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Tiered pricing is becoming the simplest way to sell AI-powered SaaS without turning your pricing page into a technical explanation. In my interview with Dan Balcauski, founder and Chief Pricing Officer at Product Tranquility, we talked about why AI is forcing new pricing decisions earlier than ever—and why "good, better, best" packaging often works because it keeps buying decisions clear while helping companies manage real AI costs. The AI era is making pricing margin-aware again. Tiered pricing helps you protect margins without forcing buyers to learn your cost structure. About Dan Balcauski Dan Balcauski is the founder and Chief Pricing Officer at Product Tranquility, where he helps high-volume B2B SaaS CEOs define pricing and packaging for new products. He is a TopTal certified Top 3% Product Management Professional and helps teach Kellogg Executive Education course on Product Strategy. Over the last 15 years, Dan has managed products across the full lifecycle—from concept incubation to launch, platform transitions, maintenance, and end of life—across consumer and B2B companies ranging from startups to publicly traded enterprises. He previously served as Head of Product at LawnStarter and was a Principal Product Strategist at SolarWinds. Why Tiered Pricing Is Winning in the AI Era For years, SaaS companies could price mostly around value because marginal costs were relatively stable. AI changes the math. Dan points out that companies are now cutting meaningful monthly checks to model providers, and leadership teams can't pretend cost-to-serve is irrelevant anymore. That's a big reason tiered pricing is showing up everywhere right now. It gives teams a way to: and Most importantly, tiered pricing keeps you out of the weeds. The customer conversation stays focused on outcomes, not infrastructure. What Makes Tiered Pricing Actually Work Dan's point isn't "just shove AI into the top tier." Tiered pricing works when plan differences are easy to understand and tied to value drivers customers already recognize. Here are three practical patterns from the discussion that hold up well in the AI era. 1) Put AI in higher tiers when it boosts a user's output If an AI feature makes a person more effective—faster drafting, better triage, higher quality responses—tiering can be straightforward. The buyer already understands why a "Better" or "Best" plan costs more: it changes the capability of the team. This is also why seat-based pricing can still make sense for many AI-enhanced tools. If the value driver is still "help my team do better work," then users/seats remain an intuitive anchor. If AI increases team productivity, tiered pricing can stay aligned to seats—because seats still map to value. 2) Use add-ons when AI changes the value driver Sometimes AI doesn't just "help" the user—it replaces work entirely. When that happens, forcing it into the same tier structure can distort value and create confusion. Dan points to Intercom as a strong example of handling this well: per-resolution 3) Don't make buyers learn token math Dan's strongest warning is about token pricing. Customers don't want to learn what tokens are, and sales teams don't want to explain them—especially when you're selling a business outcome like faster support or better customer experience. Token-based pricing also shifts the conversation away from value and toward your vendor bill. As Dan puts it, customers don't care about your infrastructure costs, and pushing that complexity into the buying motion adds friction. If your tiered pricing requires a footnote explaining tokens, you're adding sand in the gears. A Tiered Pricing Checklist for AI Features Here's a simple way to apply this immediately: Good: Better: Best: Add-on: Stay Connected: Join the Developreneur Community We invite you to...

Minimal viable pricing is the fastest way to stop debating what your product should cost and start learning what customers will actually pay for. In my interview with Dan Balcauski, founder and Chief Pricing Officer at Product Tranquility, we talked about how early-stage teams can set pricing that's "good enough" to sell, validate value, and iterate—without getting stuck chasing the perfect number. Pricing can feel risky because it shapes perception, positioning, and revenue. But Dan's message is practical: you don't need perfect pricing to move forward—you need minimal viable pricing that creates clear decisions and real feedback loops. Minimal viable pricing isn't "cheap pricing." It's "clear pricing" that helps you test value and drive decisions. About Dan Balcauski Dan Balcauski is the founder and Chief Pricing Officer at Product Tranquility, where he helps high-volume B2B SaaS CEOs define pricing and packaging for new products. A TopTal-certified Top 3% Product Management Professional, Dan also teaches in Kellogg Executive Education's Product Strategy coursework. Over the last 15 years, he has led products across the full lifecycle—from concept incubation to launch, platform transitions, maintenance, and end-of-life—across both consumer and B2B markets. Before Product Tranquility, he served as Head of Product at LawnStarter and as a Principal Product Strategist at SolarWinds following its $4B acquisition. What "minimal viable pricing" actually means Dan's approach starts with a mindset shift: early-stage companies rarely fail because their initial price was off by 10–20%. They fail because they haven't found a repeatable customer problem, a clear value promise, or a reliable way to acquire customers. Minimal viable pricing means: It's pricing as a learning tool—not a spreadsheet exercise. Minimal viable pricing starts with your "free option" One of the most actionable parts of the discussion was Dan's breakdown of freemium vs free trial—and why it matters so much for minimal viable pricing. A free trial creates urgency. There's a natural deadline, which forces customers to evaluate value and decide. A freemium model can work, but it often creates a huge pool of users who never engage deeply enough to convert. If your goal is to learn quickly, trials often generate clearer signals: Minimal viable pricing works best when your go-to-market motion creates real decisions—not endless "maybe later." Trial length: don't confuse "short" with "effective" There's a trend toward shorter trials (like 7 days), but Dan's point is simple: a short clock doesn't help if your customer can't realistically experience value in that window. In B2B especially, onboarding delays, competing priorities, and internal approvals can chew up days instantly. A minimal viable pricing approach asks: What's the shortest trial that still allows a motivated customer to succeed? If you're selling to teams, the answer is often longer than you think. Use minimal viable pricing to clarify positioning Dan also shared a framing that sticks: are you selling a Timex or a Rolex? In other words, are you competing on affordability and simplicity—or premium value and outcomes? Minimal viable pricing isn't just about the number. It's also about: You don't need a dozen plans to communicate this. You need clarity. If customers can't tell who your product is for from the pricing page, your "pricing problem" might actually be a positioning problem. The goal: learn faster, not argue longer Minimal viable pricing gives you a way to move forward without pretending you have perfect information. Start with something simple, sell it, listen hard, and iterate. If you want a practical takeaway from Dan's perspective, it's this: pricing is one of your best feedback loops. Use it early. Use it...

