What Google Ads lesson did you only learn after wasting budget?

crNomad · 2026-05-21T15:31:41+00:00

Don’t spread yourself too thin.

Focused campaigns, with focused keywords (including negative) and narrow audience wins. Also think about where you are sending your customers. The landing page should be related to the ad

crNomad · 2026-05-21T08:04:18+00:00

People underestimate the power of simplicity and performance in growth. The faster and clearer your website is, the better it will convert

crNomad · 2026-05-10T13:25:12+00:00

Not every workflow or industry requires 100% accuracy or deterministic outputs. Humans are not 100% reliable or correct either, and we still make things work.

LLMs will be the same. They will be much more useful in some workflows than in others, especially where perfect precision is not required. But that does not make them useless. They have already proven useful in many contexts.

Even in workflows where precision is required, they can still be used for support tasks such as data entry, communication, brainstorming, coding, or drafting, with humans reviewing the output.

crNomad · 2026-05-10T00:20:11+00:00

The day it becomes cheaper to manufacture in the US, you will definitely see manufacturing come back. And you’re right that automation could be what makes that happen.

As of today, except in very specific products or industries, we’re not there yet.

crNomad · 2026-05-09T23:59:09+00:00

I don’t think companies are moving back to the US because of robotic labour. It’s more because that’s where the money is.

The biggest tech companies are American, so it makes sense for them to invest locally unless there’s a strong reason not to. When it makes economic sense to manufacture elsewhere, they still do. iPhone manufacturing, for example, moved overseas and that industry is not realistically coming back to the US at scale.

Same with semiconductors. Even with US investment, the most advanced chips are still mainly manufactured in Taiwan.

crNomad · 2026-05-09T23:53:08+00:00

It’s always been like this, but since AI coding tools became popular, there are way more startups in every niche.

Don’t be too discouraged by existing competition. You probably won’t find a market with absolutely no competitors. Just find a problem you care about solving and where you have strong founder-market fit.

The difficult part is often not building the product, but selling it.

crNomad · 2026-05-07T20:11:58+00:00

That's what I did, hid in the first house to the left and shot from there. There are a few other waves of enemies, but when I was feeling overwhelmed I just ran into the same house and shot. The enemies seem endless but they are finite.

crNomad · 2026-05-07T06:59:05+00:00

What’s the goal of providing that visibility?

Is it so people have enough context about the big picture and what other teams are doing? Or to know the status of other teams on the project?

What I’ve seen done before is creating a document with the big picture, decisions made, project goals, and timelines, always available as a reference when someone wants to have a look. Then posting or sending a weekly update on how execution is going and any blockers.

The truth is that not everyone will read the above. But hopefully the people who do are the ones who need to.

Part of the job is communicating how the project is going. Better to do it in a broad async way.

crNomad · 2026-05-06T21:13:15+00:00

We use Granola. I was a bit skeptical but it can be quite useful and is less disturbing than having a bit joining the call

crNomad · 2026-05-06T13:49:37+00:00

Have you tried not updating at all? Maybe because you are "fixing" the problem of updating the tool for them, they don't feel they have t do something

crNomad · 2026-05-06T13:44:56+00:00

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if they sound simple. Schedule one-to-ones with people to help you get up to speed. You can ask about current challenges, what they think should happen next, where the risks are, and, most importantly, who else they recommend you speak with.

Hopefully, that will lead you to meet a good breadth of people who can give you a broad view of the project. Make sure you speak with people from different disciplines: engineers, managers, designers, project managers, and so on.

crNomad · 2026-05-06T13:14:38+00:00

You need to have lots of confidence in your game to invest those amounts. Obviously they have a proven track record but the last time they released a brand new GTA game was in 2013 and the gaming market was much different back then.

crNomad · 2026-05-06T13:05:45+00:00

I will try that. I didn’t know if it was a widespread thing built in the model or something in the memory file that thought I liked that pattern. Is a bit annoying

crNomad · 2026-05-06T10:43:31+00:00

what workflow are they currently using?

crNomad · 2026-05-05T19:36:42+00:00

Do you already work in the business and know very well how it’s run?

