever it is you're trying to create), and share it. Then do that again. And again.

Your work will get better, and your audience will grow.

</Aside>

You can't buy creativity -- and you also can't buy more time. Don't waste your time and money on gear until it's the _only_ thing in the way of growth.

### 2. Don't skip the basics: how to find your niche

Many of the folks I talk to want to create something, and they fall on two extremes: (1) they want to create something on a _wide variety_ of topics, or (2) they can't decide what topic they want to create about.

These sound like different problems, but they're both symptoms of the same root cause: a lack of clarity on who you're creating for.

The most successful creators I know have a clear, focused niche, and a deep understanding of their audience.

<Aside>

**Do this instead:**

Do a deep audit of your interests, passions, and skills. For each, ask yourself:

**Where are people interested in this topic finding each other online?**
Look for forums, subreddits, youtube channels, social media accounts, etc. where people are talking about your interests, and see what they're saying.

**What do successful creators in this niche have in common? What do they do well?**
Look at the creators who are already successful in your niche. What do they do well? What do they say? What do they share?

**What perspective do I have that can add to the conversation?**
Answer these questions, and see where you fit in. You may be surprised at what you find.

</Aside>

### 3. There is no bar, but there should be a target

I'm the first to tell you that [there is no bar](https://chriscoyier.net/2022/06/27/there-is-no-bar/) when it comes to creating online. Step one is simple: publish. Put your work out there. Do it often.

Once you've built that habit, try aiming higher: create something a creator you admire would genuinely love. Seriously - keep them in mind as part of your process. When you share work you're proud of, and it resonates enough for someone you look up to to share it, that moment is both validating and a powerful way to grow your voice in your niche.

To be clear: this isn't about spamming people. It's about raising the bar for yourself - making something so thoughtful, useful, or entertaining that it naturally earns attention.

<Aside>

**Do this:**
Make a list of 20 people who shape the conversation in your niche. If they notice your work, it's a sign you're breaking through.

Next time you sit down to create, focus on one of them as the target audience for your work. Build something they'd love, and _share it_ in places where they're active.

</Aside>

## The Takeaway:

Get good at one thing first. Create. Publish. Share.

Earn your audience, once post at a time. Then, once people care, _maybe_ it's time for the podcast, the YouTube channel, the empire.

Until then: focus.

---

## Some great creators to follow

There is nothing I love more than learning from people smarter than me. Here's a couple of my favorite voices on the internet:

- [Tony Mastrorio](https://www.threads.net/@tonydotcoms) is a fellow YC founder who has been exploring new audiences regularly over the past few months. He's done a great job of sharing his journey on Threads. It's inspiring to see his process: he's trying new things, and sharing them with his audience.

- [Amy Hoy](https://bsky.app/profile/amyhoy.bsky.social) is a great example of someone who has been building online for _years_. She co-created [30x500](https://30x500.com/academy/), and has _deep_ expertise in launching products online. Her Bluesky posts are a masterclass in sharing what she's passionate about - from photography and emerging tech tools to supporting civic engagement and progressive causes.

---

## Some useful links

- The most recent episode of Citation Needed, about [Audie Murphy](https://www.citationpod.com/audie-murphy-the-most-decorated-combat-soldier-of-ww2/) is a great reminder of why I love the podcast so much: I can simultaneously unwind, learn, and laugh a bit.

- There's a [_super important security update_ for Next.js](https://nextjs.org/blog/cve-2025-29927) that you should know about if you're using the framework. Not the type of thing I'd typically share here, but -- this feels like a big one.

---

## Give 'em hell

It might feel like you're paddling a tiny canoe in the shadow of looming battleships - but keep paddling, and stay nimble. There's plenty of room in the pond for all of us.

Bet on yourself. Bet on the people around you.

I'm rooting for you - and I want to see you win. ✌🏾

- M


The 3 Mistakes New Creators Make

2. Don't skip the basics: how to find your niche

3. There is no bar, but there should be a target


## The Big Idea

Ideas are easy, but focus and execution are hard. There are endless public APIs with real problems waiting for you to solve - all you need to do is find an audience and start shipping.