If you want real improvement—not just more dashboards—workflow efficiency metrics have to start with something most teams avoid: visibility. In Part 2 of our interview with Michael Toguchi, we move from "big ideas" into the operational reality leaders face every day: shadow tools, duplicate systems, fuzzy ROI, and the pricing pressure that shows up when AI makes work faster. This conversation is a reality check for ops leaders, engineering leaders, and consultants trying to scale without drowning in tool sprawl—or measuring productivity in ways that break trust. Workflow efficiency metrics only work when the workflow is visible. If work lives in shadows, your data will lie. About Michael Toguchi Michael Toguchi is the Chief Strategy Officer at eResources, where he leads strategy for technology that supports complex, high-stakes workflows across higher education and mission-driven organizations. With 25+ years in digital transformation, Michael helps teams reduce tool sprawl, eliminate manual bottlenecks, strengthen compliance, and measure improvements in ways that translate into real operational capacity and impact. Tool Sprawl Starts as "Helpful" (Until It Becomes Expensive) Every organization eventually meets the "skunk works" problem: someone builds a spreadsheet, a quick app, a mini database, or a side process that solves a real pain—fast. It's well-intentioned. It's also how silos form. Over time, those small fixes become a parallel organization: Michael's warning is simple: when every department solves problems in isolation, the organization pays for it later—usually in rework, compliance risk, and decision-making paralysis. Shadow tools don't just create tech debt—they create decision debt. Workflow Efficiency Metrics Start With Transparency, Not Control The fix isn't to ban spreadsheets or crush experimentation. Michael's approach is more practical: shine the light on the workflow, then standardize intentionally. That means asking better questions: Transparency isn't micromanagement. It's a shared map. And once everyone sees the same map, you can make changes that stick. "Shine the transparency light on the workflow." Then decide what to standardize and integrate. Workflow Efficiency Metrics That Matter: Time Saved → Capacity Gained A big takeaway from Part 2 is how Michael thinks about measurement. Leaders often struggle here because "value" feels subjective—until you translate it into something tangible. Instead of measuring activity ("tickets closed" or "hours logged"), focus on outcomes: Michael shares a practical framing: if you reclaim even a slice of time—say 15% of a team's capacity—that's not just a feel-good metric. It's a lever you can pull: In other words, the metric isn't "time saved." The metric is what the organization can now do because time was saved. Time saved is only "real" when it turns into capacity, quality, or revenue. When AI Shrinks Time, Time-and-Materials Pricing Breaks Then Michael hits the business-model shift that a lot of teams are quietly wrestling with: AI compresses time. Work that took weeks can take days. The value may be the same—or higher—but the hours shrink. If you sell hours, you're forced into a bad choice: Michael's answer is to move up the stack: value-based pricing, retainers, and partnership models—ways of charging for outcomes, access, and expertise instead of minutes on a clock. That shift requires maturity: you must be able to explain your value clearly and measure the results you're creating. Which brings us right back to the point of the episode… Workflow efficiency metrics aren't just internal tools. They're how you prove impact when "time spent" stops being the story. Value-priced work + retainers make sense when time shrinks—but outcomes still...

If you've ever felt like your team is running on duct tape and good intentions, you're not alone. In this Building Better Developers interview, Michael Toguchi (Chief Strategy Officer at eResources) makes a simple point that changes how you approach growth: process before tools. Before you buy another platform, automate another workflow, or roll out a new system, you need clarity on how the work actually gets done—and who it's meant to serve. You can't tool your way out of chaos. The real fix starts upstream—before the migration, before the CRM, before the next sprint. It starts with people, leadership, and making the work visible enough to improve it. Process before tools isn't a slogan—it's the difference between scaling sustainably and scaling stress. If you want, I can also tighten the second sentence to include the phrase again without sounding repetitive, but this version should clear the Yoast check immediately. About Michael Toguchi Michael Toguchi is the Chief Strategy Officer at eResources, where he helps lead a platform that manages complex workflows for scholarships, grants, admissions, and accessibility services. With 25+ years supporting universities, nonprofits, and foundations through digital transformation, Michael focuses on making systems simpler, sustainable, and human-centered—so teams can scale without burnout and spend more time on mission-driven work. Process Before Tools: Why "Survival Mode" Becomes the Default Michael describes a pattern that mission-driven organizations (and plenty of startups) fall into: survival mode. Everyone is moving fast, reacting to urgent needs, and doing what it takes to keep the wheels turning. The downside is that the process gets postponed indefinitely. The team says things like: And it does work… until it doesn't. When the organization grows, the cracks grow with it: inconsistent outcomes, tribal knowledge, bottlenecks, and the quiet creep of burnout. Process Before Tools: Start Small, Make It Digestible One of the strongest points Michael makes is that meaningful change rarely comes from a dramatic, top-down overhaul. The most sustainable improvements begin with small, digestible steps. Instead of trying to "fix everything," identify a single pain point the team feels every week: Then improve that one piece, measure it, and repeat. Sustainable change isn't a magic wand. It's a series of small wins that teams can actually absorb. Process Before Tools: You Need Leadership Alignment (Not Just Agreement) A lot of teams confuse "buy-in" with "approval." Leadership might approve a new system or initiative, but that's not the same as aligning on why it matters, what success looks like, and what tradeoffs are acceptable. Michael emphasizes clarity: Without alignment, the organization drifts into mixed expectations—some people expect speed, others expect compliance, others expect perfect reporting. The result is frustration on all sides. Process Before Tools: Win With People, Not Platforms Michael's most practical warning is also the simplest: don't make it about tools. Tools can amplify a good process, but they can't create it. If you automate a messy workflow, you don't get a better workflow—you get a faster mess. The winning strategy is human-first: When teams feel heard, they participate. When they participate, the workflow becomes real. And once the workflow is real, the tool decision becomes obvious. Tools don't transform organizations—people do. Process Before Tools: A Practical Takeaway You Can Use This Week Here's a simple way to apply Part 1 immediately: only that That's how you move from survival mode to sustainable growth—without waiting for a budget cycle or a platform replacement. Closing Thoughts This interview is a reminder that building better...

You validated the idea. You built the page. Maybe you're even getting traffic. And yet… the conversions don't match the effort. In Part 2 of our interview with Samir ElKamouny, we shift from "prove the concept" to conversion rate optimization—the discipline of diagnosing what's actually limiting growth and improving the parts of your funnel that matter most. This isn't about chasing shiny marketing tactics. It's about execution: the kind that turns a funnel from "pretty good" into "predictable." About Samir ElKamouny Samir ElKamouny is an entrepreneur and marketing expert who believes execution is everything—an early lesson inspired by his father's legacy of big ideas. He has helped scale businesses by pairing strategic action with a commitment to impact, guided by values such as Freedom, Happiness, Health, Family, and Spirituality. In this episode, that philosophy becomes funnel execution: identify the bottleneck, prioritize the 80/20, and optimize what's already working. Conversion Rate Optimization Starts With One Question: Where's the Constraint? Many teams skip straight to A/B testing headlines or tweaking button colors. Samir takes a more surgical approach. Before you optimize anything, you need to know what kind of problem you have: Do you have a traffic problem? Or do you have a conversion problem? Because those are different fixes. If you're not getting enough visitors, obsessing over landing page micro-changes won't move the needle. But if you are getting traffic and still not getting demos, leads, or signups—then you've got a conversion bottleneck, and conversion rate optimization is exactly the right tool. Bottleneck First Traffic problem = distribution. Demo problem = messaging, offer, trust, friction, or flow. Diagnose the constraint before you "optimize." Use the 80/20 Rule to Avoid Busywork Samir's funnel advice lines up with how great engineers debug systems: don't touch everything—find the one thing causing most of the pain. That's the 80/20 rule applied to marketing and funnels: When you apply conversion rate optimization well, you're not "improving your funnel" in general. You're improving the one point that's limiting everything downstream. A practical example: if you're generating leads but no one books calls, the issue probably isn't your top-of-funnel content. It's the handoff—your booking experience, your follow-up, or the clarity of what the call is for. The "Two-Second Clarity Test" for Positioning Samir emphasizes something that's brutally simple—and incredibly effective: When someone lands on your page, they should understand what you do in about two seconds. Not "kind of." Not "after reading three paragraphs." Two seconds. That clarity acts like a conversion multiplier. If visitors are confused, they don't scroll. They don't click. They bounce. And no amount of A/B testing can fix a page that doesn't communicate the offer. Two-Second Clarity Test: Can a first-time visitor instantly answer: What is this? Who is it for? What outcome do I get? If not, start there. Don't Test What Nobody Sees One of the most actionable parts of Part 2 is Samir's reminder to test based on attention, not opinions. Teams often test sections that aren't getting seen or clicked because they "feel important." But if users never reach that section—or don't interact with it—optimizing it is wasted effort. Instead, focus on experiments where user engagement is highest: That's how you make conversion rate optimization practical: test the parts of the page that actually get traffic, eyeballs, and clicks. A Simple Conversion Rate Optimization Framework You Can Use This Week Here's a clean execution loop you can run without overcomplicating it: Pick one conversion goal Locate the biggest drop-off Form one hypothesis Make one...