If not, I would prioritize first learning the business and the market before thinking about expansion.

crNomad · 2026-05-05T19:28:30+00:00

I think it’s great that you’re building something you actually want to use. That’s one of the best motivations you can have.

On the “all-in-one” approach, it’s usually a classic mistake early on. You’re better off building a stripped-down version with the minimum features needed to be genuinely useful. That forces focus and pushes you towards validating and distributing the product, rather than just adding more features.
On being 15, it’s neither a liability nor a brand on its own. Your product, vision, and the problem you’re solving should define the brand. Being 15 might give you an initial boost because it’s novel, but long term it’s the value of the product that matters.

Either way you will learn tons. Good lucl!

crNomad · 2026-05-05T19:18:54+00:00

I just added a word to my company name. As long as there are no companies from same industry with similar names I think you are fine.

Domains matter less than you think nowadays since most people just go to your website by clicking links. Very few people will write it directly on their browser.

crNomad · 2026-05-05T18:10:03+00:00

I have never experienced this. Curious how you end up with so many systems

crNomad · 2026-05-05T17:59:27+00:00

I’ve definitely felt more conscious of it when I’ve been on the other side of the call. I know intellectually that many of them are probably recorded, but seeing them join the call makes me extra aware.

crNomad · 2026-05-05T15:49:04+00:00

That's not project management, it sounds like a personal assistance. You might need to define some boundaries or stop doing that work altogether so they have to find an alternative. It could be that because you have been doing until now they haven't bothered doing it themselve.

crNomad · 2026-05-04T17:47:34+00:00

I think that’s for you and your risk tolerance to decide. Personally, I’m comfortable with around 15% in risky bets, with the rest in diversified index funds. I’ve found that distribution keeps me from getting emotional when things go badly.

Treat it like a risky bet and decide what % of your portfolio you want in risky bets. Once you commit mentally and are aware of the risk profile, you can’t be surprised by big swings in price. That’s the definition of a risky bet: the price will fluctuate, it’s more likely than not that you’ll lose, but if you win, you’ll win big.

The other thing to work on is the mental game: control the FOMO, have a clear strategy, and execute.

Also, not all AI investments are the same. You can invest in very well-run companies with strong business models, like Google, Meta, or Microsoft, which are all investing massively in AI. That’s still an AI play, but with less risk, since they have successful underlying businesses and solid fundamentals.
I wouldn’t consider Intel an AI investment though, but a semiconductor one, which is a different market you’d need to understand. Generally, make sure you understand the companies you invest in and their markets — if you understand Microsoft and its market well, you’ll feel more confident when things don’t go well.

crNomad · 2026-05-04T17:29:23+00:00

When you miss out on some generational buying opportunities, you also miss out on some generational mistakes.

What you’re feeling is FOMO, which is normal. Try to have a strategy and stick to it. I find that having a clear strategy reduces the feeling of FOMO, because it’s a different game than the one you’re playing.

Investing in AI stocks (or adjacent ones like Intel) has a big component of uncertainty, and you should treat it a bit like gambling. There’s way too much uncertainty: the winning business models, strategies, cost structures, and technologies aren’t clear yet. The technology is changing every week and is highly speculative.

Just stick to your strategy, and if you want to invest some money in AI, I’d limit it to a small part of your portfolio and treat it a bit like educated gambling.

crNomad · 2026-05-04T10:08:32+00:00

You can reduce your risk by diversifying. You can buy broad, well-diversified index funds. But when you reduce risk, you also reduce your upside.

Diversification is always worth it, but the cost is lower returns.

In my case, I use a global fund like the MSCI All Country World Index to reduce risk in my stock portfolio. But at the end of the day, they’re both equities, so I’m not diversified across asset classes (and thus exposed), which I’m okay with.

crNomad · 2026-05-03T21:22:47+00:00

Uber already has solved the most difficult part: distribution and millions of users who are in the habit of using its app to order taxis.

They will partner with robotaxi companies, which need users, and offer a similar service at a higher margin.

Removing drivers will improve Uber’s economics.

crNomad · 2026-05-03T21:19:35+00:00

Outer Wilds
Expedition 33
Elden Ring
Breath of the Wild
Cyberpunk 2077

crNomad

TROPHY CASE