Podcasts about micropreneur

Chris gets a new little toy. Christian gives a job search update. Then we talk about what Christian is really interested in right now: AI Agents and MCP.0:00 Intro3:11 Dust blowers5:12 Allergy testing10:55 Drawing SVGs with LLMs Kaggle competition18:42 Christian's job path forward26:30 Consulting updates28:28 Another SaaS30:14 Autonomy, mastery, purpose33:45 FileInbox39:06 AI Agents with MCP: Model Context Protocol54:40 What I really want1:01:03 Building games with LLMs

Chris finished his CS masters! Christian tries to figure out if he wants a "real" job, and what that might look like.0:00 Intro2:10 Chris finished his masters4:50 Santa Kaggle competition9:30 NVIDIA Blackwell15:45 Smart vs dumb light bulbs19:30 Christian had a rough month21:20 How to better manage consulting projects39:42 No longer a co-founder of Rootabl1:02:06 Potential benefits of a "real" job1:07:16 What kind of job would Christian want?1:18:42 Different work options1:24:20 Option 1: Consulting1:31:30 Option 2: Get a job1:41:47 Option 3: Start another SaaS1:46:02 Ideal plan1:48:00 How to look for a non-technical co-founder1:49:23 Next steps

Chris got a puppy and is almost done with his masters.Christian switches back to Ruby on Rails, and tries to convince Chris to use more AI to write code.0:00 Intro1:24 Chris got a puppy5:20 Why do people like pets?11:59 Are AI coding assistants worth it?42:07 How Chris' job is going47:14 Finishing up a CS masters54:20 Fatherhood1:03:07 Consulting for Stacks and paying people1:10:00 Rootabl and affiliate programs1:19:37 Ruby on Rails vs Serverless js1:39:59 Going through the pain to get better1:46:01 Fileinbox rewrite in Laravel ???1:57:46 Bluesky2:02:32 Outro

Christian had a baby! and Chris is now a Kaggle Grandmaster.

FounderQuest is back for episode 100! Learn why FounderQuest is down to two hosts. Listen to tales of hosting lavish RailsConf parties. Plus, don't miss the details of the secret upcoming product release that has been a year in the making!Links:Mastodon - @FounderQuest@honeybadger.social Twitter - @honeybadgerappWebsite 

Muppets Treasure Island is the best movie ever. Chris just got back from Iceland and just re-started his masters classes. He's also considering getting a 3d printer (which Christian is definitely in favor of). Christian's experiments to find new customers aren't going great. Pricing is hard. Christian expands his consulting practice.

Christian continues to try to reach target customers for FileInbox. He's also still full steam ahead on the serverless transition before his baby gets here. Chris is prepping for a trip to Iceland.

Christian tries to outsource some development tasks. Chris built a photo frame and is getting ready for a trip to Iceland.

Chris is prepping for a couple of photo trips. Christian is trying to figure out how to talk to his ideal FileInbox customer. He's also wondering how much consulting to do and what that means for his time working on his own SaaS.

Chris and Christian both went on vacation. Chris is getting back into Photography. Christian is creating user personas for FileInbox, and is getting more consulting gigs too.  correction at 27:45 NVIDIA doesn't even manufacture their own GPU chips! They rely on 3rd party manufacturers too.   0:00 Fun number fact 122: Ozymandias  8:13 Chris vacation update  13:00 Photography as a hobby  23:42 tinygrad ML framework  28:28 Fileinbox user personas  36:15 Christian consulting  44:36 Home Depot adventure

Chris is prepping for a trip to Iceland. Christian is trying to figure out exactly who is the target customer for fileinbox. Christian then tries to convince Chris that Firebase is the best platform on which to build a SaaS.

Christian has been looking at ALL THE BABY GEAR and has opinions. Also, he's working on the serverless transition for FileInbox and is struggling with estimating how long features will take.

Chris totally switches his diet and loses 17 pounds in 3 weeks. Christian went to Craft and Commerce and and takeaways for his business. He also figured out that his time estimates for FileInbox were way off.

Chris finished the StableDiffusion Image competition, but realized he was seriously outmatched in GPU power. Christian has renewed energy for FileInbox after talking with Asia Orangio. We both walk through how to plan to get things done, and how to actually follow through on those plans. Christian is trying to hire an assistant and tries to figure out what he needs to do that, and actually pay them money.

Christian wants to update Ruby and Rails, but has run into frustrating issues. Should he just... not upgrade? Chris gives up on the latest Kaggle competition, and is already eyeing another one. Also, Christian gets an update on the Bitcoin he lost.

Christian has a big announcement! (@ 36 minutes). Chris is done with Linear Algebra, working on Kaggle, and thinking about what type of AI course to make. Christian discovers that FileInbox already has a lot of traffic, but his trial to paid conversion rate is too low.

Chris tries to figure out which AI course he should make first; i.e., what skills would give developers superpowers? Christian starts talking to Asia Orangio about FileInbox to see where it can improve. What is his backwards plan?

(sorry about the weird jumpy video). We talk about Microconf and how we feel about the things we're doing as a result.