If you're a developer or founder, you already know how to build. The hard part is building the right thing, for the right people, at the right time. In Part 1 of our interview with Samir ElKamouny, we dig into a practical market validation strategy that helps you avoid the most expensive mistake in software: investing months of effort into something the market didn't ask for. Samir's message is refreshingly grounded: big ideas are great, but execution is everything. And execution doesn't start with code—it starts with clarity, research, and small tests that tell you whether you're on the right path. About Samir ElKamouny Samir ElKamouny is an entrepreneur and marketing expert who believes execution is everything—an early lesson inspired by his father's legacy of big ideas. He's helped scale businesses by pairing strategic action with a commitment to impact, guided by values like Freedom, Happiness, Health, Family, and Spirituality. In this episode, that philosophy shows up as practical market validation: test demand and messaging before you overbuild. Market Validation Strategy: Start With "Is This Real?" Before "Can I Build It?" One of the biggest mindset shifts Samir reinforces is that your first job isn't product development—it's discovery. Before you worry about features, tech stacks, or perfect UI, you need answers to questions like: This is where market research becomes your leverage. It reduces risk, sharpens your messaging, and keeps your roadmap tied to real-world demand instead of assumptions. Ideas Don't Win—Execution Wins: You can have a great idea, but if you can't clearly explain why it matters and who it's for, you'll struggle to sell it—even if you build it perfectly. Market Validation Strategy: Use Market Research to Find Differentiation Samir talks about loving market research because it forces you to look for what actually matters: differentiation. A useful way to think about this (especially for builders) is to treat your market research like a product spec—but for the buyer's brain: That last point is gold: distrust is often where your positioning lives. If buyers think "all solutions in this space are overpriced and confusing," your market edge might be "simple, transparent, and fast to implement." Market Validation Strategy: Run the $5/Day Test (Before You Write Code) Here's where Samir gets extremely actionable: you don't need a perfect product to validate interest. You need a simple way to test messaging and capture intent. Think lightweight experiments: $5/day This isn't about "launching." It's about getting signals—fast. The Goal Isn't Perfection—It's Proof: If people won't click, reply, or sign up when the idea is explained clearly, a bigger build won't fix that. Validation comes before optimization. Market Validation Strategy: Build a Funnel That Matches the Buyer's Learning Curve Samir also breaks down why funnels aren't one-size-fits-all. The funnel you need depends on how much your buyer must be educated before they can decide. If you're in a well-known category—say "CRM"—buyers already understand the problem and the solution type. Your job becomes differentiation and trust. But if your product is new, complex, or requires behavior change, you may need a longer funnel: more education, more examples, more proof, and more clarity before a buyer is ready to act. Either way, the key is to define the conversion goal (lead, consultation, free trial, signup) and build only what supports that path. Market Validation Strategy: A 48-Hour Checklist for Builders Try this quick validation sprint before you commit to a full build: If the message lands, you've earned the right to build the next layer. If it doesn't, you just saved yourself months of building the wrong thing. Closing Thoughts: Execute Small, Learn...

New Year's Day hits different when you're recording with a live studio audience, passing the mic around, and starting the year with a mix of laughs, honest reflection, and big goals. In this Building Better Developers special episode, Rob Broadhead and Michael Meloche kick off 2026 by sharing a "good thing / bad thing" recap from a recent Christmas party—then opening the floor to the team to talk about the New Year developer goals. It's casual, it's real, and it's a reminder that growth (personal and professional) usually starts with clarity. Michael's 2026 New Year developer goals: Payoff and Growth When the conversation turns forward, Michael shares something that hits hard for anyone building a business—or rebuilding momentum. He describes the last year (or two) as a heavy investment: retooling, branding, marketing, refining direction, and putting in the work that doesn't immediately show results. Now, in 2026, he's looking for payoff—not in a "get rich quick" way, but in the sense of seeing the fruits of consistent effort. He also mentions narrowing focus for Develpreneur and wanting to see that a clearer direction translates into growth. There's something powerful about that moment: when you stop trying to do everything, and start building depth in the things that matter. If you spent 2025 laying groundwork, 2026 is your chance to ship with confidence. Foundations aren't the finish line—but they make speed possible. Rob's 2026 New Year developer goals: Scale, Network, and Teach Again Rob's focus is straightforward: he wants to keep growing the business, but also move from "a couple projects went well" to scaling—bringing in more work and creating consistent momentum. One of the practical strategies he calls out is getting out more: business conventions, tech conventions, and networking. Not just online—real-world conversations that create opportunities. He also hints at something long-time listeners will appreciate: he wants to relaunch teaching episodes. That includes new "kitchen sink" style applications, plus content around AI and emerging technologies. It's a return to hands-on learning—less theory, more building. Team Voices on New Year developer goals: Milestones, Features, and New Seasons Wes, a programmer at RRB Consulting, brings a personal win that feels like pure New Year energy: his car is getting paid off early in the year. That's freedom. Breathing room. And honestly, a reminder that progress isn't only measured in commits and deployments. Professionally, Wes is excited about projects with features coming together in the first quarter—things moving from "in progress" to "in the client's hands." Natalie shares that 2026 is a "new season of change" for her—wrapping up big chapters and getting ready to reinvest significant time back into RRB. Rob adds another layer: he's planning to be a digital nomad in 2026 and launching a site to document the adventures and the tech behind them. One Day at a Time (Yes, Even for Developers) As the episode closes, there's a simple challenge: don't give up on your New Year's resolutions on day one. Make it to day two. Day three. Day ten. Keep it small. Keep it moving. And then: back to interviews, back to Building Better Foundations, and the ongoing push toward major milestones—like eventually hitting episode 1000. Pick one small habit you can keep for 10 days. If you can do 10, you can do 30. If you can do 30, you can change your year. Ready for 2026? This episode isn't about perfect plans—it's about momentum, focus, and showing up. Whether you're chasing payoff after a long build season, scaling your business, shipping features, or stepping into a new chapter… the message is the same: Start. Today. Then do it again tomorrow. Happy New Year—and we'll see you in the next episode. Stay Connected: Join the Developreneur...