## Steal These Ideas to Build New Products

As cofounder of [APIs You Won't Hate](https://apisyouwonthate.com), I've seen the playbook work repeatedly: Find public data. Solve a specific problem. Ship it. From [global news APIs](https://apisyouwonthate.com/podcast/building-an-api-for-global-news/) to [accounts payable management](https://apisyouwonthate.com/podcast/how-mercoa-built-a-platform-for-accounts-payable/), the winners aren't inventing data-they're making it useful.

Friends - these opportunities are _everywhere_, waiting for someone to execute.

### Why This Matters: Value > Hype

It's tempting to chase AI quick wins, but remember:

- Existing data streams = sustainable business opportunities
- Value-add to available information = competitive edge
- Focused problem-solving > tech novelty

### Case Study: Weather Data

Weather apps are commodity products since [Apple killed Dark Sky](https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/31/21201666/apple-acquires-weather-app-dark-sky-shut-down-android-wear-os-ios) (RIP).

There are plenty of untapped goldmines, like [NOAA](https://www.weather.gov/documentation/services-web-api) and [OpenWeatherMap](https://openweathermap.org/api) data for _specific_ use cases that people will pay for.

**The opportunity:** Niche weather apps for specific use cases:

- For pilots: Visibility conditions and wind patterns
- For gardeners: Frost alerts and growing condition forecasts
- For skiers: Snow quality predictions based on temperature patterns

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/steal-these-ideas-for-your-next-product/weather"
  alt="NOAA and OpenWeatherMap APIs"
/>

### Steal These Ideas

#### **1. Nutritional Intelligence with Edamam API**

[Edamam](https://www.edamam.com/) provides extensive APIs for nutritional data and analytics. The generic "calorie counter" app is done to death.

**The opportunity:** Build specialized nutrition tools for:

- Athletes tracking specific macros for performance
- People with medical conditions requiring dietary monitoring
- Parents checking if school lunches meet nutritional requirements

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/steal-these-ideas-for-your-next-product/edamam"
  alt="Edamam API"
/>

#### **2. Geolocation Magic with OpenAQ**

OpenAQ offers real-time air quality data from thousands of stations worldwide.

**The opportunity:** Create targeted apps for:

- Real estate buyers evaluating neighborhood health metrics
- Parents of children with respiratory conditions planning outdoor activities
- Researchers correlating air quality with public health outcomes

<Image
  publicId="newsletters/steal-these-ideas-for-your-next-product/openaq"
  alt="OpenAQ API"
/>

### The Secret Sauce: 3 Traits of Successful API Products

1. **Specific audience** - Target a niche who will benefit from your product
2. **Context transformation** - Don't just display data; interpret it and add value
3. **Workflow integration** - Make your product available whenever and wherever it will be most useful

...and price it accordingly. If you're saving news editors thousands of dollars every week, aim higher than $3.99/mo.

---

## Stop paying the app store tax.

Sell your app on the web with lower fees and full control. As a merchant of record, Paddle handles payments, taxes, and compliance - so you can focus on what matters: building your app.

Paddle acts as the reseller of your app, offering a solution similar to the App Store or Google Play Store but optimized for successfully selling your mobile app on the web, with significantly lower fees.

[Start selling smarter with Paddle.](https://www.paddle.com/resources/mobile-app-monetization-guide?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=core_conversions_fy2025_web_monetization_brand_awareness&utm_content=tiny-improvements)

---

## Resources for finding new ideas

### Single APIs in your area!

There's a great collection of APIs waiting to be used on GitHub called [public-apis](https://github.com/public-apis/public-apis)

### Free design resources

I came across [Unblast](https://unblast.com/) recently - self-described as _A growing library of free design resources made by the world's best designers._ Can confirm - it is an exceptional collection. Give it a look as you build your brand or collateral.

### A chicken in every pot, and an SVG for every noun

[The Noun Project](https://thenounproject.com/) started with a simple goal: create a visual language for the world by building a repository of single color icons _for every noun._ Hell yeah. I use it _all the time._ You can use any icon on the site for free with attribution; licensing is either a dirt cheap per-icon fee, or a very reasonable monthly subscription.

