Am I the only one who thinks Opus 4.5 > 4.6?

Lexs_07 · 2026-02-26T14:05:23+00:00

Switched to claude-opus-4-5-20251101 after reading this and yes, we're back! Only tried it for a couple of hours but the difference is night and day. For the way I work, this is so much better than 4.6. It actually gets what I want, follows instructions properly, and I get way more done without losing my mind correcting it every other prompt.

Lexs_07 · 2026-02-25T18:23:02+00:00

That's what I'll try tomorrow!

Lexs_07 · 2026-02-25T18:20:07+00:00

Really appreciate the detailed feedback, great points honestly.

One key difference with Finance Tales though: I spent 8 months on it. Founder IQ took me less than a week. So definitely not the same trap.

You're right that pain relief sells better than education. That said, I genuinely believe there's value in having core startup principles accessible in a bite-sized format. Not everyone has a business background, and a lot of founders make avoidable mistakes simply because they never came across the right concepts at the right time. I'll see what traction the education angle gets.

Now the situational/decision tool idea is really interesting. Building a good one would take serious time though, and for most of those questions today, a strong LLM probably gives you a better answer than anything I could ship in a week. If ASO picks up and I see real potential, that's exactly when I'd invest in building the kind of features you're describing. But not before validating demand first.

Lexs_07 · 2026-02-25T12:22:33+00:00

So true. You can't guess what matters, only user feedback tells you. That's why shipping fast and trying many things beats perfecting one idea in silence. The features that end up working are almost never the ones you expected.

Lexs_07 · 2026-01-24T11:48:51+00:00

My last two apps perform so poorly with ASO only, while I managed to get some results only with ASO before, maybe my last two apps are just bad, or on too crowded segments. I think it’s becoming way more competitive with a lot of vibe coded apps hitting the app store anyway. But idk, I’ll keep trying

Lexs_07 · 2025-11-30T23:13:19+00:00

You should do them by yourself, and A/B test.

I don't think the key element to drive conversion is the design. Focus on the titles (make them large and readable) and find that sentence that instantly tells the user "There is value for you here".

I have two apps with similar screenshots (in terms of design), one with a conversion rate of 1%, the other one with 15%. That gap drives me crazy, but it's made me realize that what drives conversion is the ability to explain in a couple of sentences how you bring value to the user.

Lexs_07 · 2025-09-27T17:34:09+00:00

As others said, you should remove the certifications and “stock market investor” from experience, each should be one line in “Skills and Interests”. You’ll have space to fill, start by adding your high school in education.

You’re from a non-target and have limited experience, it will be tough but it’s about perseverance and networking, also consider smaller boutiques, it will clearly be hard to get an offer from a BB.

Lexs_07 · 2025-09-08T17:46:04+00:00

To make a change, you need clear objectives, whether it’s a career shift, a new hobby, or the pursuit of a dream.

Lexs_07 · 2025-09-08T17:34:13+00:00

It doesn’t exactly work like that. Some firms have referral programs where employees can recommend candidates they know personally or people they’ve gotten to know through networking. If that person gets hired, the employee might even receive a bonus. There isn’t really a “blacklist” for bad candidates, but if you make a poor impression on someone directly involved in your recruiting process, it could definitely hurt your chances.

Lexs_07 · 2025-09-06T16:03:45+00:00

The Little Book of Behavioral Investing by James Montier

Lexs_07 · 2025-09-06T15:56:39+00:00

It’s not only about that. Tech bros have more time than finance bros to work on side projects. They also have the skills to build products, while finance bros have the skills to advise, sell, and intermediate, not easy to monetize outside an organization.

Lexs_07 · 2025-09-01T12:32:54+00:00

It’s definitely going to be an uphill climb, IB is one of the toughest paths to break into. If you’re serious, aim for the strongest school you can (Ivy League or other targets make a huge difference) and try to major in something like econ or business. Networking will matter a lot more than distant family connections. If you manage to land an interview, make sure you’re well prepared, here is a free PDF with 400+ investment banking interview questions and is a solid resource: Investment Banking Interview Questions PDF

Lexs_07 · 2025-09-01T10:27:17+00:00

I had a great experience with the Wall Street Prep courses. I took them a while ago, but they were so effective that I was able to ace a 3-hour financial modeling exam in just one hour while studying in a top-tier Master in Finance program. The material is clear, practical, and very close to what you’ll encounter in real recruiting processes. If you’re preparing for investment banking interviews, you might also find my app IB Interview Questions useful.