It's New Year's Eve-Eve, and instead of recording from our usual virtual setups, we did something we've talked about for years: we hit record in the same room. If you're watching on YouTube, you can actually see us together. If you're listening on audio, you'll just have to trust us—this one was in-person. In this special episode of Building Better Developers (our Building Better Foundations season), we keep it simple: a Year-End Reflection for Developers. What are we ready to leave behind from this year? What do we want to carry into the next one? And what's the reality behind the loudest tech conversations? A Year-End Reflection for Developers isn't about perfection. It's about clarity—keeping what worked, dropping what didn't, and starting the next year lighter. Year-End Reflection for Developers: What We're Ready to Leave Behind We opened the discussion with a question you can ask your team, your friends, or yourself: What are you ready to see go away? For Rob, it was the endless, extreme framing around AI. Not AI itself—he uses it and enjoys it—but the constant "AI will save everything" or "AI will destroy everything" energy that dominated so many conversations this year. The truth is, we're still going to talk about AI next year. The goal is to move the conversation toward reality: what it can do well, what it can't, and how to use it responsibly without acting like it's magic—or doom. Year-End Reflection for Developers on AI Hype vs Reality A big part of this Year-End Reflection for Developers was dialing down the panic and dialing up practical thinking. AI tools can absolutely help developers move faster. They can help summarize, brainstorm, refactor, and even unblock you when you're stuck. But the hype has pushed people into extremes, and extremes aren't useful when you're shipping software. If you used AI this year, you already know the real story: sometimes it's brilliant, and sometimes it confidently hands you nonsense. Use AI like a tool, not a truth machine. A Year-End Reflection for Developers should include one rule: verify before you trust. Year-End Reflection for Developers on "AI Caused the Layoffs" Michael took the AI conversation in a different direction: big businesses blaming AI for layoffs. Yes, AI will impact jobs over time. But what we're seeing right now often looks more like companies correcting after the COVID-era "no hire / no fire" period. In other words, the bottom line is driving decisions, and AI is becoming a convenient headline. If you're cutting roles for financial reasons, just say that. Don't hide behind buzzwords. That honesty matters—not just for employees, but for the industry. Developers don't benefit from fear-based narratives. We benefit from transparency and real strategy. Year-End Reflection for Developers: Studio Audience Takeaways Because we had an in-room setup, we passed the mic to a few of our "studio audience" members. Ian shared the positive side of his year: getting hands-on experience in Agile and learning what it's like to build alongside a team of developers on a large project. It had hangups, and it ran longer than expected—but that's real work, and real growth. Wesley echoed the burnout around AI buzzwords and made a strong point: when we say "AI," we need to be specific. A lot of what people mean right now is "large language models," and lumping everything under "AI" only adds confusion. He also called out how hype can warp markets—like hardware prices skyrocketing when everyone jumps on the trend. Year-End Reflection for Developers: Less Fear, More People Natalie brought the most human answer of the night: she wants less fear. Less fear, less uncertainty, less constant tension—and more remembering that we're all in this together. That hit home, because a Year-End Reflection for Developers isn't just about tech....

The week before Christmas has a way of exposing how the year really went. Deadlines either slow down or pile up, calendars get messy, and the pressure to "wrap everything up" shows up at the same time you're trying to enjoy the season. In this Pre-Christmas episode of Building Better Developers, Rob Broadhead and Michael Meloche keep it practical: looking back on the year, calling out what worked (and what didn't), and sharing why a year-end reset for developers is the best way to prepare for a better new year. Why a Year-End Reset for Developers Matters A year-end reset for developers isn't just taking a few days off. It's stepping back long enough to see the patterns you've been living in: where you made progress, where you got stuck, and where you've been running on fumes. This episode is about doing that reflection without guilt—and using it to set yourself up for momentum, rather than burnout. A year-end reset for developers is how you stop repeating the same year with a new calendar. The Good, the Bad, and the Real: Looking Back on the Year Rob kicks things off with a simple reflection: one good thing and one bad thing from the year. The good news is that the business made it through another year. That matters more than people like to admit. Survival means you kept moving, you adapted, and you didn't shut the doors. He also highlights a significant win: spending more time working on the business, rather than just being inside it. That includes improving systems, making changes, and investing in the foundation that supports growth. The bad is honest too: the company didn't grow as much as he wanted. Some goals didn't land. Still, even that can be useful—because it creates space to strengthen the core instead of rushing to scale. A year-end reset for developers starts with one question—what did you build that will help you next year? Micro Goals: How a Year-End Reset for Developers Turns Into Progress One of the biggest themes in this episode is that progress doesn't require dramatic change. Rob leans into incremental improvement—the small steps that keep forward motion alive when life gets busy. He talks about regularly touching key areas of the business: rebuilding and redesigning parts of the brand, creating internal tools, and moving toward more custom systems to reduce dependency on licenses and patchwork solutions. It's a steady approach: a little time each week, consistently, until the results show up. He also points out that networking and marketing may not be fun for everyone, but doing them consistently builds relationships—and those relationships often become valuable in ways you can't predict. Micro goals are the engine of a year-end reset for developers—small steps, repeated, create big change. When You're Split Across Stacks, the Reset Becomes Essential Michael talks about something many devs feel: context switching is expensive. This year, he has had two major projects running in two different technology worlds—Django/Python/Apache on one side and Java/Spring/AWS/Redis on the other. Even when you enjoy the work, the mental shift between stacks adds friction. That's why a year-end reset for developers needs to include something most of us skip: rest. Not "watch a screen while thinking about work" rest—real rest. Rest Is Not a Suggestion: The Core of a Year-End Reset for Developers Michael shares what he's been trying to implement more seriously: turning off distractions, stepping away from screens, and scheduling real breaks. Michael took a couple of days off over Thanksgiving and felt a clear difference. Because the truth is, there's a point where "powering through" stops working. You can still finish tasks, but it takes ten times the effort. Your mind gets foggy. Your focus disappears. Then you start mistaking exhaustion for a productivity problem. So the recommendation is...

In Part 2 of our Building Better Foundations interview with Hunter Jensen, founder and CEO of Barefoot Solutions and Barefoot Labs, we explore how companies can begin adapting their business to AI over the next one to three years. Rather than imagining futuristic scenarios, Hunter keeps the focus on what's already happening—and what leaders must do now to stay ahead. About Hunter Jensen Hunter Jensen is the Founder and CEO of Barefoot Solutions, a digital agency specializing in artificial intelligence, data science, and digital transformation. With over 20 years of experience, Hunter has worked with startups and Fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft and Salesforce, to implement innovative technology strategies that drive measurable ROI. A seasoned leader and expert in the AI space, Hunter helps businesses harness cutting-edge technologies to achieve growth and efficiency. Facebook / Twitter (X) / LinkedIn / Website Where Companies Will See the First Wins When Adapting Their Business to AI Hunter starts by shortening the timeline. Five years is too far; the real transformation is happening in the next 12–36 months. Today's early value comes from AI supporting back-office functions: These areas already show measurable ROI. But adapting your business to AI isn't just about automating repetitive tasks. "What comes next is using AI to support the thing your business actually does." – Hunter Jensen These shifts mark the second major phase of adapting your business to AI. The Coming Surplus: How AI Redefines Knowledge Work When Adapting Your Business to AI As companies begin adapting their business to AI, productivity skyrockets. Hunter predicts that many teams will get 5x more output from the same number of people. We see this creating a new challenge: a surplus of available work hours. This has already happened in software development. With AI-enhanced coding, the same team can deliver far more in far less time. Hunter warns that other knowledge-work fields—including law, consulting, and analytics—are next in line. "Layoffs are not a growth strategy. You need to innovate." – Hunter Jensen Instead of cutting staff, leaders should redirect excess capacity into new products, services, and innovation. Adapting Your Business to AI Requires Rethinking Your Model The biggest disruption comes not from tools—but from business models. Hunter shares how Barefoot Solutions, after 20 years of hourly-based software development, had to rethink its entire model when adapting its business to AI. With AI writing code faster than ever, traditional hourly billing simply couldn't reflect true value. The result? A shift toward product development, leading to the creation of Compass, an internal AI platform that helps organizations securely use their data. Many industries—especially those built on billable hours—will need to make similar changes. That means exploring: Adapting your business to AI means adapting how you make money, not just how you work. What Developers and Students Should Do Now For younger developers or recent graduates, adapting your career to AI is just as important as adapting your business to AI. Hunter recommends: AI literacy "The best way to learn is by building. Anything. Solve one real pain point." – Hunter Jensen Those projects become powerful résumé builders—and valuable stepping stones into the industry. Why Data Is Now the Ultimate Competitive Advantage The era of "first mover advantage" is over. AI allows competitors to replicate an idea in a weekend. But one thing cannot be cloned: your proprietary data. Hunter argues that adapting your business to AI means treating your data like a strategic asset. Companies with decades of untouched data—financial, healthcare, legal, operational—hold the new competitive moat. If you can...