---

The future is in your hands. Go on and build something great.

Give 'em hell,
Mike


Steal these ideas to build new products

**1. Nutritional Intelligence with Edamam API**

The Secret Sauce: 3 Traits of Successful API Products

A chicken in every pot, and an SVG for every noun


## The Big Idea

Your first product version needs to be smaller than you think. Much smaller. Probably embarrassingly small.

<a
  href="https://www.paddle.com/resources/mobile-app-monetization-guide?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=core_conversions_fy2025_web_monetization_brand_awareness&utm_content=tiny-improvements"
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## Strip it bare

Earlier this week, I was invited to share my experience building companies with a class of promising entrepreneurship students, enrolled in the [Lean Startup course at Davidson University's Hurt Hub](https://hurthub.davidson.edu/event/building-a-lean-startup/), taught by [Rebecca Weeks Watson](https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccaweeks).

Many of them were working through planning out their first business, using a tool called the [Lean Canvas](https://leanstack.com/lean-canvas).

They'd interviewed potential customers and were defining their MVP. Their task: strip the idea to its core to test the riskiest assumption and find what customers would actually pay for.

When you have a big idea, it's tempting to spiral into features and complexity. But you don't need a fully-realized product to test if your idea has legs.

## Why we overreach

Most founders, especially first-timers, mis-scope their MVPs. About half the time, they add _way too much_ to their MVP for it to be built quickly. This is the trap of _it's not ready yet,_ or "if we build it, they will come". I have made this mistake - and I've seen it happen to others.

There's also at tendency to build an MVP that will lead to a `yes` no matter what. This usually means an MVP that's designed to reinforce the founder's belief in their idea, rather than challenge it. After all, founders who have made it this far into the journey of building something _are_ convinced they're onto something meaningful.

Whether they admit it ot not, this sector of founders is often more focused on protecting their ego than validating their idea. Red flag. 🚩

## So what's an MVP for?

There are plenty of ways to look at the outcome of an MVP, but I like to think of it as 2 simple yes/no questions:

**Is there a small, focused group of people who are feeling this pain?**
**Would they pay for a product that helps them solve this problem?**

If you don't get a confident "yes" to both of these questions, then you need to rethink your plan. You can always build more, but you can't recover wasted time building features nobody wants.

This can be accomplished with less than you think. A landing page with a video demo, a sign-up form for a waitlist, or a non-functional prototype.

### MVP for a coworking SaaS

My last startup, smpl, was a SaaS for managing coworking spaces. Our MVP was boiled down to the basics: we took the pain of collecting monthly membership dues out of our customers' hands. Version 0 was nothing more than a few manually configured Stripe subscriptions.

What did we learn? Coworking operators are great communicators, and rarely great at balancing a budget. Collecting _all_ member payments on the same day of the month made it _far_ easier for them to budget, track growth, and plan for the future. We spent the next year building a product that made it easy for them to onboard new members immediately, and to start their recurring payments on the first of the month.

(Side note: this is a trivial problem in 2025, but in 2017 it was on us to figure it out. Timing _really_ helped us!)

### MVP for a service business

[Craftwork's](https://craftwork.com) MVP boiled down to a simple question: will people hire a painting service online? We tested this with a landing page and a typeform -- and spent a month painting houses _at-cost_ for friends and family.

The amount we learned from that experience was worth the cost of the paint, and helped guide the way we hire paint crews (which has since changed several times), and how we price our services (which has also changed several times).

We focused exclusively on residential repaints for homeowners (not renters, not businesses, not commercial buildings). In doing so, we became very familiar with what our competition was lacking - a focus on considered homeowner experience, pricing transparency, and a commitment to quality.

## The value of embarrassment

In both of these cases, we were able to steer product development based on what we learned.

For smpl, an initial focus on member onboarding and billing brought much more value than building out a tiny social network for community members of a given coworking space.