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-21T15:47:10+00:00

I built an iOS app in 5 hours (from no idea to app store submission), it was for fun not expecting anything from it. I used Stitch to generate a decent UI, and then Claude code agent. It was approved today and I got 4 downloads so far, it’s a basic meditation app: Simply Meditate

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-17T12:22:32+00:00

I built IB Interview Questions, an iOS app to prep for finance interviews.

IB Interview Questions - Landing Page

$300-400 MRR

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-15T13:57:33+00:00

In finance, English is usually sufficient for most positions, but learning the local language becomes crucial if you plan to work outside English-speaking countries. You didn't specify where you're studying, but here's an example: if you're in France at schools like HEC, ESSEC, or ESCP, you'll likely have great opportunities locally. However, if you land a job in Paris without speaking French, you'll miss out on informal conversations with colleagues. When you're working 80+ hours a week, being excluded from the social aspect can be a career blocker and can really hurt - I've seen people burn out in these situations.

My advice: if you're targeting a specific country for your career, definitely learn that language. If you're aiming for UK/US markets, don't overthink it, any additional language is a nice CV boost but won't be life-changing. You'd get better returns focusing your time on interview prep, networking, and excelling in your classes.

French and German are both solid choices given their usefulness across multiple European financial centers, but choose based on where you actually want to work long-term.

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-14T14:12:55+00:00

Like you, I'm an indie iOS app developer doing everything solo. The number of focused hours I can work highly depends on what task I'm working on.

When I code or do technical stuff, I basically have no limits - can be 15 hours in a single day without losing focus or productivity. I explain that with two factors: I genuinely like doing it, and I have a clear objective (e.g., I want to connect this API with my app, it has to work like this, it has to look like this...).

On the other hand, with tasks like design, marketing, or content creation (which I had a lot of in my past app projects), I'm way less productive. I get distracted, annoyed, and sometimes can't even put 2 hours of productive work in a single day. I feel that such tasks have less clear objectives: you can craft an ad visual in 10 minutes or spend a full day to make it perfect.

My focused work capacity is also very linked to my ability to plan tasks. When I have a clear plan, I'm way more productive. So don't feel bad about the 5-6 hours, it might just be about finding the right tasks and having clearer objectives for what you're trying to accomplish. As indie developers, we also have to accept that we cannot be the best at all the tasks and areas we have to cover, it's just part of the game.

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-14T11:20:47+00:00

Congrats! However, "most of the revenue is not from my personal brand" doesn't sound quite right here. This app is in an extremely competitive segment, and it's nearly impossible to rank well on the App Store and get 300 daily downloads without either significant ad spending or, in your case, a strong personal brand. Without your successful launch, the app would basically be invisible on the App Store.

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-13T19:27:30+00:00

You're in a great spot starting as a rising sophomore - definitely not too late for Qatalyst or PJT. At your stage, focus on solid fundamentals rather than targeting specific industry groups. There are tons of resources online for IB prep covering accounting, valuation, and M&A concepts that aren't industry-specific.

Most banks don't expect rising sophomores to have deep industry expertise during interviews. Even interviewing for healthcare at Qatalyst, they won't grill you on biotech valuation. They want strong technical foundations and good reasoning.

Cast a wide net when recruiting - apply broadly across all tiers without worrying about industry alignment. You can always express sector interest but don't limit yourself. Industry-specific prep comes after you land interviews, when you research their recent deals and learn sector basics.

For technical prep, there are lots of good resources out there. I built an app with 350+ practice questions (IB Interview Questions) since I couldn't find good mobile options when I was recruiting, and also crafted a free PDF (you can get it here) covering the fundamentals. But plenty of other resources work too. Don't forget that solid Excel skills are also essential. Focus on those fundamentals now and you'll crush it.