In this episode of Building Better Foundations, we interview Hunter Jensen, founder and CEO of Barefoot Solutions and Barefoot Labs, to explore what it really takes when getting started with AI in your business. As companies rush toward AI adoption, Hunter offers grounded, practical advice on avoiding early mistakes, protecting your data, and choosing the right starting point. About Hunter Jensen Hunter Jensen is the Founder and CEO of Barefoot Solutions, a digital agency specializing in artificial intelligence, data science, and digital transformation. With over 20 years of experience, Hunter has worked with startups and Fortune 500 companies, including Microsoft and Salesforce, to implement innovative technology strategies that drive measurable ROI. A seasoned leader and expert in the AI space, Hunter helps businesses harness cutting-edge technologies to achieve growth and efficiency. Facebook / Twitter (X) / LinkedIn / Website Why "Just Add AI" Is Not a Strategy When Getting Started with AI in Your Business Hunter begins by addressing the biggest misconception leaders face when getting started with AI in their business: the belief that a single, all-knowing model can absorb everything your business does and instantly deliver insights across every department. "Leaders imagine an all-knowing model. We are nowhere near that being safe or realistic." – Hunter Jensen The core issue is access control. Even the best models cannot safely enforce who should or should not see certain data. If an LLM is trained on HR data, how do you stop it from sharing salary information with an employee who shouldn't see it? This is why getting started with AI in your business must begin with clear boundaries and realistic expectations. Safe First Steps When Getting Started with AI in Your Business As Hunter explains, companies don't need to dive straight into custom models. A safer, simpler path exists for getting started with AI in your business, especially for teams on Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Start With Tools Already Built Into Your Environment Hunter recommends two solid, low-risk entry points: Microsoft 365 Copilot Google Gemini for Workspace These platforms provide: Hunter emphasizes that employees are already using public AI tools, even if policy forbids it. When getting started with AI in your business, providing approved tools is essential to keeping data safe. "If you're not providing safe tools, your team will use unsafe ones." – Hunter Jensen These tools won't solve every AI need, but they are an ideal first step. Choosing the Right Model for Your Needs Another common question when getting started with AI in your business is: Which model is best? ChatGPT? Gemini? Claude? Hunter explains that the landscape changes weekly—sometimes daily. Today's leading model could be irelevent tomorrow. For this reason, businesses should avoid hard commitments to a single model. Experiment Before Committing Hunter suggests opening multiple LLMs side-by-side—such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity—and testing each for quality and speed. This gives teams a feel for what works before deciding how AI fits into their workflow. This experimentation mindset is essential when getting started with AI in your business because: Your AI system should remain flexible enough to shift models as needed. Protecting Your Data from Day One One of Hunter's strongest warnings is about data safety. If you're serious about getting started with AI in your business, you must pay attention to licensing. If you are not paying for AI, you have no control over your data. Some industries—like legal, finance, and healthcare—may need even stricter controls or private deployments. This leads naturally to the next stage of AI adoption. The Next Step After Getting Started with AI in Your...

In Part 2 of our interview with Dusty Gulleson, CEO of eResources, we explore how value-driven project discovery helps teams make better decisions, prevent waste, and build software that actually supports the business. Dusty goes deep into prioritization, budgeting, revenue-generating processes, and why discovery is essential for steering both startups and large enterprises toward meaningful outcomes. About Dust Gulleson Dusty Gulleson is a founder who never set out to build a large company—he simply followed the work, served people well, and let loyalty drive the growth. After leaving a COO role that didn't fit, he waited tables, picked up freelance web projects, and gradually built what is now eResources, a 100+ person organization spanning strategy, branding, IT services, cybersecurity, SaaS automation, and offshore teams. Born in Indonesia and now leading four thriving divisions, Dusty has grown the company without hype or outside funding, relying instead on relationships, trust, and consistent delivery. With five acquisitions under his belt and recurring revenue across industries like housing, higher education, and public health, his leadership philosophy centers on people, clarity, and service. Whether in a boardroom or a bourbon tasting room, Dusty approaches every conversation with the same question: "Where do you want to go, and how can we help?" Why Value-Driven Project Discovery Matters Many organizations want to move fast, but not necessarily in the right direction. Dusty explains that teams often fixate on long feature lists instead of business value. Value-driven project discovery flips that conversation by asking: What outcome are you trying to achieve? This shift helps clients focus on what matters most instead of chasing nice-to-have ideas. "Everyone's looking at the finish line, but no one is asking what the starting line really looks like." Using Value-Driven Project Discovery to Find True Priorities Dusty combines the 80/20 rule with the MoSCoW method to identify what the project truly needs at launch. Clients frequently bring big ideas, but through value-driven project discovery, his team uncovers the 20% that delivers 80% of the impact. The Must-Haves rise to the top naturally when tied back to real outcomes. Cutting Through Data Bloat One recurring obstacle is data collection bloat—requests to capture everything "just in case." Dusty highlights how the value-driven approach clears away unnecessary data points so teams can focus on action-driving information. This reduces complexity, speeds delivery, and saves money. Budget Reality Checks Dusty emphasizes that constraints are real and useful. Budgets shape scope, timelines, and phases. Instead of forcing everything into a fixed number, focusing on value helps teams see what is truly feasible. Often, clients don't understand how misaligned their vision and budget are until the story is mapped out clearly. Identifying Golden Processes Using Value-Driven Project Discovery Golden processes—the steps that generate revenue or sustain the business—are central to prioritization. During value-driven project discovery, Dusty helps clients identify the processes that keep the company moving. Once those are defined, secondary ideas naturally fall into later phases. "Your golden processes determine where the first dollars must go." Value-Driven Project Discovery and the Chapter-One Mindset Big visions don't require big bang releases. Dusty encourages a chapter-one approach: start small, deliver one valuable win, and build momentum. A $100 improvement today may pave the way for a $1,000 investment tomorrow. This phased approach reduces risk and increases adoption. Applying Value-Driven Project Discovery to Grow Without VC Funding Dusty's entrepreneurial journey is a testimony to value-driven thinking. He grew his company to 100+...

