Essays

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2026

After AI, There Is No Cheap Software Oct

The era of good enough software is over.
After AI, There Is No Average Oct

Nobody using AI remains merely average.
When the Models Get Better, Your TAM Should Go Up Aug

A distillation of conversations with founders contemplating an AI Native Services business.
Do Not Expect to Understand Jul

Fly to Mysuru. Bus to Kengeri. Walk in. Do not expect to understand.
AI Transformation Patterns: The Playground Apr

If you take current AI transformation advice at face value, the work looks done once the tools are bought.
Don’t Go AI Native Mar

New models ship every quarter and each one changes what’s possible.
There is no Product Feb

The question nobody’s asking is: is the economics of software as an asset dying?

2022

Hiring Product Managers Feb

Hiring a Product Manager seems to be the de facto solution to 99% of startup problems. But is it really?

2021

7 things I wish I knew when I first played Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Jul

Botw is probably the best game I’ve played in a decade, and I really enjoyed it.
Clarity, Computers & Startups Mar

At non-trivial scale, lack of clarity is a startup killer.

2020

How to set KRAs? #TwitterQuestions Sep
A better marketplace for talent Jul
Hiring programmers in India Jun

Basic segmentation is key
Principles of Product Development Flow Apr

Summary and Notes
Remote work after the pandemic Mar

There are two kinds of organisations in tech — for one, remote work is a strategy and a competitive advantage. For the other, remote work is constraint that is a competitive disadvantage.

2019

The Paradox of Personal Growth Nov

The mental models and personal biases that serve well at an early level hold you back at the next.
Good dog Oct

People, and being “good”
Superapp strategies Oct

Uber wants to be a superapp. What does that mean?
The Doublethink Handbook Oct

All the weird advice I come across that weirdly makes sense.
Google Scripts for Sheets starter kit Aug
On success Aug

I tend to frame the same thing in terms of options and their quality.
On being liked and respected Jul
Trading Happiness Jun

There’s a tipping point in your life where you realise you can’t keep everyone happy, and it’s time to decide who to stop keeping happy and why.
On long hours Jun
What is a ‘Super App’? Feb

Lessons in building an ecosystem — it’s always about thinking ahead for the long haul.
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few. Jan

— Shunryu Suzuki

2018

If we could see the whole truth of any situation, our only response would be one of compassion. Dec

— Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
The quieter you become, the more you can hear. Dec

— attributed to, among others, Rumi and Ram Dass
When my master and I were walking in the rain, he would say, “Do not walk so fast, the rain is everywhere.” Dec

— Shunryu Suzuki
Out beyond the world of ideas of wrong doing and right doing, there is a field. Dec

— Rumi
“The important thing,” Ursula K. Le Guin wrote… Nov

…on the task of the speculative fiction writer: “by offering an imagined but persuasive alternative reality, to dislodge my mind, and so the reader’s mind…”
Resumes killed the application developer Nov

Architectural boundaries decide Dev Roles. Or do they?
Sep 11, 1947 is my mum’s birthday. Sep

Exactly a decade ago, in September 2008, she was diagnosed with a grade 3 soft tissue sarcoma.
The conflict between right and wrong is a disease of the mind. Jul

— Seng-ts’an
Programmer’s discipline Jul

What we can learn from those who scale systems for a living
If it isn’t good, let it die. If it doesn’t die, make it good. Jun

— Ajahn Chah
We don’t care about Tech in India Jun

The market needs to respect programmers for what they’ve built
Self assessments in perf reviews Jun
The infinite observer Apr

Speculations on biases and confidence in decision making
Drama and Turbulence Jan

Two reasons product orgs slow down (of ∞)

2017

The point of story points Nov

Their practical uses and limitations
Why India will love electric motorcycles Oct
The genius+moron thinking tool Oct

Reducing personal bias in judging others’ ideas
Software is not the solution Sep

It’s the easiest thing in the world to treat building software as the answer.
The medium of expression matters Sep

Indian tech teams are ~10X bigger than their Valley counterparts. Why?
Modern Indian Careers Jun

Why IT Services is in decline and so many engineers hate their jobs
The Gojek Essential Reading List Apr

The ideas that shape how we think about building beautiful things.
Mapping with S2 in JRuby Apr

Indexing the surface of the earth with Google’s S2 library