Given N, pick two
Where N is usually three. Given 3, pick 2. This is a classic dilemma of compromise. That neither you nor I can have our cake and eat it at the same time. And I say that as a father that has been leaving work at six every day so I
As a young boy, I was afraid of water until...
How do you know someone does CrossFit? He will tell you. Anyways, as I was doing CrossFit today, I thought about how my workouts are manageable now in contrast to how I heaved and felt faint in the first three months of every CrossFit workout. And during the workout, I
I avoid speaking out on politics on the web
Some topics, such as religion and politics, are better kept within the confines of heated in-person arguments. But if you notice, the products I have built over time reek of activism. NuMoney was built because fuck-you banks. Gom VPN was built because fuck-you government firewalls. Insofar that I am starting
Recently I received an inquiry on Sapiengraph CCTV
A European telco wanted to work with us to bring Sapiengraph to fruition. The CEO found us when the CEO read our post titled "Open-sourcing Sapiengraph CCTV [https://nubela.co/blog/open-sourcing-sapiengraph-cctv/]." I had two thoughts: 1. Wow, this blogging habit is paying dividends 2. It looks like
When work is play and play is work
I do not try to go out of my way to make work fun for my staff. So it makes my day when I receive random messages like these: > sorry, but fuck I'm so excited doing this hats task, i smiled a lot during the sketching phase,
Because it is a good business
Met a buddy for lunch today, and we have been great pals. So a few weeks ago, when he asked if I could help him expand his business to Indonesia, I said yes readily. I even offered to put some of my resources into helping him. Both monetary and technical
I aim to do nothing in 2020
I consider myself a creative. Better yet, I consider entrepreneurship a creative endeavor because, more often or not; breakthroughs occur when a business does something uniquely different from the rest. Staying ahead of the game means consistently staying better not just by executing well, but also executing uniquely consistently. Even
Another take on giving up
I have written a few posts on giving up. Here, I wrote a story about a friend who found success through perseverance [https://nubela.co/blog/the-story-of-stupidity-and-ubersnap/]. I wrote about giving up too quickly [https://nubela.co/blog/giving-up-too-quickly/]. I wrote about a product cancellation [https://nubela.co/blog/i-canceled-sapiengraph/
You do not need great programmers
I read a well-written post [elijames.org/the-two-tiers-of-singapores-tech-companies/?fbclid=IwAR2Dk4aRf0U7GVCTDS-OAfOLN0vqsVi1zowRX8gs8UWBLom9e0v8cXQMejA] by Eli James, a schoolmate from my university, on good-tier and shit-tier companies to work at as developers. I agree with him on the fact that there are great places to work as a developer, but the chances are that
Why it matters that I passed my final and basic theory driving tests without studying
I used to console myself that the journey is all that matters. Bullshit. The only thing that matters is the result. Sure, the journey can be memorable, but any tumultuous journey can be equally unforgettable. Is it not even better to partner great memories with a great pay off? Not
WIIFY
If you failed an interview at Nubela, it is because you were unable to deliver a WIIFY. Our recent product Sapiengraph [https://nubela.co/blog/i-can-see-your-bikini-pictures/] failed because we did not offer a strong WIIFY. Our product team is happy because we nailed the WIIFY for the technical crew. WIIFY
Adam Neumann's Optionality
Adam Neumann of WeWork was the largest advocate for "optionality." A term he coined to describe the availability of options. For example, if Softbank did not invest in WeWork, Adam would have primed the situation to have ten other investors lined up. Optionality is the ideal I pursue
"Steven, please stop feeling things and coming up with weekend projects."
Nobody is obligated to work for me (or you). It is not even about money. Poor culture fit; poor performances; there is a multitude of reasons for anyone to leave a company. Still, it does not feel good when someone goes. But then I realized why – because employees were a
Holidays and rumination
I find holidays annoying because flights are intolerable, and being always on the move is exhausting. But because it is jam-packed with touristy activities, holidays force me not to work and spend time with the family. But I am not always "there." My body automatically shuts down during
Growing up
Because I want to build a company that someone like myself will be proud and happy to work. This is the dull reason I give when people ask why I started a business. I like the people that I work with, and it is nice to age together with them.
From code to production with Kubernetes via Gitlab
Warning: This is a technical post. We decided to adopt Kubernetes as the company doubles down on container-based deployment. I am probably the last code-savvy person in the company to understand Kubernetes since we migrated our deployments to Kubernetes. Given that I have some code to deploy, I spent three
What has Kubernetes got to do with being a product manager?
> Warning, this is a technical post. I have been busy in the past two days picking up Kubernetes and boy this new technology will need a third day for me to wrap my head around it. That said, this has been a productive year for me. In the past
Do you hear that drum that just will not stop beating?
Ba-boom, ba-boom. A relentless beat in life to remind you to tone the fuck down. I hear it constantly, and I find it impossible to get it to stop. Against my will, my body grooves with the beat with heart palpitations in feverish sweats. I notice that I fall ill
Mistakes I made in my 20s
I had to study hard and get to a university because my mother said so. I had to tuck in my clothes in school because those were the school rules. Never do drugs, because I will get addicted after the first try. But cigarettes and alcohol are okay. > Cover
TechInAsia b̶u̶l̶l̶i̶e̶d̶ told a redditor to delete his Reddit a̶c̶c̶o̶u̶n̶t̶ comment
I received a private message on Reddit today by a guy who asked if I know anything about another redditor that I replied to on Reddit. I do not recall the Redditor's username, but he created https://free-tia.now.sh. His laughably simple yet genius tool that allows
The story of stupidity and Ubersnap
You might have come across this "GIF" printing photo booth if you have attended corporate events or weddings. The chances are that you just used Ubersnap's services. Ubersnap is probably the first company in the world to come up with the idea of printing GIFs. Today,
Building a product is not the same as playing a chess
Building a product is not the same as playing chess. An egomaniac tried to impress upon me that I should be like him, to engage my brain before diving headfirst into building my next business. He is not worth talking about. Instead, I will like to propose my stance on
Embrace chaos
The Singapore government just banned e-scooters on all footpaths. This stacks on top of the existing e-scooter road ban. The regulation was announced and enforced the very next day. In one fell scoop, e-scooters are banned while the nation pitches a society with fewer cars. I wish the e-scooter ban
Warning, this post is an incredibly entitled rant
Last night, I caught a fever from a mild store throat, so I went to bed an hour earlier. Last month I caught a cold as well, so I took a flu shot right after I got better. I suspect these physical ailments are ramifications of what is happening in
Many months later, I still suck at writing
A few weeks ago, I spent $150 on 50 Pure Red Line (PRL) shrimps. These are the purest breed of what is a high-end shrimp for my aquarium hobby. They all died except one. Today I bought more. Two more high-end ones known as Wine Red Shrimps. I spend every