In this episode of the Building Better Developers Podcast, we sit down with Dusty Gulleson, CEO of eResources, to explore why story-driven discovery is the foundation of every successful software project. Dusty shares how understanding a customer's journey, motivations, and real-world frustrations leads to better outcomes than any technical requirement alone. Instead of focusing on platforms and features first, he explains why great projects begin with people and the stories behind their needs. About Dust Gulleson Dusty Gulleson is a founder who never set out to build a large company—he simply followed the work, served people well, and let loyalty drive the growth. After leaving a COO role that didn't fit, he waited tables, picked up freelance web projects, and gradually built what is now eResources, a 100+ person organization spanning strategy, branding, IT services, cybersecurity, SaaS automation, and offshore teams. Born in Indonesia and now leading four thriving divisions, Dusty has grown the company without hype or outside funding, relying instead on relationships, trust, and consistent delivery. With five acquisitions under his belt and recurring revenue across industries like housing, higher education, and public health, his leadership philosophy centers on people, clarity, and service. Whether in a boardroom or a bourbon tasting room, Dusty approaches every conversation with the same question: "Where do you want to go, and how can we help?" Why Story-Driven Discovery Matters More Than Requirements Most clients initially express their needs in bullet points, task lists, or feature requests. But as Dusty explains, those surface-level items rarely reflect the full picture. Story-driven discovery goes deeper by uncovering the context behind the request: the business pressures, the users involved, and the real outcome the client is trying to achieve. "We're customer service people first — we just happen to do technology," Dusty shared. This mindset ensures teams build solutions that support real workflows rather than assumptions. How Story-Driven Discovery Reveals Real Problems As Dusty shifted from a bullet-point mindset to a more narrative-focused approach, he began asking open-ended questions such as: Stories expose problems that requirements often hide. Rob Broadhead offered a relatable example: someone saying "the printer isn't working" may actually mean "I need this document before my meeting." Story-driven discovery uncovers the urgency, not just the symptom. Using Story-Driven Discovery Before Delivery Begins Dusty breaks every project into two essential steps: Discovery Delivery Skipping step one is where most projects fail. Without story-driven discovery, teams risk scope creep, mismatched expectations, unrealistic budgets, and frustration on both sides. "If a company won't invest in discovery, they're not serious about solving the problem." A proper discovery process creates alignment long before development begins. Avoiding AI RFP Pitfalls with Story-Driven Discovery Dusty highlighted a growing issue: AI-generated RFPs that look polished but lack practical context. These documents often include: They list features — but no story. Story-driven discovery corrects this by grounding requirements in real organizational challenges and goals. Prioritizing Needs with Story-Driven Discovery During discovery, Dusty uses two powerful prioritization methods: MoSCoW Method Must-Have Should-Have Could-Have Won't-Have (for now) The 80-15-5 Rule 80% 15% 5% These frameworks help keep projects realistic and focused on value. How Story-Driven Discovery Builds Trust At its core, story-driven discovery builds stronger relationships. Clients feel heard. Developers gain clarity. Executives stay aligned. Teams avoid...

In part 2 of our Building Better Developers conversation with Mark Struczewski (Mister Productivity), we shift from foundational habits to the modern reality of our digital world. With smartphones, notifications, social media, and AI competing for every second of our attention, managing digital distractions has become one of the most important productivity skills of our time. Mark pulls back the curtain on how our devices keep us hooked—and offers practical, simple steps to regain control of our attention before the noise takes over. About Mark Struczewski Today, we're joined by Mark Struczewski—pronounced STRU-CHESS-KEY—better known as Mister Productivity. This Houston-based coach and host of the Mister Productivity™ Podcast, with over 1,340 episodes and thousands of downloads, equips busy professionals to crush overwhelm and reclaim focus. Drawing on his corporate grit and daily running discipline, Mark shares his proven 'Distraction Detox' framework to turn digital chaos into high-impact action. Please welcome Mark! Twitter/X, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, SnapChat Turning Off the Noise: First Steps in Managing Digital Distractions Mark starts with a surprisingly bold recommendation: turn off vibration mode—permanently. Even if your phone is "muted," vibration keeps your brain on high alert. Removing it creates true silence and removes the physical stimulus that pulls you out of focus. He also stresses the importance of auditing every app notification you have. Most people tap "Allow" without thinking, and developers take full advantage of that. Mark insists you go through each app and ask: Does this notification serve me? Or is it another distraction stealing my focus? In most cases, you'll turn off 90% of them. A Notification Is a Demand for Your Attention: If your phone decides what you do next, you're not in control—your apps are. Advanced Techniques for Managing Digital Distractions Beyond simple notification hygiene, we explore more powerful ways to reinforce boundaries. 1. Use Focus Modes Intentionally Newer smartphones allow you to block almost everything while allowing a short list of apps or people through. It turns your phone into a calmer, quieter version of itself—ideal for deep work. 2. Block Websites at the Router Level Michael shares how he blocks entire sites like Facebook or news apps from his entire home network. This prevents drifting into distraction, no matter which device he picks up. 3. Silence Individual Contacts If someone sends constant memes or random texts, you can mute their message sounds without blocking them. Messages still arrive, but they don't interrupt your work. These tools aren't "nanny features"—they're modern essentials for managing digital distractions in a tech-saturated world. Social Media Boundaries: Build the Muscle, Not the Habit One area where many people struggle is social media consumption. Mark shares that he only spends 3–4 intentional minutes on platforms like X or Instagram before moving on. How? He uses scheduling tools—Meta Business Suite, Buffer, TikTok Studio—to create content in batches and avoid the endless scroll. His rule is simple: And if he's with people in person? The phone goes away—no exceptions. If someone picks up their phone mid-conversation, he stops talking or walks away. For Mark, presence is respect. True Focus Requires Presence: Being fully present strengthens your attention—even when you're not working. The AI Overload Problem We also explore a growing concern: the overuse of AI tools as substitutes for real thinking. Mark notes that people are starting to treat AI chatbots like best friends, therapists, or decision-makers. The risks include: Studies show that too much AI reliance leads to dramatically lower cognitive activity, essentially putting the...

In this episode of the Building Better Developers podcast, part of our Building Better Foundations season, Rob Broadhead and Michael Meloche sit down with Mark Struczewski, better known as Mr. Productivity. His passion is helping people get unstuck—whether through time management, clarity, or intentional focus. And in today's always-on environment, staying focused is one of the biggest challenges professionals face. The first half of our interview explores distraction awareness, practical habits, and foundational techniques for staying focused in a world full of interruptions. About Mark Struczewski Today, we're joined by Mark Struczewski—pronounced STRU-CHESS-KEY—better known as Mister Productivity. This Houston-based coach and host of the Mister Productivity™ Podcast, with over 1,340 episodes and thousands of downloads, equips busy professionals to crush overwhelm and reclaim focus. Drawing on his corporate grit and daily running discipline, Mark shares his proven 'Distraction Detox' framework to turn digital chaos into high-impact action. Please welcome Mark! Twitter/X, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, SnapChat How Mr. Productivity Built His Approach to Staying Focused Mark didn't begin his career expecting to teach productivity. After being fired from his corporate job in 2005, he tried entrepreneurship through wedding photography—an attempt he freely admits "bombed." But that failure revealed something more important: he loved teaching, coaching, and speaking. A mentor eventually encouraged him to lean into his natural strengths. Mark hadn't realized his productivity habits were unusual until someone pointed them out. Over the years, he connected those habits back to the discipline his parents instilled—do your work, do it right, and do it on time. Productivity Starts with Foundations: Many of the skills required for staying focused begin with simple, consistent discipline—not complicated tools. The Distraction Detox: A Practical Path Toward Staying Focused Mark's "Distraction Detox" is one of his simplest yet most powerful techniques. It starts with awareness—because most people don't realize how often they're pulled off track. The exercise: every single distraction Within minutes, people typically discover just how fragmented their attention has become. We're not just distracted—we're constantly distracted, and often subconsciously. You Can't Improve What You Don't See: Awareness is the first step in staying focused. What You Can Control When Staying Focused Once you have captured your distractions, the next step is to separate what you can influence from what you can't. Outside your control: Within your control: Even small adjustments can dramatically improve your ability to stay focused. The goal isn't perfection—it's reducing friction. Why Analog Tools Can Help With Staying Focused Mark strongly recommends using analog tools during focus sessions. Phones and computers invite distraction, even when you "just need to write something down." An analog notepad avoids all the digital temptations. During deep work: After the session and after taking a break, revisit the list. You'll often find that many of the items no longer matter. Most Thoughts Lose Importance After a Break: Analog tools keep you focused without triggering digital distractions. A Simple Self-Check for Staying Focused Not every distraction is obvious. Sometimes you drift into another task without realizing it. Mark offers a quick self-check that prevents accidental derailment: "Is this what I'm supposed to be doing right now?" This three-second pause helps reset your attention and prevents you from going too far down an unintended path. Start Small: The Easiest Way to Support Staying Focused Mark believes that simplicity beats complexity....

