PODCAST · business
Makers.dev
by Chris Achard and Christian Genco
Chris and Christian build some software businesses.
Episodes
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131 GXB Update
Christian started GXB with Ricky. We talk agents, Mac Studios, and whether you still need to hire engineers. 0:00 Intro 1:51 New AI models 3:56 GXB 10:08 Horizontal products 16:34 Scaling without hiring 26:33 Robots 36:32 Simulation 46:36 AI in daily life 56:26 The next decade Links 131 is…
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130 Job Search Update
Chris gets a new little toy. Christian gives a job search update. Then we talk about what Christian is really interested in right now: AI Agents and MCP. 0:00 Intro 3:11 Dust blowers 5:12 Allergy testing 10:55 Drawing SVGs with LLMs Kaggle competition 18:42 Christian's job path forward 26:30...
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129 Looking for a job
Chris finished his CS masters! Christian tries to figure out if he wants a "real" job, and what that might look like. 0:00 Intro 2:10 Chris finished his masters 4:50 Santa Kaggle competition 9:30 NVIDIA Blackwell 15:45 Smart vs dumb light bulbs 19:30 Christian had a rough month 21:20 How to…
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128 Catch up 2024: AI, Ruby on Rails, Bluesky, and Puppies
Chris got a puppy and is almost done with his masters. Christian switches back to Ruby on Rails, and tries to convince Chris to use more AI to write code. 0:00 Intro 1:24 Chris got a puppy 5:20 Why do people like pets? 11:59 Are AI coding assistants worth it? 42:07 How Chris' job is going 47:14...
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127 Baby!
Christian had a baby! and Chris is now a Kaggle Grandmaster.
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126 10x Developer
Muppets Treasure Island is the best movie ever. Chris just got back from Iceland and just re-started his masters classes. He's also considering getting a 3d printer (which Christian is definitely in favor of). Christian's experiments to find new customers aren't going great. Pricing is hard....
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125 LinkedIn Outreach
Christian continues to try to reach target customers for FileInbox. He's also still full steam ahead on the serverless transition before his baby gets here. Chris is prepping for a trip to Iceland.
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124 Outsourcing development and working with people
Christian tries to outsource some development tasks. Chris built a photo frame and is getting ready for a trip to Iceland.
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123 Setting aside SaaS for Consulting
Chris is prepping for a couple of photo trips. Christian is trying to figure out how to talk to his ideal FileInbox customer. He's also wondering how much consulting to do and what that means for his time working on his own SaaS.
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122 Ozymandias
Chris and Christian both went on vacation. Chris is getting back into Photography. Christian is creating user personas for FileInbox, and is getting more consulting gigs too. correction at 27:45 NVIDIA doesn't even manufacture their own GPU chips! They rely on 3rd party manufacturers too. 0:00…
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121 Advantages of Firebase
Chris is prepping for a trip to Iceland. Christian is trying to figure out exactly who is the target customer for fileinbox. Christian then tries to convince Chris that Firebase is the best platform on which to build a SaaS.
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120 Estimating how long features are going to take + All the baby gear
Christian has been looking at ALL THE BABY GEAR and has opinions. Also, he's working on the serverless transition for FileInbox and is struggling with estimating how long features will take.
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119 Losing 17 pounds + Craft and Commerce takeaways
Chris totally switches his diet and loses 17 pounds in 3 weeks. Christian went to Craft and Commerce and and takeaways for his business. He also figured out that his time estimates for FileInbox were way off.
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118 How to Plan and Get Things Done, and How to Focus
Chris finished the StableDiffusion Image competition, but realized he was seriously outmatched in GPU power. Christian has renewed energy for FileInbox after talking with Asia Orangio. We both walk through how to plan to get things done, and how to actually follow through on those plans.…
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117 How often should you update dependencies? Also, an update on "Dude, where's my Bitcoin?"
Christian wants to update Ruby and Rails, but has run into frustrating issues. Should he just... not upgrade? Chris gives up on the latest Kaggle competition, and is already eyeing another one. Also, Christian gets an update on the Bitcoin he lost.