For Craftwork, we learned that price transparency _alone_ wasn't enough to win over skeptical homeowners -- trust is earned through thoughtful communication, and a self-serve price quote wasn't enough to get people to slap the `Buy` button. We pivoted to a more consultative approach, and focused on building trust through a more personalized service. This also meant dropping our self-serve estimate form in favor of a literal contact form... can you imagine the time we'd have saved with a smaller MVP?

## Your challenge

If you're designing an MVP, take a step back.

What's the absolute minimum you could build to test your idea?

Is it **actually** testing your idea? If there's no outcome from your MVP that will cause you to change course, you're doing it wrong.

Is your MVP **actually** as minimal as it can be? If you're not sure, ask yourself:

- Is there a way to test this without spending money?
- Is there a way to test this while spending less time?
- Is there a way to test this while using fewer resources?

If you can't answer yes to all of these questions, you're probably over-engineering your MVP.

Launch something so minimal it makes you uncomfortable. You can always build more, but you can't recover wasted time building features nobody wants.

Do more with less - you'll be glad you did.

---

## Stop paying the app store tax.

Sell your app on the web with lower fees and full control. As a merchant of record, Paddle handles payments, taxes, and compliance - so you can focus on what matters: building your app.

Paddle acts as the reseller of your app, offering a solution similar to the App Store or Google Play Store but optimized for successfully selling your mobile app on the web, with significantly lower fees.

[Start selling smarter with Paddle.](https://www.paddle.com/resources/mobile-app-monetization-guide?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=core_conversions_fy2025_web_monetization_brand_awareness&utm_content=tiny-improvements)

---

## Some resources to help you build less

- **[The Mom Test](https://amzn.to/41uVYEI)** - From author Rob Fitzpatrick, on how to listen to potential customers without misleading yourself.
- **[The Lean Startup](https://amzn.to/41I5PZ1)** - A legendary tome from Eric Ries, on how to build more with less. It's a book so good there are literal college courses built around it.
- This video from [Y Combinator on How to Build an MVP](https://www.ycombinator.com/library/Io-how-to-build-an-mvp) is a great primer on the topic, with some really useful examples of MVPs from cpmpanies you know.

What are you building right now that could launch with half the features? Hit reply and tell me what you'd cut first.


Your MVP is too damn big


## The Big Idea

Look around you. Everything - your chair, doorknobs, light switches - was deliberately designed, yet you've probably never thought about most of it.

Why? Because great design fades into invisibility.

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  href="https://www.paddle.com/resources/mobile-app-monetization-guide?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=core_conversions_fy2025_web_monetization_brand_awareness&utm_content=tiny-improvements"
  className="text-xs lg:text-xs xl:text-xs"
>
  Brought to you by Paddle
</a>

---

A well-crafted door handle never gets praised - it just works. But struggle with a door that needs instructions (why do "Push" signs exist?), and suddenly design screams for attention.

What did you like about the last stairwell handrail you used? Probably... nothing, right?

You've used hundreds without a second thought. But grab one that's too high or wide, and you'll notice immediately.

This is the Shakespearean curse of UX: The better you do your job, the less anyone sees you did it at all.

## Where to Look for Invisible Design in Software

This same principle defines great digital experiences. Here are three areas where invisible design matters most:

### AI and Conversational Design

Remember the first time you used ChatGPT? The interface was almost certainly not the thing that stood out - it was the quality of the answers you got. Nonetheless, the interface that surrounds any LLM you use has become a critical part of the experience.

That's the pinnacle of conversational design: total invisibility.

I spent a couple years working on Google Assistant in the pre-LLM times, when product teams would spend _countless_ hours trying to make a conversation with Assistant feel natural. It was a tall order, and it did not get there until Assistant entered a Bard-flavored chrysalis, and emerged a Gemini-powered Butterfly.

### Traditional Interface Design

Forms are invisible design's ultimate test. Nobody has ever hit "Submit" and felt a rush of joy -- but if you've ever been stuck on a page that _won't tell you what's wrong_, my god will you notice.

Ever gotten lost trying to find your account and routing numbers on your bank's website? There it is again - someone's design work, begging for attention.