Attaboy.ai gets a bunch of users, and Christian is wondering how to charge for it. Chris tells Christian to talk to users of the video clipper in order to see what is valuable to them.

Chris and Christian talk about using AI for therapy, and re-ignite attaboy.ai (which is now a thing! visit it and send it some texts). Also: AI coaches, the Pope in a puffer jacket, AI doctors, and how AI is coming for all of us. Also: a reminder to TALK TO CUSTOMERS!

Chris tries to explain how ChatGPT works. Christian tries to figure out the next steps for the video clipper.

An update from Tim Leland (originally on episode 70) about his link shortener t.ly, and his journey creating a potentially new API for detecting malicious links. T.LYhttps://linkshieldapi.com/ Highlights:  - How to launch a new API service  - Doubling MRR in 6 months!  - 5 ideas for how to use a malicious link API to create a new business

Christian just got back from Social Media Marketing World and has LOTS of ideas. Chris gets a new computer but it arrived broken :(

Christian continues to build the video clipper with Remotion and is experimenting with using ChatGPT to create good clips. We also talk about what it would take for him to sell FileInbox. Chris is considering buying another GPU for Kaggle.

Chris starts a new Kaggle competition using stable diffusion. Christian makes progress on how to use AI to automatically suggest clips for the video clipper.

Christian launched thevideoclipper and got it to $80 MRR! Chris comes up with another justification for buying his gpu.

Christian is about to launch thevideoclipper.com, but is feeling "The Resistance". Chris is learning linear algebra for his master's, and is trying to learn it by creating a plan to teach it. We talk about just "doing it badly" for both: and adjusting as we go.

Google did a 12k layoff. Chris started a new master's class about advanced linear algebra. Christian was on vacation, and was wondering the best way to learn AI in order to keep up with all the recent advances. He also helped his wife launch https://gymnastcode.com/

Christian is trying to find a few consulting clients to make some extra money. He's also made progress on the video clipper, and signed a new $99/mo account for file inbox! Chris just started a new linear algebra class and finished the gravity waves kaggle competition.

Christian launches a new podcast! He also got a first customer for the video clipper! AND he's also thinking about making more course content, so we talk about how much money can be made with technical courses. Chris is almost done with the gravity wave Kaggle competition. Also: How long is the coastline of England?

Chris talks about how work at Google is different than a small project or company. He's also working on the gravity waves kaggle competition. Christian tries to figure out how to backup all of his projects and files, and how to promote the video clipper.

Chris is still getting used to his job at Google. Christian may have (or not?) lost his email list when a service went down.

Christian has some bad news about crypto. Chris is still working on the gravity competition.

Christian renames clips.marketing to thevideoclipper.com and is trying to figure out what he wants it to be. He also wonders if he should hire someone else to run fileinbox while he builds the video clipper. Chris is still working on the Kaggle gravity waves competition.

Chris found out that the person who bought MeetingPlace shut it down :/. Christian is evaluating whether or not he should go all in on clips.marketing, or what to do about it vs FileInbox.

Christian has a potential customer conversation for clips.marketing that didn't feel very great. Chris joins a kaggle competition about gravity waves.

Chris has his first full week of Google, and also got his prize money from the Kaggle competition! Christian wonders if he should focus more on clips.marketing as a consultancy, or as a service, or just focus on FileInbox.

Christian tries to figure out where his customers are coming from, and how to get more signups for FileInbox. He also is trying to figure out what freemium features are best for clips.marketing. Chris starts his first week at Google.  (timestamps coming later)

Chris is prepping to start his new job. Christian got $157.126 per hour on his latest consulting project for Ali Abdall, and is now wondering if he should spend a lot more time on clips.marketing instead of FileInbox.  00:00 Intro  01:07 Prepping to start a job  07:51 Acornchat changes  13:20 Marketing ideas outside an app store  17:34 Consulting project for Ali Abdaal  24:01 RailsSaaS conference  29:13 No progress on FileInbox  34:13 Stringing pearls  37:27 Being close to the audience of clips.marketing   Timestamps created with https://clips.marketing by @cgenco   iFixit toolkit: https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Tools/Essential-Electronics-Toolkit/IF145-348?o=5

Chris gets a job! Christian talks about his latest marketing experiments, and wonders if he should start working on clips.marketing again.  00:00 Intro  01:28 Google Photos DevRel role  03:52 What about acornchat?  05:20 Compensation at FAANG companies  09:03 Salary negotiation  11:34 Hiring freeze  12:33 Using Google ads for FileInbox  23:13 Promoted tweet experiment  25:57 Education as marketing  28:04 Low price file sending plan?  34:01 Detecting bots  36:25 Consulting project update  41:47 clips.marketing ideas  48:35 $20k sewer repair   Timestamps created with https://clips.marketing by @cgenco

Christian quickly bought a google ad for Chris (for acornchat), but there were some unexpected results that required a lot more tweaking. Christian is doing a consulting project and enjoying it, and is wondering how to get more projects like that one.  00:00 Intro  02:15 Dedicated marketing days  03:07 Buying google ads  08:45 Adding more documentation for certain install paths  15:37 Conversion tracking and SEO  17:32 Google metadata tip  20:23 Filesize vs memory error in Google cloud  25:24 Building file sending in a day  32:28 Consulting tasks and rate  38:53 Tackling a personal email backlog with an EA  46:59 Building cabinet drawers   Timestamps created with https://clips.marketing by @cgenco

