Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Derrick takes a solo retreat to reflect on new goals for Drip, and draws up preliminary plans for scaling team size / structure, as well as speeding up velocity through parallelism. Ben shares his experience with GrowthHackers Projects, hides the lowest plan and implements an automated annual upgrade reminder, pitches a content partnership for Upcase, considers a thoughtbot products bundle, and realizes a need for a mentor. Upcase FormKeep The Zen Founder Guide to Founder Retreats ZenFounder Podcast Appointed GrowthHackers OmniFocus Ruby Tapas Predictable Revenue- Aaron Ross & Marylou Tyler Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Ben & Derrick discuss music in the workplace, optimizing Redis, reaching larger markets beyond early adopters, and standing out in job application e-mails. Upcase FormKeep Hostile Architecture on 99% Invisible twemproxy Crossing the Chasm: Geoffrey A. Moore Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Derrick considers learning a new language to be prepared for scaling Drip's optimization, and gives new details on the tech used to streamline queries for large accounts. Ben breaks down his post to finding the best candidate for product Head of Marketing, and pointers on developing an entrepreneur's mindset. Podcast Swag Bundles Upcase FormKeep Drip You Should Take A Codecation You're an Elixir Developer Now on The Bike Shed Podcast Mutability Ruins the Whole Party- José Valim on The Bike Shed Podcast We're Hiring a Head of Marketing for our Products Start Small, Stay Small- Rob Walling Minimum Path to Awesome- Rob Walling on Giant Robots Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Ben discusses the lessons of mimicked learning and tempering of judgmental thinking gleaned from a sports book, and muses on how to apply them to career advice. On Drip, faced with a mountain of catch-up work after the holiday, Derek confronts scalability. Podcast Swag Bundles Upcase FormKeep The Inner Game of Tennis How to Get Good at Making Money- Jason Fried thoughtbot Style Guide We're Hiring a Head of Marketing for Our Products Ben's Personal Site Edgar Laura Roeder on Giant Robots Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Ben decides to hire a support firm, document support processes, completes the Hound pricing change, and prepares to make products their own division for next year. Meanwhile, on Drip, Derrick addresses a performance challenge. Podcast Swag Bundles Upcase FormKeep CoSupport Bootstrapped Web Podcast The Checklist Manifesto: Atul Gawande The Checklist I Use To Start My Day Hound Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Ben is joined by Mike Perham, author of Sidekiq, to discuss running a business solo, taking a side project from hobby to full time job, and scaling support as an app grows. Upcase FormKeep Indie Hackers- Sidekiq Sidekiq Open Core Software Business Model MikePerham.com Kill Your Dependencies Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

On Drip, Derrick launches a free tier, and utilizes credit card anti-fraud measures. Ben publicly launches FormLinter, pauses exploring new product ideas in favor of giving attention to existing ones, and starts to rebuild the product team. They also discuss the merits of remote vs in-person collaboration, the pros and cons of open offices, and dealing with interruptions from notifications and meetings. Upcase FormKeep Drip Stripe: Radar Caffeine Effects on Sleep Study The Development Abstraction Layer- Joel Spolsky Announcing FormLinter Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Ben and Nick get super nerdy this week and chat about Meetspace's architecture using Go, Postgres, and HMAC including custom cookie signing, rendering, error handling, tooling, and more! Upcase FormKeep Meetspace- use code GIANTROBOTS30 for 30% off your first month Go Postgres Driver Google's Websocket Driver WebRTC Uniform Interface Secure Signed Cookies- Nick Gauthier HMAC errcheck Go linter Think Like a Software Developer- Geoffrey Grosenbach Tubesock Jeff Casimir on Giant Robots Nick on Twitter Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Sadly, Ben is stuck in hammock somewhere, and we are without a new episode this week. However, we would love you all to check out thoughtbot's newest podcast, interviewing inspirational designers, developers, and other makers in tech, The Laila & Brenda Show! Give their latest episode a listen here, and if you like it subscribe to their feed however you listen to podcasts! The Laila & Brenda Show Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots

Ben and Nick chat about ways to pitch your product, working solo as well as sustainably, and the costs of doing business. Upcase FormKeep Meetspace- use code GIANTROBOTS30 for 30% off your first month Staying Motivated While Working Solo Nick on Twitter Support Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots