Writing

I write about tech, startups, and things that spark my curiosity. Join 20k subscribers and get the latest in your inbox:

Most Read

Why I’m excited about profit-sharing startups
January 5, 2024
The Problems in Remote Working
March 17, 2019
The Rise of “No Code”
January 27, 2019
How to come up with side project ideas
November 20, 2016
The 20-Minute MVP
January 1, 2014
Blogging is the New Resume
December 22, 2013
Don't Learn to Code
November 19, 2013
Do "Shitty" Work
November 5, 2013
Easter Egg Marketing: How Snapchat, Apple, and Google Hook You
September 18, 2013
Knowing When It's Time to Move On
August 8, 2013
Email-First Startups
February 25, 2013
Why you should build your product in public
April 21, 2014
Talking Community and Product Hunt at Startup Grind (video)
February 16, 2015
My Third Appearance on This Week in Startups
February 7, 2015
Giving Credit is the CEO’s Job
February 2, 2015
Product Hunt IRL
January 26, 2015
Join Product Hunt at the LAUNCH Festival
January 12, 2015
How to create and share badass music videos on Snapchat
December 27, 2014
“Employee” and other words that make me cringe
December 26, 2014
My Talk at the CMX Summit (video)
December 25, 2014
Introducing Product Hunt Collections
December 11, 2014
Bits of Delight
November 23, 2014
From CMX Summit: The Building Blocks of Community
November 20, 2014
This Week in Startups Roundtable (with two Ryan’s)
October 17, 2014
Dumb Apps
October 11, 2014
Making Product Hunt
October 8, 2014
3 Pieces of Advice for YC Applicants
September 27, 2014
Startup Side Projects
September 27, 2014
“Should I apply to YC?”
September 21, 2014
Motivation
August 24, 2014
Surreal
August 22, 2014
Planting Seeds
August 21, 2014
The Product Hunt Community Scares Me, In a Good Way
July 28, 2014
The TapTalk Meta Game, #tapwhere
July 20, 2014
YC + PH
July 17, 2014
Crossing this off my bucket list: Get on This Week in Startups
July 4, 2014
Well that was a first…
June 24, 2014
OH
June 11, 2014
It feels like the wheels are about to fall off
May 21, 2014
First Impressions of Snapchat Chat
May 4, 2014
First Impressions of Snapchat Chat
May 3, 2014
The Building Blocks of Community: The Story of Product Hunt (Presenting at #EETN)
May 2, 2014
Compete with Kindness
April 27, 2014
Why you should build your product in public
April 21, 2014
Understanding People
April 20, 2014
My Favorite Product Hunt Finds: February 2014
April 19, 2014
Product Hunt Live Founder AMA Recap
April 14, 2014
Can technology make the world more empathetic?
April 2, 2014
Emailed Receipts: A Missed Opportunity
March 26, 2014
60 Second Thank You
March 18, 2014
There's No Right Way to Start Up
March 11, 2014
Stop It, Guys
March 2, 2014
The Building Blocks of Community
February 24, 2014
"Why do you cross-post your essays?"
February 21, 2014
Startup Storytelling
February 15, 2014
Five Hard Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Starting Up
February 11, 2014
Secret's Super Smart Push Notifications
February 10, 2014
You'd be Surprised What Really Motivates Users
February 9, 2014
Secret and the Need for Anonymity
February 2, 2014
Nostalgia: A Product Designer's Secret Weapon
January 27, 2014
Hanging out with Justin Jackson
January 23, 2014
14 Startup Postmortems
January 22, 2014
Small Rant on Invitation Etiquette
January 22, 2014
Why I Never Change My Profile Pic
January 15, 2014
How We Got Our First 2,000 Users Doing Things That Don't Scale
January 8, 2014
Mashup Products
January 6, 2014
The 20-Minute MVP
January 1, 2014
What is your biggest accomplishment and mistake of 2013?
December 30, 2013
"Hooked" Book is Now Available
December 27, 2013
15 Most Popular Essays in 2013
December 26, 2013
Is The New Snapchat Brilliant Or Totally Boneheaded?
December 24, 2013
Blogging is the New Resume
December 22, 2013
Hunting for Habits: Keying in on smart design to make a product irresistible
December 19, 2013
Product Hunt Began as an Email List
December 10, 2013
My New Project: Product Hunt
December 6, 2013
Not Normal
December 2, 2013
Startup Lessons Growing from 10 to 100
November 26, 2013
A Frightening Future
November 23, 2013
Grow Your Email List with this Simple Twitter Hack
November 21, 2013
Don't Learn to Code
November 19, 2013
Do Small Stuff
November 19, 2013
A Fireside Chat with Nir Eyal (via cartoons!)
November 18, 2013
Native Messaging
November 18, 2013
Growth Hacking Word of Mouth
November 13, 2013
Blogging vs. Building
November 12, 2013
Announcing Product Hunt
November 6, 2013
Do "Shitty" Work
November 5, 2013
Want to Feel Badass? A Design Teardown of Music App Mindie.
November 4, 2013
Is Your Product Too Engaging?
October 30, 2013
I Never Sync My Jawbone Up
October 23, 2013
Impostor Syndrome
October 17, 2013
Turning a Hobby Into a Career
October 13, 2013
Dangerous Advice
October 8, 2013
Frontback: The Gift and Curse of Selfies
October 7, 2013
Why Distraction Apps Matter
September 30, 2013
Purpose
September 24, 2013
Give Up (for now)
September 24, 2013
The Dribbblization of Blogging
September 23, 2013
Easter Egg Marketing: How Snapchat, Apple, and Google Hook You
September 18, 2013
Stop Reinventing the Wheel
September 15, 2013
Entrepreneurial Advice in Rap Music (Part 2)
September 14, 2013
Learning = Earning
September 10, 2013
Entrepreneurial Advice in Rap Music (Part 1)
September 5, 2013
Write Together
August 30, 2013
Laid to paid: how Tinder set fire to online dating
August 29, 2013
Got a Startup Idea? Ask These Questions First
August 27, 2013
10-Year-Old Entrepreneur
August 24, 2013
Blog-First Startups
August 21, 2013
My Interview on Reality Makers
August 16, 2013
Honest Writing
August 16, 2013
I need a haircut
August 13, 2013
Knowing When It's Time to Move On
August 8, 2013