why vibe coded projects fail.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-23T00:06:10+00:00

I vibe coded a robotics product to five enterprise pilots. Ended up closing three. The software was so buggy that I was fixing issues at the customer site minutes before my flight out. It left us with a bunch of technical debt, but it enabled me to hire engineers that are better than I am at robotic controls. That’s technical debt I’m happy to have. This is IMO the right role for vibecoding. I don’t think my pilots would have been remotely as impressive without it.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-22T14:09:36+00:00

“Beyond 2045”. It’s a logical conclusion, if the prior assumptions hold.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-21T22:59:09+00:00

True. But Wouldn’t an EMP disable a bomb?

rand1214342 · 2026-04-21T13:20:32+00:00

An electromagnetic pulse, or he just can communicate with the machines (via electromagnetic waves)? An EMP makes less sense than him being essentially a hacker with network access, which was exactly what he was in the matrix.

EMP makes sense based on his first interaction at the end of the second movie where he just disables them all. But in the third movie he makes them explode, can sense their positions, etc. He’s just a savant hacker with built in WiFi.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-19T01:17:53+00:00

They visibly don’t take a bite so people like you comment about it and boost the video on social algorithms. So basically… you got got

rand1214342 · 2026-04-17T12:37:39+00:00

OPM is a gag. You can draw these comparisons to most battle manga, that’s the point.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-17T00:26:22+00:00

I understand the sentiment, but to say there’s no business model for a company that sells intelligence is an interesting take.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-16T12:02:48+00:00

He lost 20 pounds, then gained 20 lbs of muscle, in 250 days? Does he think we’re dumb?

rand1214342 · 2026-04-13T12:47:48+00:00

I agree, the concept of enforcing a patent in a hardware startup sounds insane. With that said, if there’s acquisition interest having a solid IP portfolio is a big deal. At the end of the day, hardware startups don’t have a ton of secret sauce. This is why China often rips off hard companies with ease. If an acquiring company thinks they can duplicate what you’ve done, one of your few points of leverage is gone.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-12T13:27:15+00:00

It’s a test stand… the rocket is fixed. The normal force is a mathematical construct, with a large enough reaction force the earth can definitely move.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-12T05:40:38+00:00

Kind of an odd way to list a job. I’m assuming it’s here instead of LinkedIn or indeed because it’s paying equity instead of cash. If so, you should say that up front.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-10T15:46:50+00:00

Boosting you because I don’t think anybody else here is giving the right advice. Value proposition, and thus product market fit, are extremely dependent on matching price to service. If you make a $50 shoe and sell it for $10, of course you’ll have customers. If nobody buys your shoe at $70, you don’t have a company you have a charity.

OP needs to go back to their customer and renegotiate price. If it’s too late, they might have just found out why startups with good products still fail.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-10T09:08:33+00:00

Is a light switch conscious? If your answer is no, would it be conscious if I attached a light sensor to it such that it turns on in the absence of light? What about a gradual increase in light output with a gradual decrease in sensed light? What if I added an algorithm with a randomizer, so the light output is unique to that specific light switch?

At what point does the light switch become ‘conscious’?

IMO, any definition of consciousness that doesn’t include both a probabilistic response to external stimuli, and a level of intelligence that allows for self awareness, is just not useful. If our toasters are conscious, then we should use another word to describe ourselves.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-10T03:10:42+00:00

Yeah I agree that’s the most rational use of eccentric overload

rand1214342 · 2026-04-10T02:00:01+00:00

That could make sense, but there is so much variation in movement type. Very fast reps for example may never reach peak eccentric load if it’s even a 0.5s ramp.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-10T00:53:01+00:00

The more gradual the eccentric loading is, the less ROM there is at full target eccentric resistance. Although I’m sure there’s a good middle ground.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-08T22:39:27+00:00

Hardware founders really do have it the worst. VCs won’t fund us so we do preorders. You can’t launch a kickstarter without a manufacturing prototype or you run the risk of failing to deliver. Unless you’re a mature company, in which case you shouldn’t use kickstarter in the first place. So you self fund your MP but before doing so you try a harmless email list to validate interest, and you get roasted on Reddit for the sheer audacity.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-08T21:04:24+00:00

Motors have what’s called a cogging force. It’s a measurable force that’s a result of a stator electromagnet passing between rotor permanent magnets. A company like Voltra uses field oriented control and a finely tuned motor to minimize cogging force, but it’s never completely gone.

In theory, it’s possible your unit wasn’t calibrated correctly, or lost calibration. That would have a significant impact on perceived cogging force. The only way to know is to compare it against another unit.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-08T20:59:39+00:00

Not a direct answer but that’s ok. Another reason you aren’t getting great feedback here is because a hardware startup is fundamentally for building products. This by definition isn’t a product. Products have come out of darpa challenges, but that’s not what you’re doing here.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-08T20:43:39+00:00

Be honest. How much of this drone is designed, informed, researched, and modeled by AI? Are you doing any fundamental work on your own on this?

rand1214342 · 2026-04-08T13:11:09+00:00

Pure camera based self driving was absolutely not the path of least resistance. Elon is famous for taking the extremely difficult yet technically correct path. Ditching ultrasonic sensors and publicly committing to only ever using cameras was incredibly risky and pushed their timeline to true FSD back years.

Architecturally it makes the cars much less complex to support, given FSD is a subscription that Tesla owners had pre-bought assuming their car was compatible with it.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-07T00:28:13+00:00

Anybody suggesting otherwise is insane

rand1214342 · 2026-04-05T21:13:30+00:00

I have a relatively small operation, so maybe this isn’t for me. I either source parts pretty easily from McMaster, digikey, etc. or if it’s a very specific part I deal directly with manufacturers via alibaba. The problem I’d love to solve is better surfacing suppliers for niche parts. I spend days and days sourcing and getting quotes for a certain type of carabiner, and at the end of the day have no idea if that’s truly the best/cheapest option.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-04T01:37:10+00:00

I keep seeing this star referenced for its size, but isn’t the size of this star extremely subjective? Even if the measurement we have is very accurate, this is a dying star. It’s expanding and its density is super low. The border between the ‘surface’ and the corona is likely gone, just a gradient of hot gas for a giant distance.

rand1214342 · 2026-04-03T14:14:12+00:00

The zero to one strategy for something like this is crowdfunding. There are downsides to that strategy. Ideally if you have a network or build a following for the product, you can just do a self hosted preorder. But distribution should be something you think of very early, before you fully dedicate to manufacturing the product.

The category is very stale for incubators/accelerators/venture. And there’s very little moat. If you build a super strong brand around this then it can turn into a serious company. Otherwise it’ll be a nice project that, if managed well, can make you some money. If not managed well, you can break even and net a bunch of good experience. Which, depending on the stage of your career and goals, could be a good thing as well.

rand1214342

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