Saron Yitbarek, developer, podcaster, community leader & serial entrepreneur, discusses tech entrepreneurship, building something new in a saturated market, her project 'Not A Designer', social entrepreneurship, starting a newsletter teaching design to developers, building a community, and using AI in content creation.
Socket analyzes open source dependencies for security vulnerabilities and provides comprehensive analysis to aid developers in their decision-making process.
Not a Designer is a newsletter that teaches design to developers, offering practical advice, explanations, and resources in a language familiar to developers.
Successful B2B businesses often arise from individuals who solve internal company problems and create standalone products or services to address the problem and offer it to others.
Deep dives
The Problem with Choosing Open Source Dependencies
Socket solves the problem of developers facing security concerns when consuming open source dependencies. While developers often look at easily accessible information like open source licenses, good documentation, and download counts, they often overlook other important factors such as the maintenance of the package and potential security vulnerabilities. Socket analyzes and fully assesses the dependencies, looking for risks, malware, and vulnerabilities, and provides developers with a comprehensive analysis to aid in their decision-making process.
Making Design Accessible for Developers
Not a Designer is a newsletter created by Faros Abukadije that aims to teach design to developers. Recognizing the importance of design in software development, Faros adopts the perspective of a student, dedicating 20 to 30 hours to learning a design topic and transforming that knowledge into step-by-step newsletters. By targeting developers who want to level up their design skills, Faros provides practical advice, explanations, and resources in a language familiar to developers, making design more accessible and empowering developers to create better and more inclusive user experiences.
AI as a Productivity Tool in Content Creation
While Faros Abukadije finds AI fascinating, she primarily uses it as a productivity tool in content creation. By leveraging AI tools, Faros streamlines her social media content creation process, using AI to generate a first draft that she can then edit and refine. The AI-generated drafts, serving as starting points, significantly reduce the time and mental effort required to create engaging and effective social media content. Faros views AI as a valuable support tool to assist in content creation rather than fully automating the process.
Building a Business out of Internal Problem-solving
A common trend in successful B2B businesses is that they often stem from individuals who were solving internal company problems. These individuals recognized that their company's solutions were insufficient and decided to create standalone products or services to address the problem and offer it to others.
Not a Designer: Design Content for Developers
Not a Designer is a newsletter that provides design content specifically tailored for developers. By focusing on granular topics like color contrast and accessibility, the newsletter aims to help developers prioritize design aspects that they may have overlooked. The content includes explanations, examples, and guidelines, offering practical advice that developers can easily implement to improve their design skills.
Amal & Nick are joined by Saron Yitbarek (developer, podcaster, community leader & serial entrepreneur) to catch up and discuss her latest project: Not A Designer
We discuss all the ins & outs of tech entrepreneurship & the challenges of building something new in today’s saturated market. Tune in for a behind-the-scenes look at how she does it & get a sneak peek on what’s possibly next! (Spoiler Alert: we brain stormed it here)
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