### Friction as a feature

There _are_ cases where putting an obstacle or two between someone and their goal is a good thing.

Your phone's alarm clock is a great example - if it's _too_ easy to dismiss a wake-up alarm, they're far less effective.

Similarly - a confirmation / "are you sure?" dialog is a good thing when doing something destructive, irreversible, or executing a financial transaction.

## Notice me, senpai

If good design is invisible, how the heck do you get better at it?

As a designer, this becomes your burden: start paying attention to what you're _not_ noticing. What apps/tools/processes have been so smooth you barely had to think?

Study interfaces that fade away. Analyze forms you completed without cursing. Notice apps you use daily but couldn't describe if asked.

You don't always need to make people say "wow" - and to be perfectly honest, if that's where you're _starting_ from, I'd be worried.

Your best work will never get the praise it deserves because, if done right, no one will know you did anything at all.

That's the beautiful curse of great design.

---

## Stop paying the app store tax.

Sell your app on the web with lower fees and full control. As a merchant of record, Paddle handles payments, taxes, and compliance - so you can focus on what matters: building your app.

Paddle acts as the reseller of your app, offering a solution similar to the App Store or Google Play Store but optimized for successfully selling your mobile app on the web, with significantly lower fees.

[Start selling smarter with Paddle.](https://www.paddle.com/resources/mobile-app-monetization-guide?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=core_conversions_fy2025_web_monetization_brand_awareness&utm_content=tiny-improvements)

---

## Tiny acts of Rebellion

Current events got you down? Me too.

Here's your reminder that unseen actions leave visible scars.

🎯 Target execs recently showed off their liquid spines by axing DEI programs, which resulted in a [dramatic drop in store traffic](https://finance.yahoo.com/news/target-put-dei-chopping-block-182500865.html).

Meanwhile, 98% of Costco shareholders confidently [voted to _preserve_ their DEI initiatives](https://www.axios.com/2025/01/23/costco-dei-shareholders-reject-anti-diversity-proposal).

There's no gambling required to predict which company's Q1 earnings report will tell the better story.

Often the most powerful design choices are the ones nobody sees happening - until the results become impossible to ignore.

## Fill your brain with design

If this resonates with you, here's some resources you'll appreciate:

- [The Design of Everyday Things](https://amzn.to/43b4R8E) by Don Norman is _the_ book on this topic. Can't recommend it enough.

- I rewatch [Do the Most Good](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWivXkQpO2Q), a talk from legendary designer [Mina Markham](https://www.minamarkham.com/) about once a year. Mina is an icon, and her wisdom is worth learning from.

Until next time - give 'em hell.
Mike


Design's Shakespearean Curse: Good UX Should Never Be Noticed

Where to Look for Invisible Design in Software


## The Big Idea

LLM tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Cursor are great at helping you build, but they are a second brain - not a first one. Used well, they are an intern that speeds up your work. Used poorly, they are a liability. The trick? Give them context, direction, and oversight.

<a
  href="https://www.paddle.com/resources/mobile-app-monetization-guide?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=core_conversions_fy2025_web_monetization_brand_awareness&utm_content=tiny-improvements"
  className="text-xs lg:text-xs xl:text-xs"
>
  Brought to you by Paddle
</a>

---

### AI Works Best When You Steer It

Most AI tools (Cursor, GitHub Copilot, ChatGPT) aren't great at figuring everything out on their own. They do best when you provide them with context. Although this guide is focused on software development with Cursor, the same principles apply to other tools and domains.

I have found that the best way to use LLMs is to treat them like an intern:

1. Tell them the goal. Spell out what you're building.
1. Give them the pieces. Feed them relevant files, not just one at a time.
1. Make a checklist. Break the work into steps you can track.

