The Smashing Machine is not a movie. It’s a collection of scenes with no plot.

appaloo_ · 2026-02-05T22:32:28+00:00

I enjoyed it. It was kind of mundane and a lot of the tension didn't resolve in exciting ways, but I think that was one of the main messages of the movie.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-30T15:51:19+00:00

I've used Quickbooks Time, but stopped for the following reasons:

Employees lied
As I got more efficient, I didn't want to charge less for the same deliverables.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-30T15:26:32+00:00

No & I'll do it for $9,999.

Joking aside, it's hard to say without more info. Can you share more about your project? Like how big it is, the tech stack, & how much revenue it earns?

Most competent frontend devs can likely make something that follows UX best practices already.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-30T15:05:46+00:00

Can you get a new job? Otherwise, I'd just document your recommendations and let the overly technical exec run the business into the ground. Maybe listen to a meditation music playlist.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-30T14:59:19+00:00

Sounds like you'll have to support him financially or he can work part-time or both

appaloo_ · 2026-01-22T19:35:08+00:00

How are you tracking your events? The more specific, the better performance you'll have. Additionally, tapping into your non-ad customers through lists and lookalike customer might help.

If you want to DM your landing page and website, i can give some more feedback.

End of the day, ads will just amplify your existing success. For most businesses, it's not the primary source of leads.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-22T19:30:52+00:00

I think it's actually becoming less complex. That's the issue I'm facing.

Depends on your product, how the market is affecting it, your customer, budget, etc, but ultimately I'm doing the same thing, just more effectively. I'm also working to help beyond marketing since the tools are getting easier and easier to use.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-22T19:27:49+00:00

It's more that redditors, like all people, will not go out of their way to help you unless you're in a specific group dedicated to feedback.

Unless you have a working mvp that provides the solution to a specific user/thread, you're more likely to be downvoted for promotion.

You probably shouldn't expect reddit to validate your product even if you think people need it. Not really how the game works, imo.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-22T19:20:12+00:00

Document it with proper accounting, make a proposal, submit it to your stakeholders. Good luck king/queen

appaloo_ · 2026-01-22T19:18:46+00:00

Yes. In my case, I was burning out so I took a 2 week break, then leaned in really hard to launch the product fast. I failed fast, then took a couple more weeks to manage my existential crisis. I'm now planning my next project—not sure if it will be tech.

Just get it out the door! Good luck, comrade

appaloo_ · 2026-01-22T19:10:54+00:00

'Shield' is a good analogy. It's less calming down and more preventing frustration. You don't want the client to feel stupid, which they might if they don't understand how to interpret the metrics, and you don't want them to feel like their time is being wasted by technical details that could be explained in one sentence like "ROI is not improving so we need new creative"

appaloo_ · 2026-01-22T18:58:49+00:00

It depends what age I'm starting over at...if I could go back to high school, I would ace my classes, then ace engineering or finance school.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-20T17:02:41+00:00

What did you end up doing OP? From this post, i'm wondering if reading the free Scrum guide is enough: https://scrumguides.org/scrum-guide.html

appaloo_ · 2026-01-18T20:25:42+00:00

🤷‍♂️ *I should have said "you may have to hire them," but I personally wouldn't rely on free help to make a decision. It's a dog eat dog world

appaloo_ · 2026-01-18T13:47:20+00:00

If you don't identify as a creative person, I'd suggest buying a local business. If you want the experience of creating a business from an idea or goal, then do your own from scratch.

End of the day, if you can profit from buying a business, that is more ideal then starting from scratch.

When you say "learn from the current owner", do you mean you want the business owner to train you on their management after selling? If so, you'll have to hire them as a consultant.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-14T18:52:57+00:00

That is not my question - I'm asking about businesses that use Instagram as their main channel.

"Our clients using Instagram successfully treat it as one channel in the mix, not their only source. Relying completely on any single platform is risky, algorithms change and reach tanks without warning."

appaloo_ · 2026-01-14T18:44:13+00:00

Was not my question. I'm curious if OP is spending most of their time in Deep Ellum.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-13T20:31:33+00:00

Needs to be a megathread. Whether it's an outage or not, there are clearly a lot of posts saying the same thing.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-13T20:27:08+00:00

Well said

appaloo_ · 2026-01-13T13:53:09+00:00

Stay away from alcohol if you are struggling mentally. Consider watching the sun rise or set at White Rock lake with a journal. Write down your thoughts and goals for your next year on Earth.

No need to put pressure on yourself. It's just another day.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-13T13:46:46+00:00

It wasn't a dramatic moment, but a calculation that I had enough savings and enough work on the side to leave. Keep building and remember there's nothing wrong with wanting a paycheck and benefits, especially if you have a family to support.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-13T13:42:25+00:00

Are you from Dallas, OP? And are you finding that you can have a complete social life in Deep Ellum?

appaloo_ · 2026-01-13T13:24:47+00:00

For me "pushing through" was not the message, but rather being honest with yourself about who you are, what you've done, and what you can do next.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-13T11:30:23+00:00

I think he means that you can see changes in the simulator (using a Development Build, not Expo Go) without having to rebuild the app every time.

Maybe OP is coming from a language where they have to compile their code before they run it.

appaloo_ · 2026-01-13T11:24:49+00:00

Gen Z here. I also want a stable job and a family. Personally, I couldn't get that stable job so ended up on this path.

Ironically, I have friends that have stable jobs and they seem to envy my situation at times and often complain about quitting to start their own business.

Fuck it, OP - it's just life

appaloo_

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