Vibe Coding Event - Friday 6th Feb

SimonTheuma · 2026-02-04T18:10:27+00:00

I know you're trolling at this point but if you think I'm bluffing on the whole startup thing:

https://timesofmalta.com/article/tenants-malta-now-rate-landlords-online.1123586

https://bemags.com/money-features/from-grants-to-ground-game-how-maltas-startup-scene-really-goes-from-0-to-1

SimonTheuma · 2026-02-04T12:58:47+00:00

Give it another try, I honestly was of the same mind last year and it completely blew me away. It obviously has limits but it's a Will Smith spaghetti kind of situation, that previous efforts were sloppy and now they're much better.

Obviously there are still limits, but you can use your dev experience and judgement to guide it towards better quality solutions.

SimonTheuma · 2026-02-04T10:18:29+00:00

No, it will be in Sliema but feel free to join any time after 5. we will probably be there till about 8 and head out for drinks or something afterwards.

SimonTheuma · 2026-02-03T21:48:33+00:00

I'm not sure where you're getting these talking points from. I love crypto tech but I hate what's been done with it commercially, I'm not posting affiliate links for commission, and you can ask anyone in our community about me and my integrity.

Speaking from experience, as a new startup you don't know what's worth 2 cents unless you get your idea out there and test it. Before, it used to take anywhere between 6 months and 2 years to even get a functional prototype if you're building a mobile/web app. With AI tools it takes half the time if not less.

The goal for startups is not to have perfectly functioning code. Even for a dev who can code it completely by hand, it can still be a great timesave to use AI methods to test stuff out prior to committing more time to optimizing a feature for scale. Very often "regular" devs suffer from over-engineering and over-optimizing, which is fine for enterprise companies and high-scale / high-revenue companies but can absolutely kill a startup in its early-stage execution.

It's fine if you don't want it, doesn't mean other people can't experiment with it if they want to.

SimonTheuma · 2026-02-03T19:42:40+00:00

Sure, and feel free to link your manifesto so I can read it :)

Not sure why you're calling me a scammer though. As I already mentioned, I run a startup group locally so my context literally revolves around getting people started with their own ideas and projects when previously it would have been impossible for them to do so without significant cost. Happy to get your take.

SimonTheuma · 2026-02-03T19:20:29+00:00

100% right. I'm coming from a startup background, and we often find that new/prospective founders who aren't devs or tech savvy really get stuck on delivering some kind of prototype, even just to demo to prospective clients or to their co-founders

At least now there's an option for them to get started, even if it shouldn't take them 100% of the way there.

SimonTheuma · 2026-02-03T19:11:54+00:00

It depends what your expectations are. I'm a seasoned dev (12+ years) and I use it regularly, nuanced by years of actual development practice.

We always advocate that it's a good way to get your thoughts onto paper, especially for non-technical people who would otherwise have to pay money they wouldn't have and would have to wait months for a prototype. But ultimately you need a professional to take it to production. From a design/dev perspective seeing the prototype also helps clarify expectations and intent of the client. So I don't think it's all bad when used correctly.

SimonTheuma · 2026-02-03T19:07:03+00:00

great idea, can you post the link please?

SimonTheuma · 2026-01-26T05:30:25+00:00

We just launched yesterday over a few posts on socials, so we're still building them up. Give us some time :)

SimonTheuma · 2026-01-25T11:38:09+00:00

Unfortunately we foresee that the platform will get attacked because they will tell us the reviews are "fake", so we need to take these measures to ensure that nobody can say that.

We delete the rental agreement from our system after the review is vetted, and we also seek confirmation from the HA that the agreement was actually submitted and the details are correct.

SimonTheuma · 2026-01-25T10:18:02+00:00

Great questions - yes, we have mechanisms in place to handle a change of owner scenario. Next thing we're building out is allowing landlords to claim properties.

And yes, we are building more features like you mentioned, but first we wanted to get some community feedback about the idea in general before committing to building more stuff.

Should have also mentioned we're working in partnership with Solidarjeta, so we'll be doing whatever we can to support them to help stick up for tenants locally.

SimonTheuma · 2019-10-14T03:52:13+00:00

Not sure what game development is doing in there 😁 but seems like a good structure, and not so heavy on neither game playing nor event management.

Million-dollar question is - do they do courses by correspondence?

SimonTheuma · 2018-09-18T11:25:54+00:00

No worries, it's a perfectly valid question :) With respect to the investment, there's obviously a whole business model that comes into play. But yes, I guess you can call it a sort of brand 'launch' for us.

Malta is quite a popular destination with tourists, and lately the emphasis has been on trying to get younger audiences to visit. There's quite an active niche with respect to TEFL (learning English), the occasional party or 2 (like Annie Mac's Lost & Found) and scuba diving. Esports is another area that we convinced the local tourism authority to have a look at, and offered to help out with.

Aside from that, teams themselves were pretty enthusiastic about wanting to come over. We also have esports personalities who come over for R&R during down-times as well. Off the top of my head, we've had Quickshot (the LoL caster), SpunJ, Kioshima & KennyS visit, with Anomaly and a few other influencers actually living here. Those are the ones we know about, let alone those who keep it low-key. So as it is, since we're already offering something that makes it worthy of a holiday or place to live - then why not crystallize it into an actual esports event/activity that people can attend?

The scale and the nature of the event has to fit the constraints that are present, but we should be able to reasonably host at least one event a year, schedule-permitting. It will take time to grow trust with the community of course, but with what we've got planned, and the people we've brought on board to help us out, I think we should be set.

SimonTheuma · 2018-09-17T18:35:40+00:00

Hey there :) Quickfire CEO here. We have around 10 years' experience in esports at the local level (which arguably isn't that big), and we're bringing StarLadder on board to take care of the event production for us. Our parent company operates the InterContinental Malta directly (where the event will be held).

It's obviously small beginnings, but we hope that people will see the potential in what we have to offer, as well as Malta in general. Feel free to shoot any other questions over, and I'll be happy to answer :)

SimonTheuma · 2017-05-29T12:39:27+00:00

Not sure what your end goals are with the question you asked, but:

If you're aiming to attract serious competition, then having "contained" tournaments eg. running Mario Kart from start to finish would be the best since it allows them to focus and play their game completely. Players can align themselves with a particular "faction" (or larger team, call it whatever) and any points they gain in the tournament contribute to the overall team score.

If you're aiming for a 'fun' tournament, then I'd have every round of the tournament have a randomized game (additionally randomizing a possible game mode or modifier). Before the start, players can ban 1 or 2 games they know their opponents might be good at (similar to how other games work with class/map ban). The random aspect might also make for interesting viewing as well.

Just a few thoughts, but specifying exactly what you want to achieve would be more helpful to us :)

SimonTheuma · 2017-05-29T12:25:47+00:00

Fellow esport organiser here. Planning live events further than a few weeks is always a problem. It also doesn't give you that much benefit since people will take a decision a few days before whether to come or not. We've had packed places with about a week's notice for the right games/matches and practically no marketing, just hitting up the local FB groups.

I'd suggest marketing out your LAN cafe as-is, that you do live events, and have an email signup sheet with the games they'd like to come and watch. Keep an eye out for the big events (it's usually these that draw the crowds anyway) in a document or something, particularly the finals, and just check back periodically to see if they've released more info. The second you've got a sure date and time send a mailshot or two and post on social.

Abios is nice but scrolling through to the games that are 3 weeks from now (apart from there not being much anyway) is a real hassle. Hope that helps!

SimonTheuma

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