Here's an example of a recent set of instructions I gave to Cursor, while working on a new feature for Craftwork:

```
take a look at @timesheets_spec.rb - I need to produce an updated version of our timesheets API under the v2 namespace. It should use all of the same patterns as the other endpoints in @v2 do, and should use a new controller namespaced under api::v2 at `controllers/api/v2/timesheets_controller.rb`.

It needs a list view that can be filtered by a craftworker's id, by timesheet state (approved/inprogress/etc), and by production lead id.

The show view should return details for a single timesheet.

The update view should allow me to approve a timesheet, edit values, etc
```

That was enough to get me started working with Cursor, and it helped orient the LLM while building out the new feature. It had enough context for me to ask questions as I worked, and sped things up nicely.

### AI Will Get It Wrong (And That's Fine)

For any instructions you give 'em, LLMs will [confidently spit out answers](https://mikebifulco.com/posts/product-marketing-defy-expectations), regardless of how correct they are.

If you don't understand what they're doing, you're trusting a bad intern to run your company.

That's why you need to:

- Spot bad logic. If something seems off, it probably is.
- Debug iteratively. AI is great for refactoring-ask it to explain itself.
- Know when to take over. Sometimes, the best fix is writing the code yourself.

In the case of the Craftwork timesheets, I was able to spot a few issues, and after making some changes, steered the LLM to the right path (my typoes included -- LLMs actually deal with these really well!):

```
great, now can you llook at the controller and add any helpful missing scopes? You may want to peek at other controllers in the @v2 folder, as well as @timesheets_controller.rb

Alsothe .d.ts type definition declarations you made arne't needed - see @tsconfig.json and @javascript - they're likely in another folder already configured with typescript paths. If the components don't exist they'll need to be created
```

If you've ever onboarded a new teammate to a codebase, this kind of steering is not at all uncommon - you're helping them understand the codebase, and the context of the changes they're making.

### Tests Are More Important Than Ever

If you're letting AI write code, you better be _damn sure_ it works as expected. That means writing great tests before shipping anything.

- Test like a skeptic. Assume AI-generated code is flawed.
- Write failure cases. If AI wrote the function, you should write the test.
- Use AI to help debug. It's great at explaining why tests fail (sometimes).

## The Bottom Line

AI is a force multiplier - but only if you use it right. Treat it like an intern:

- Give it structure.
- Question everything.
- Make sure the work holds up.

Most importantly, remember that your great, big, juicy brain still need to do some work. Don't blindly trust the output of your copilot-of-choice - that's a hell of a lot to ask of an intern.

---

## Tests? What tests?

Most of us (hello, yes, me included) aren't great at writing tests -- but writing software tests is a skillset that is absolutely worth investing in. Here's some resources I've found helpful:

- (React) [Testing Library](https://testing-library.com/) provides documentation and set of tools for testing web applications, in a variety of frameworks. Whether you're a fan of react or svelte or vue or solidjs, this is a great resource.

- One of my favorite things about building with Ruby on Rails is the framework's first-class support for great testing. There are _so_ many thoughtful features for writing great tests for rails apps. Even if you're not a rails developer, it's worth giving their docs a look: [Rails Testing Guide](https://guides.rubyonrails.org/testing.html)

---

## Stop paying the app store tax.

Sell your app on the web with lower fees and full control. As a merchant of record, Paddle handles payments, taxes, and compliance - so you can focus on what matters: building your app.

Paddle acts as the reseller of your app, offering a solution similar to the App Store or Google Play Store but optimized for successfully selling your mobile app on the web, with significantly lower fees.

[Start selling smarter with Paddle.](https://www.paddle.com/resources/mobile-app-monetization-guide?utm_medium=website&utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=core_conversions_fy2025_web_monetization_brand_awareness&utm_content=tiny-improvements)

---

## Thinking about automation

I've spent a bunch of time working on small scripts to automate manual tasks lately - and I'm working on a couple quick video tutorial showing how you might use tools like Puppeteer, Faker, Skyvern and your copilot-of-choice to get things done more quickly than ever before.

If that sounds interesting, go chase me down on youtube at [@mikebifulco](https://www.youtube.com/@mikebifulco?sub_confirmation=1).


AI is your intern (not your boss)


## The Big Idea

Talking to AI is a lot like talking to people... except for all the ways that it isn't. It's a skill worth honing, and not a replacement for thinking.