In this special holiday episode of the Building Better Foundations season of the Building Better Developers Podcast, hosts Rob Broadhead and Michael Meloche pause their usual deep-dive discussions to share meaningful Thanksgiving reflections for developers. This annual tradition goes beyond technology and process—it centers on gratitude, growth, and the people who shape our journeys. Why Thanksgiving Reflections for Developers Matter Even though the recording takes place before the holiday, the episode releases just as listeners gather for Thanksgiving. Rob's signature "gobble gobble" sound kicks things off, marking another year of stepping back to appreciate the wins, the lessons, and the relationships that make the development life meaningful. Thanksgiving reflections for developers remind us that progress isn't just code—it's community, resilience, and perspective. Two Sides of the Year: Thanksgiving Reflections for Developers Rob begins with a candid look at a year of downsizing, simplifying, and major life changes. The process has been exhausting but also freeing—removing clutter, shifting priorities, and making room for what matters most. Michael shares his own version of growth: completing a massive project, evolving his consulting business into a full-fledged software company, and learning hard lessons through the transition. The challenges brought long hours and stress, but they also delivered clarity and direction for the future. These Thanksgiving reflections for developers capture a familiar truth: every challenge is a stepping stone. Gratitude for People: Core Thanksgiving Reflections for Developers Both hosts highlight the importance of people above all else. Rob's Reflections Michael's Reflections The strongest Thanksgiving reflections for developers are always about people—not projects. Technology and Connection: Modern Thanksgiving Reflections for Developers Rob notes how technology has made it possible to work from almost anywhere—thanks to wireless tools, remote access, and communication platforms like Zoom and FaceTime. Michael adds that technology is powerful when used for real connection—not just scrolling or posting, but collaborating, calling, and being present with others. These Thanksgiving reflections for developers highlight a key truth: tech connects us, but only if we use it intentionally. Traditions and Joy: Lighthearted Thanksgiving Reflections for Developers The episode also brings fun holiday traditions into the conversation: Stranger Things These lighthearted moments remind us that gratitude isn't just serious—it's joy, nostalgia, and shared experiences. Community Appreciation: Final Thanksgiving Reflections for Developers The hosts close with heartfelt thanks to the podcast community. Listener stories, project successes, and feedback fuel the show's mission to help developers grow, improve, and thrive. "Go out into the world and be thankful." — Building Better Developers Podcast Thanksgiving Reflections for Developers: Build Better Foundations This Thanksgiving episode delivers a warm reminder that building better developers begins with building better foundations of gratitude—for people, for opportunities, for growth, and for technology that keeps us connected. From Rob and Michael: Happy Thanksgiving—and stay thankful. Stay Connected: Join the Developreneur Community We invite you to join our community and share your coding journey with us. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting, there's always room to learn and grow together. Contact us at info@develpreneur.com with your questions, feedback, or suggestions for future episodes. Together, let's continue exploring the exciting world of software development. Additional Resources Gratitude and Growth: A Thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving week is here, and with it comes the perfect opportunity for developers to slow down, unwind, and refocus. In this special pre-holiday episode of the Building Better Developers podcast, Rob and Michael step away from the regular Building Better Foundations theme to talk about travel mishaps, gaming plans, personal downtime, AI experiments, and practical Thanksgiving tips for developers who want to rest and still grow. Whether you're staying home, traveling, or juggling family plans, this episode delivers simple and meaningful insights to help you make the most of the holiday season. Why Thanksgiving Matters for Developers For nearly a decade, the podcast has featured Thanksgiving episodes as a fun tradition—lighter, more personal, and focused on gratitude. As Rob and Michael reflect on the year, they share stories and ideas every listener can relate to. It's also a moment to pause and consider meaningful Thanksgiving tips for developers who are used to fast-paced schedules and tight deadlines. Holiday Chaos Happens—Laugh and Keep Moving The episode kicks off with Rob's comedy-level travel disaster involving early check-ins, confusing airline mishaps, and even a sushi order gone terribly wrong. Despite the chaos, he reminds us that embracing humor is one of the most underrated Thanksgiving tips for developers dealing with holiday stress. Embrace the unexpected. Use holiday disruptions as forced downtime to reset. Gaming, Rest, and Making Time for Fun Developers love learning—but they also love games. Rob talks through his Steam Deck frustrations while trying to play Blood Bowl 3, and Michael shares his goal to finally play his untouched birthday gift, Pokémon ZA. Gaming becomes more than entertainment—it's one of the best Thanksgiving tips for developers who need a mental break. The message is simple: Make room for joy. Let yourself play. Exploring AI, Creative Coding, and One-Day Projects Instead of doom-scrolling, Rob suggests exploring AI tools—both for fun and learning. Michael adds that Thanksgiving is a perfect time for a bite-sized coding experiment or "kitchen sink app" to explore new Java, Spring, or Python updates. This is where holiday downtime becomes a strategic advantage. You can recharge while sharpening skills. Try a no-pressure mini-project. One day of playful coding can spark major creativity. Disconnecting to Reconnect: The Heart of the Season Thanksgiving isn't just time off—it's time together. Michael encourages listeners to unplug, enjoy family time, watch holiday specials, and take a real break from screens. Spending quality time with loved ones is one of the most important Thanksgiving tips for developers who often live in digital worlds. Even for those working through the holiday week, a quieter office can provide opportunities to reconnect with coworkers or simply enjoy a more relaxed pace. Black Friday Deals and Leveling Up Your Toolkit Rob and Michael wrap up with practical advice: use holiday sales wisely. From software subscriptions to hardware upgrades, tech deals can help developers invest in their craft. They even recommend tools like CamelCamelCamel for smarter price tracking—another useful Thanksgiving tip for developers planning their 2026 goals. Final Thoughts: Rest Today, Grow Tomorrow Thanksgiving is a rare chance to step back, breathe, and appreciate what matters most. Whether you're experimenting with tech, catching up on games, visiting family, or indulging in post-turkey naps, embrace the pause. Because the work—and the opportunities—will be waiting after the holiday glow fades. For now, apply these Thanksgiving tips for developers, enjoy the season, and recharge for the journey ahead. Stay Connected: Join the Developreneur Community We invite you to join our community and share your coding journey with us. Whether...