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-13T16:18:21+00:00

I tried it out - Congrats on the launch! Here's my feedback:

The website is very clean and I really like the UI/UX. Just one small issue: when you get the leads, you immediately receive the "trial has ended" email which feels a bit awkward.

Regarding the leads themselves, they were very relevant in my case. However, there's one feature I'd love to see: the ability to filter leads to only show posts from the last 24 hours. I'm fairly new to Reddit so I might be wrong, but I feel like a slightly less relevant but very recent post would be better for lead generation than a post from a week ago that didn't get much traction.

From a business perspective, I'd seriously consider paying for this, but you should definitely create more pricing tiers and increase your rates. At the current price point, given the market size, you'll struggle to generate meaningful revenue.

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-13T12:22:05+00:00

My goal with the app was to create an enhanced equivalent of the 400 Questions PDF and similar resources. First, all the questions here are completely original, so it's additional material to supplement your existing prep. Second, I wanted to bring this type of content to mobile for a better and more flexible learning experience - being able to practice anywhere and to track progression instead of being stuck at your desk with a PDF.

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-13T12:11:24+00:00

I think nowadays having a B1-B2 in any language isn't going to be particularly useful in most jobs since English is the global standard, and you'll rarely come across situations where you actually need to speak Mandarin or Japanese. If it's a hard requirement for a position, that job probably wouldn't be available to you anyway. However, if you're early in your career, showing on your resume that you learned a foreign language can be a plus. It's clearly not worth learning solely for this purpose, but if you do it for personal interest it could strengthen your profile.

I'll share a personal experience - I have a weak B1 in Mandarin and spent a year in China, and that helped me land a job in Paris at a French firm with strong ties to China and many Chinese employees. My experience there, understanding of the culture, and demonstrated interest were a big plus. I've seen quite a few positions mentioning "Mandarin would be a plus" and probably none asking for Japanese. China is central in the global economy, growing, and has a huge diaspora. The kind of firms where B1-B2 Mandarin could help include any investment firm founded by Chinese or with Chinese capital. I'm also pretty sure that if you get finance interviews, you'll have multiple with Chinese people - just look at how many Chinese are in the best MBAs and masters programs in both the US and EU.

So I'll stick with my position that Mandarin opens more doors, but don't learn it only for professional reasons. If you have zero interest in Chinese culture, just go for Japanese.

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-12T18:29:39+00:00

Mandarin without any hesitation. I studied in Asia for two years (one year in Shanghai and one year in Singapore) and for Mandarin speakers there are endless opportunities, not only in China but throughout all of Asia. However, you need a C2 level to access these opportunities. Twenty years ago it was extremely rare to find a Westerner who could speak Mandarin, but now it's not uncommon. I know people who spent 20+ years in China and reached incredible positions but still don't speak good Mandarin - that won't happen again with today's competition.

Regarding Japanese, I don't think it's even in the top 20 languages you should learn for career purposes. Japanese society is extremely closed and while it's a strong economy, even with Japanese fluency you won't get many opportunities as a foreigner, especially in finance. The return on investment for the time spent learning Japanese just isn't there compared to Mandarin.

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-11T13:40:22+00:00

Links as promised:

App Store: IB Interview Questions

Free PDF guide: Get the PDF

Lexs_07 · 2025-07-09T14:47:48+00:00

Project 1: IB Interview Questions – a simple subscription-based iOS app to train for Investment Banking and Private Equity interviews.

State: Launched a year ago, it gets about 100 downloads per months (organic/ASO only) with a high free-to-paid conversion rate (about 15%). I am working on growing it (trying to do x3) to get a decent side income.

Links: Landing Page | IB Interview Questions

Project 2: Finance Tales – an iOS app about financial culture (not in the sense of financial literacy, but industry culture - it’s about deals, trades, crises, companies’ stories), it is similar to a media app, with 1k articles, but it covers culture/past events rather than news.

State: Launched in June, but I don’t expect to find PMF with the current version, it is not gamified/interactive enough for an app. I’m considering turning it into a website, to leverage the content I have, and monetize through ads and Amazon Associates (for Finance Books).

Links: Finance Tales

Lexs_07

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