---

From 2020 to 2022, I worked at Google.

I was on the Google Assistant team, in an era where "hey alexa" and "hey google" weren't new ideas. ChatGPT had not been released yet, and in general, the public was not aware of AI; "LLM" was far from a household term.

Funny enough, the dev product that my team was promoting was called "conversational actions" -- back then, "conversations" were predetermined - whether you realized it or not, you were following a scripted series of questions, and Google Assistant was a clever way to trigger actions.

In that time before LLMs took over, I noticed a funny pattern: people would talk to their assistant _like_ a robot. They'd slow down, speak in weird, clipped phrases, almost like they were trying to sound like the assistant itself. It reminded me of how people adjust their speech when talking to someone who doesn't speak their language.

Fast forward to today: people are speaking to LLMs much more naturally. _Conversations_ with AI feel more convincing, but the reality is that the LLM is still just a tool. It's up to you to do the thinking.

Of course, LLMs are getting better all the time, and the tools will continue to get better. There's still a real skill in knowing _how_ to talk to your LLM. Done well, it can be a powerful extension of your thinking. Done poorly, it's a waste of time.

After a bit of reflection, here's the pattern I've adopted for working with AI tools:

---

## Provide Context (More is Better)

Once upon a time - like, two years ago - LLMs had tiny context windows. They were only able to process a few paragraphs of information at a time. Now there's _loads_ more headroom. Most modern models can handle essays, transcripts, full articles, and more. The more context you provide, the better the results.

Here's how I set mine up for success:

- **Tell it who you are.** Your background, goals, and what expertise you expect from it.
- **Define the task.** Are you brainstorming? Writing? Editing? Summarizing?
- **Give it sources.** If it can read the web, provide links. Otherwise, copy/paste key quotes or references.
- **Set guardrails.** Be explicit about what you _do_ and _don't_ want. Examples:
  - "Be concise."
  - "Avoid jargon."
  - "Don't mention XYZ."
  - "Your audience is nontechnical."

---

## Iterate and Customize

You'll get better results if you tweak your prompts while working, and you should save what works, and refine it over time.

- **Save what works.** If you get a great response, refine it into a reusable prompt.
- **Use different prompts for different goals.** You wouldn't write a social post the same way as an executive summary. You may want to have separate prompts for copywriting for social media, writing execustive summaries, or brainstorming on SEO keywords, for example.
- **Redo / Retry / Resubmit.** LLMs aren't deterministic: if you submit the same set of instructions multiple times, you'll get different results. If it misses the mark, tweak the input and try again.

I think it's also a good idea to regularly try different models and tools - what does Claude do better than Gemini? You'll never know if you don't experiment with the tools. Don't get lazy, and don't blind yourself to what's out there - it's all changing very quickly right now.

---

## Don't Get Lazy

An LLM is a tool - not a replacement for thinking.

I'll admit, I go into a bit of an existential spiral when I think about the future of communication - do we want to winnow down our existence to LLMs talking to each other? I certainly hope not. All the same, these tools are really useful for brainstorming, editing, and revising your writing, and they're not going away.

You're still the expert (ideally). It's your job to check facts, refine tone, and ensure the final product _sounds like you_. In my opinion, a big part of that work means that you should treat your LLMs like an assistant, not a crutch.

Edit the output - make it sound like you!

---

## TL;DR

1. More context = better output.
2. Experiment, tweak, and refine your prompts.
3. Never stop thinking - you're still the one with the expertise.

---

## Your inbox shouldn't slow you down.

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That's 4 extra hours to build, think, and focus on what actually matters.

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---

## Stick these in your brain's context

I'm a firm believer that we should always be learning. Don't rely on AI to do all your thinking. Here's a couple things I found this week that you might enjoy:

- [Ranking Paradoxes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vJsWKg2o1w) is a YouTube video from Chalk Talk, which goes discusses the complexity and counterintuitivity of philosophical and mathematical paradoxes.

- I'm still very much into 3D printing nerdery - and this recent video from Make Anything on [multi-texture prints](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmZCA9jqGiI) shares a really cool new technique for making prints more visually interesting.