Choosing the right pricing model can make or break a project, and understanding fixed bid vs time and materials is essential for developers, consultants, and business owners alike. In Part 2 of our Building Better Foundations interview with Charly Leetham, we explore the complexities behind scoping work, managing expectations, and balancing fairness with sustainability. This conversation dives into real experiences—both successful and painful—that highlight how important clarity is when building custom software or digital solutions. About Charly Leetham Charly Leetham brings more than 40 years of hands-on experience in building practical, reliable systems for small businesses. She earned her amateur radio license at 13, became an electronic engineer by 21, and completed her MBA while working full-time and raising two young children. Her career has spanned technical support, sales, project management, and client services, giving her a deep understanding of both technology and people. After running multiple franchises and overcoming a major business setback, she founded Ask Charly Leetham—now a long-standing digital services company supporting clients across Australia, the U.S., and beyond. Known for her clear, no-nonsense approach, Charly specializes in turning complex tech into simple, workable solutions. She also hosts Rise and Shine – Your Business Tech Boost, offering practical guidance to business owners who want answers they can trust. Facebook, Twitter / X, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Website Fixed Bid vs Time and Materials: When Fixed Pricing Works Charly begins by explaining that fixed bid pricing only works when the scope is tight, clear, and measurable. If she can define every deliverable—content length, number of pages, number of images, required effort—then fixed pricing is a win for both sides. Everyone knows what will be delivered and at what cost. "Fixed bid requires fixed scope. If you can't list every deliverable, you shouldn't fix the price." – Charly Leetham But when the work involves unknowns, research, or variable technical challenges, time and materials become the safer, more honest approach. When ambiguity is present, Charly often starts with a one-hour or two-hour discovery block before offering a detailed estimate. Fixed Bid vs Time and Materials: Owning the Estimate One powerful theme from Charly's perspective is ownership. If she commits to a fixed price and the work takes longer than expected—yet stays within the original requirements—she believes it's her responsibility, not the client's problem. She compares it to car maintenance: if a mechanic quotes you a fixed price for an oil change, you don't pay extra because it took them longer internally. "If I overestimated my abilities, that's on me—not the client." Michael shares a similar story from his own experience: a large fixed-bid software project that went significantly over budget due to missed requirements and "muscle memory" business processes the client never mentioned. Even after months of discovery, unseen complexity still appeared late in development—forcing a learning experience the hard way. Hidden Requirements: The Biggest Threat to Fixed Bid Work One of the biggest takeaways from the episode is how hidden systems and unspoken workflows can wreck a fixed price project. Rob and Charly both describe situations where: These are the real reasons fixed bids go off the rails. Not because developers fail—but because the truth of the workflow is often hidden beneath assumptions. If you don't see the real workflow, your scope is incomplete. Good requirements gathering means observing actual work—not just interviewing leadership. Learning vs Billing: Handling Complexity Fairly Another powerful point from Charly is knowing when to charge for expertise and when to absorb learning time. She tells a story about...

Building a strong company starts with strategic foundations for business growth. In Part 1 of our interview with Charly Leetham, we explore how clarity, customer understanding, and simple systems help businesses grow with confidence. Her insights show how the right strategic groundwork leads to long-term success. About Charly Leetham Charly Leetham brings more than 40 years of hands-on experience in building practical, reliable systems for small businesses. She earned her amateur radio license at 13, became an electronic engineer by 21, and completed her MBA while working full-time and raising two young children. Her career has spanned technical support, sales, project management, and client services, giving her a deep understanding of both technology and people. After running multiple franchises and overcoming a major business setback, she founded Ask Charly Leetham—now a long-standing digital services company supporting clients across Australia, the U.S., and beyond. Known for her clear, no-nonsense approach, Charly specializes in turning complex tech into simple, workable solutions. She also hosts Rise and Shine – Your Business Tech Boost, offering practical guidance to business owners who want answers they can trust. Facebook, Twitter / X, YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, Website Strategic Business Foundations Start With the Right Questions Charly opened the conversation with a key insight: you cannot build a strong business without asking strong questions. These questions shape your strategic business foundations and guide the decisions that follow. "Before you build, you must know what you're building and why." – Charly Leetham Too many business owners rush into action without defining their audience or validating the problem they're trying to solve. Charly recommends asking: These questions are simple, yet they prevent misalignment and wasted effort. Understanding Your Customer Is Key to Strategic Business Foundations Charly highlighted that meaningful customer insight is essential. Many entrepreneurs claim to understand their customers, but they rely on assumptions rather than evidence. This weakens their strategic business foundations and often leads to products that miss the mark. She encourages leaders to: "Your customers will tell you what they need—if you give them space to speak." This approach ensures your solution fits the customer's world—not just your idea of it. Simplicity Strengthens Strategic Business Foundations One of Charly's most powerful insights is the importance of simplicity. Many founders believe complexity signals value, but Charly argues that clarity creates far stronger strategic business foundations. She recommends: "If your customer can't understand what you do, they won't buy from you." Simplicity improves messaging, operations, and customer experience. Systems and Processes Anchor Your Strategic Business Foundations According to Charly, strong systems are not optional—they're essential. Businesses often wait too long to document processes or create workflows. This delay weakens their strategic business foundations and makes growth harder. Systems help businesses: Templates, automations, and repeatable processes transform chaos into structure. Final Thoughts: Building Strategic Business Foundations That Last Part 1 of our interview with Charly Leetham offers a powerful reminder: success begins with strategic business foundations. When you ask the right questions, understand your customers, simplify your offerings, and build systems early, you create a business that can grow with confidence and purpose. Stay tuned for Part 2, where we explore how automation, alignment, and intentional tools help businesses expand on these foundations and operate more efficiently. Stay Connected: Join the Developreneur...

In this Building Better Foundations episode, hosts Rob Broadhead and Michael Meloche continue their conversation with Greg Lind, founder of Buildly and OpenBuild. They explore how automating quality in software development changes the way teams build and test software. Greg explains that AI and automation can improve collaboration and prevent errors before they happen. As a result, teams can deliver code faster, maintain consistency, and build stronger foundations for long-term success. Greg's experience across startups and open-source projects has shown him one simple truth: quality can't be bolted on at the end—it must be built into the process from the start. "QA often gets left until the end. But it has to start from the developer." — Greg Lind About the Guest — Greg Lind Gregory Lind is an American software developer, author, and entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in open-source innovation, software efficiency, and team transparency. He's the founder of Buildly in Brooklyn and co-founder of Humanitec in Berlin, helping organizations modernize systems through collaboration and automation. A frequent speaker at Open Gov and Open Source conferences, Greg advocates for open, scalable solutions and smarter software processes. His upcoming book, "Radical Therapy for Software Teams" (Apress, 2024), explores how transparency and AI can transform how teams build software. Automating Quality Starts with Developers Greg explains that every developer should think like a QA engineer. Testing isn't something done after code is written—it's something built into how code is written. He stresses that developers should write unit tests early and often, focusing on verifying object-level functionality rather than simply checking UI forms or user flows. QA should then expand from there, building additional layers of testing as complexity grows. "I learned that I need to think like a QA person from the very beginning." — Greg Lind By shifting QA upstream, teams reduce rework, accelerate release cycles, and improve code confidence. Automating Quality in Software Development Across the Pipeline At Buildly, Greg and his team integrate testing automation into every stage of the development pipeline. Tools like Robot Framework and Selenium handle both front-end and API-level testing, while Git pre-commit hooks ensure tests are written before code even reaches the repository. "You have to make sure those tests have already been written. If there isn't a test, it pulls it back and says, 'make sure that you have your test in before you check it in.'" — Greg Lind This system ensures that developers can't skip testing—and that QA has visibility into every build. It's a workflow that blends accountability with automation, reinforcing a culture where quality is everyone's job. AI's Role in Continuous Improvement Greg sees AI as a critical ally in maintaining software quality at scale. Rather than replacing QA engineers, AI helps automate the tedious parts of the process—like generating basic test cases, reviewing commits, or spotting missing standards in pull requests. "I don't mean to put that out there as a replacement for QA in any way. Developers need to be in the process, and QA are developers as well." — Greg Lind AI's ability to analyze large volumes of commit history and testing data helps teams identify trends, recurring issues, and areas for improvement. This frees human testers to focus on strategic validation, exploratory testing, and creative problem-solving. Transparency, Collaboration, and Learning Another major theme Greg highlights is transparency. Buildly's AI-driven summaries and automated reports make quality metrics visible to everyone on the team—developers, product managers, and QA alike. "It's not about who wrote the bad test—it's a learning process. Every pull request is an...