Essays
83 essays on software, products and complex systems, 2004–2026
2026
- Malleable software = solid bases + custom code💎
In 2019 I bet on the no-code revolution. That bet aged so-so. Here is the new one.Aug 18
2025
- What is success?Nov 18
- Zero-bugs policy is a myth
Zero-bugs policy sounds great — but it’s a myth. Even top projects have bugs. Fix the critical 80% instead of chasing every tiny issue.Sep 26 - SaaS Ethics Manifesto💎
Some SaaS tools give off good vibes (Notion, Ghost), others bad vibes (Motion, ClickUp). Why? It all comes down to ethicsSep 12 - Malleable Software: code → low-code → no-codeAug 29
- Malleable Software Will Eat the SaaS WorldAug 27
2024
- Abstraction and ComplexityJul 11
- Emigration💎May 19
2023
- 100 Posts About Products
a series on building software products, 2022–202322 posts
2022
- Google, please do something with your ads and SEO-spamNov 25
- How Fibery will transform product companies work and knowledge management processesMay 25
- 10 Top Product Marketing Bullshit Things in 2022
It's a rant. If you are not prepared for aggressive style, bad words, and existential crisis, don't read this article. It was a warning. It's a rant.May 10
2021
- Survival Guide for an Introverted CEO
Does a CEO have to love small talk and networking? Behold eight tips on how to avoid it and still be a successful introverted CEO.Nov 22 - How to Run a Company Without HR Department?
Imho, HR is overrated. Learn to run a company without HR department and with a high level of employee engagement and streamlined company culture.Nov 11 - How to Accept Criticism
How to accept criticism? I can be straightforward about it. Only through practicing a lot with it.Nov 4 - Determinate Optimism
How to achieve the state of determinate optimism and why does it matter in Product Management.Oct 28 - How to Motivate Team by Removing Stuff
How to motivate team without actually doing anything? Check out this article for 3 tips for employee motivation in software development.Oct 7 - Slice That Pie: How to Split Equity in a Startup
Read this post to find out the only reasonable way of how to split equity in a startup fairly, efficiently, and without losing trust in your co-founders.Sep 16 - (Non) Transparent Work Culture
Achieve transparent work culture and mutual trust at your company in three hard, challenging, yet very efficient steps. Works for a remote team as well.Aug 19 - Abolish Working Week
Why do we work from Monday to Friday and who said it’s optimal for software development or the creative industry?Aug 5 - The Role of Luck in Success: Get Philosophical
I believe that luck (random positive events) plays a paramount role both on peronal and company levels. Read this blog post to see how even one random chance can have a great impact.Jul 2 - Dissatisfaction leads to progress. Doesn’t it?💎Jun 12
- Goals and KPIs, and Effective Managers
Goals and KPIs can destroy the workflow. How can meaningful objectives be disruptive? Learn to avoid the mess in setting goals and KPIs in just one simple step.Jun 3 - Entrepreneur Self-doubt and Confidence (take Both!)
Find out how a startup founder should profit from both entrepreneur self-doubt and confidence—especially when the product needs to be tested yet.May 21 - Practical Tips on How to Understand When to Close a Startup
Use this easy rule of thumb to know when to close a startup instead of staying a “promising company” that won’t deliver anything in the next ten years.Apr 21 - Hypertext Tools From the 80s
The pre-internet era was full of wonderful and very powerful systems that are well forgotten now, but we definitely can learn from them, try to understand why we had an enormous degradation in the 1990s and 2000s, and why we are enjoying hypertext systems renaissance now.Apr 6 - Augmenting Organizational Intelligence💎
In a knowledge economy, we compete with knowledge, not force. Our productivity tools should become knowledge management tools as well — thus, making companies more intelligent.Mar 15 - Does Your Company Really Need Investment?
There is an important decision to make: build a lifestyle business or a startup? And the sooner you decide, the sooner you will stop worrying and start living.Feb 25 - Startups and near-death experience💎Feb 12
2020
2019
- No-code Revolution. Why Now?
It seems no-code software is booming. Fast adoption, huge rounds, insane valuation 🦄, happy customers. Why now? Why not 20 years ago? Why…Sep 4 - Features composabilityMar 19
- Make your own tools
Not Invented Here is a popular mantra in many companies. Majority thinks that you should focus on business value, and all other things are…Feb 1
2018
- Strategy-Implementation Mismatch
JIRA is easy to hate. The latest article trashes JIRA and calls it an anti-pattern for software development. The main problem is work…Dec 14 - The Next Wave of Work Management Software
Work management software is boring. Innovations are rare and you may think that no cool new vendors appeared in the last 5 years. Indeed…Dec 3 - Post-agile process agnosticism
with Rick and Morty!Oct 25
2017
2016
2014
- CreateNov 19
2013
- Visual Specifications
Why most software specifications suck and how to improve themOct 26 - 1-click vs. 2-clicks designAug 26
- First impression failures
You don’t have a second chance to make a first impression. It’s important to design users’ flows and remove all obstacles on their way.Jul 15 - White, Emptiness and Problem SolvingJun 15
- Software Development: Fast and Slow.
How to use ideas from the great book by Daniel Kahneman Thinking, Fast and Slow.Jun 14 - Agile is PoisonousApr 1
- Great Things Take TimeMar 4
2012
- A Curious CompanyMar 19