How I (Think I) Talk to AI


## The Big Idea

Smart engineers always seem to know what's coming next. They do this by staying attuned to various signals from diverse sources.

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  href="https://superhuman.com/ti?utm_medium=brought-to-you-by&utm_source=email"
  className="text-xs lg:text-xs xl:text-xs"
>
  Brought to you by Superhuman
</a>

How do you find out about new tech?

This is a question that came up recently during a chat with a friend (hello, Sean) - and for me at least, it's a tricky answer because I don't have one answer. My career path has been dictated by being vaguely aware of new trends in tools and tech at just the right time: from jQuery to React, create-react-app to gatsby to Next.js to Remix, to various focuses on the applied science of UX, I've been able to recognize and capitalize on new opportunities by keeping an eye out for signals that come from many sources.

All this to say: I don't ever really set out to _find_ new things, really. I do, however, have a whole bunch of places that I loosely pay attention to, in order to learn from people smarter than me.

Broken into a few simple lessons, here's how I do it:

### Lesson 1: Diversify Your Information Diet

Don't rely on just one source. Lately I've been learning from smart people on social media platforms like Bluesky, Threads, and Mastodon, and keep an eye on GitHub, Reddit, and Hacker News. This breadth allows me to spot trends, and to collect more signals on new tools, tech (and sometime people!) who are gaining traction.

### Lesson 2: Stay Curious and Open-Minded

I occasionally explore new frameworks or technologies - even those that don't seem immediately relevant. These little spikes help me to pull from the best of this-and-that for larger projects down the line. For example: I really love the DX of building interfaces in React, and I like the SEO the Remix framework makes available -- _and_ I'm a big fan of the database ORM used in Rails, called ActiveRecord. If I hadn't ever run `rails new` or `npx create-remix@latest`, I would have never known about these things.

### Lesson 3: Connect the Dots

The ability to link seemingly unrelated concepts can lead to innovative solutions. I learned about React way back when I was building my first company; at the time, it was the best way to create a web app that updated its interface without reloading the page. That was super helpful for the fitness IoT product we were building at the time.

## Common threads for a great product engineer

I've developed these habits by watching people admire do the same thing. Your path will vary based on where you are in your career, your goals, and your interests -- and that's a good thing. The engineers who I have seen build great things tend have a few things in common, which are correlated to the habits I've outlined above:

### Corollary 1: Embrace Side Projects

The smartest engineers often have side projects to experiment with the latest technologies. These projects are perfect for testing out new tools that might not fit into their professional work, helping to build their brand and skills.

### Corollary 2: Pursue Diverse Interests

It's beneficial to learn from different fields and backgrounds. Whether it's speech science at Google or community building in startups, integrating diverse knowledge can be a tremendous asset.

## What you can take away from this

Smart people don't just follow one path; they build a diverse, constantly updated network of knowledge sources. If you're working on growing into a successful career, consider building a diverse network of people who can help you learn and grow. For some of us, this may mean changing your social media habits - don't just chase endorphins: find ways to _learn_ while you scroll, and then go out and build something.

---

## How much is 4 hours of your time worth?

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---

## Some sample sources for you to explore

It's only fair if I share some of the brilliant folks I've learned from recently; here's some of what's been keeping my attention -

YouTuber Mitxela made an incredible [fluid simulation pendant necklace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jis1MC5Tm8k) from off the shelf and custom machined parts. What I love most about this project is that it shows a great series of prototypes and iterations, and the final product is a beautiful piece of wearable art. It gets meta (even meta meta) along the way, and is a great peek into an inventor's creative process.

I've been reading the [Simple Sabotage Field Manual](https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26184), a WWII-era handbook written by the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS), and declassified by the CIA in 2008. If you enjoy finding ways to make _good trouble,_ you'll love it. Best of all-it's free.


How Clever Engineers Stay Ahead of the Curve

Lesson 1: Diversify Your Information Diet

Common threads for a great product engineer

💌 Tiny Improvements

Read past dispatches