Chris gets another customer for acornchat, which is 100% user growth! Christian is thinking about marketing for FileInbox using SEO, youtube, a new feature, and more.  00:00 Intro  05:55 2nd Acorn Chat user  09:18 Buying Google ads seems hard  16:35 Winning $5k from Kaggle  21:54 Twitter recommendations  30:09 FileInbox SEO changes  38:04 Youtube is underused for SaaS  45:34 File sending feature as a marketing channel  52:11 Serverless transition - using less memory  58:04 Doing more consulting  01:03:51 Making cabinets   Timestamps created with https://clips.marketing by @cgenco   Twitter recommendations:   Massimo: https://twitter.com/rainmaker1973  WeRateDogs: https://twitter.com/dog_rates  PUNS: https://twitter.com/thepunnyworld

Chris wins $5k from Kaggle! Christian fixes some bugs and picks up woodworking to fix his new organization troubles.  00:00 Intro  02:43 Winning $5000 in an AI competition  12:10 The hardest problem in the competition  24:41 AI master's class  32:15 AcornChat: why people switch  38:32 Motivation comes and goes  42:03 FileInbox bugs and features  49:26 SegMetrics Analytics  54:27 Woodworking hobby  58:42 Cleaning and organizing  01:01:39 iPhone vs Android   Timestamps created with https://clips.marketing by @cgenco

We've reached 10,000 downloads for makers.dev! (a while ago). Chris has started his next master's class and is working on AcornChat. Christian is doing end-to-end testing with Playwright, and is still trying to figure out how to get better metrics for FileInbox.  00:00 10,000 downloads  00:54 3 redactions  03:29 Kaggle CTF updates  07:24 Learning things through challenges  10:43 Case studies in Machine Learning  15:33 AcornChat updates  19:59 Violent and original work  28:14 End to end testing  40:13 Metrics and analytics  45:43 Running paid ads?  48:52 How to throw a good party  52:35 Talking to strangers  54:44 CO2 levels indoors   Timestamps created with https://clips.marketing by @cgenco

Christian came to Indy! Chris started his new ML class and is onboarding his first AcornChat customer. Christian tries to figure out a way to test dropbox file uploads. 00:00 Intro 01:28 Kaggle 4th place 04:04 AcornChat motivation 08:12 Case studies in machine learning 10:29 Christian's travels 12:27 How to test Fileinbox 14:40 File uploads to dropbox 20:14 Next steps for fileinbox Timestamps created with https://clips.marketing by @cgenco

Christian got married! Chris got his first paying customer for AcornChat.  00:00 Intro  01:24 First paying customer  07:32 Heroku is removing the free tier  10:43 Kaggle CTF competition  20:13 Taxes  24:36 Killing grass weeds  30:03 Next marketing thing for acornchat  39:48

Christian is in up state New York so he hasn't done much SaaS stuff this week - but he is preparing his business taxes. Yippee! Chris is recovering from being sick, so he's working on an AI security competition on Kaggle.  00:00 Intro  03:19 Kaggle DefCon AI security competition  15:07 DALLE prompts and AI art  22:40 Tricks to make AI art generators output a specific style  24:31 Systems to reduce friction  28:37 Business taxes  37:56 Full sized CNC machine  40:28 Neat wedding gifts with 3d printers  43:41 Manual labor   Timestamps created with https://clips.marketing by @cgenco

Chris got covid; Christian is in upstate New York, and wonders about a new marketplace project.  00:00 Intro  05:09 AcornChat feature requests  12:41 Marketing for acornchat  15:23 What do you use for analytics?  21:20 Outreach strategies  29:59 GPS Gold Medal  32:57 AI driving to the woods  39:28 Weird birthday project with artist commisions  55:15 FileInbox   Timestamps created with https://clips.marketing by @cgenco

AcornChat has real users now! Christian loves how TDD makes his code bulletproof.  00:00 Intro  06:58 Kaggle GPS update  14:09 AcornChat real users  15:33 Reaching out to users is hard  19:00 Analytics  27:50 MarketingChangelog ?  30:32 FileInbox work time  33:55 New features for fileinbox  35:16 TDD  41:45 Dropbox OAuth  43:09 File uploads and virus scanning  48:32 SEO links  50:03 How to get MRR up faster  52:42 Personal updates   Timestamps created with https://clips.marketing by @cgenco

Chris had his name and face on a billboard. Christian is pushing forward FileInbox stuff, and is looking for the next marketing task.  00:00 Intro  01:40 Face on a billboard  10:10 How to evoke emotion  11:09 Marketing strategies work until they don't  14:38 AcornChat trials  21:17 DALL-E 2  25:21 Kaggle GPS  28:12 Free shirt  30:01 FileInbox SEO  32:08 Live video chat widget  34:46 Next marketing activity  38:14 Next projects for EA  45:23 Paramotoring is dangerous   Timestamps created with https://clips.marketing by @cgenco