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116 Trial to paid conversion rates and Christian's big annoucement
Christian has a big announcement! (@ 36 minutes). Chris is done with Linear Algebra, working on Kaggle, and thinking about what type of AI course to make. Christian discovers that FileInbox already has a lot of traffic, but his trial to paid conversion rate is too low.
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115 Demystifying the AI Genie + Identifying a SaaS Vision
Chris tries to figure out which AI course he should make first; i.e., what skills would give developers superpowers? Christian starts talking to Asia Orangio about FileInbox to see where it can improve. What is his backwards plan?
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114 Microconf '23 takeaways
(sorry about the weird jumpy video). We talk about Microconf and how we feel about the things we're doing as a result.
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113 Attaboy.ai gets interesting. Also: TALK TO YOUR USERS.
Attaboy.ai gets a bunch of users, and Christian is wondering how to charge for it. Chris tells Christian to talk to users of the video clipper in order to see what is valuable to them.
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112 We freak out about AI. Also attaboy.ai becomes a thing
Chris and Christian talk about using AI for therapy, and re-ignite attaboy.ai (which is now a thing! visit it and send it some texts). Also: AI coaches, the Pope in a puffer jacket, AI doctors, and how AI is coming for all of us. Also: a reminder to TALK TO CUSTOMERS!
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111 How ChatGPT actually works
Chris tries to explain how ChatGPT works. Christian tries to figure out the next steps for the video clipper.
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110 Detecting malicious links with Tim Leland
An update from Tim Leland (originally on episode 70) about his link shortener t.ly, and his journey creating a potentially new API for detecting malicious links. T.LY https://linkshieldapi.com/ Highlights: - How to launch a new API service - Doubling MRR in 6 months! - 5 ideas for how to use a...
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109 Social Media Marketing World
Christian just got back from Social Media Marketing World and has LOTS of ideas. Chris gets a new computer but it arrived broken :(
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108 What would it take to sell FileInbox?
Christian continues to build the video clipper with Remotion and is experimenting with using ChatGPT to create good clips. We also talk about what it would take for him to sell FileInbox. Chris is considering buying another GPU for Kaggle.
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107 AI Clip Suggestions
Chris starts a new Kaggle competition using stable diffusion. Christian makes progress on how to use AI to automatically suggest clips for the video clipper.
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106 $80 MRR
Christian launched thevideoclipper and got it to $80 MRR! Chris comes up with another justification for buying his gpu.
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105 "Just do it badly": Fear of Launching + Teaching to Learn
Christian is about to launch thevideoclipper.com, but is feeling "The Resistance". Chris is learning linear algebra for his master's, and is trying to learn it by creating a plan to teach it. We talk about just "doing it badly" for both: and adjusting as we go.
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104 Tech layoffs and how to learn AI
Google did a 12k layoff. Chris started a new master's class about advanced linear algebra. Christian was on vacation, and was wondering the best way to learn AI in order to keep up with all the recent advances. He also helped his wife launch https://gymnastcode.com/
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103 How to find consulting clients
Christian is trying to find a few consulting clients to make some extra money. He's also made progress on the video clipper, and signed a new $99/mo account for file inbox! Chris just started a new linear algebra class and finished the gravity waves kaggle competition.
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102 First revenue for the video clipper
Christian launches a new podcast! He also got a first customer for the video clipper! AND he's also thinking about making more course content, so we talk about how much money can be made with technical courses. Chris is almost done with the gravity wave Kaggle competition. Also: How long is the...
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101 How to backup all-the-things
Chris talks about how work at Google is different than a small project or company. He's also working on the gravity waves kaggle competition. Christian tries to figure out how to backup all of his projects and files, and how to promote the video clipper.
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100 Dude, where's my email list?
Chris is still getting used to his job at Google. Christian may have (or not?) lost his email list when a service went down.
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99 Dude, where's my crypto?
Christian has some bad news about crypto. Chris is still working on the gravity competition.
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98 The Video Clipper
Christian renames clips.marketing to thevideoclipper.com and is trying to figure out what he wants it to be. He also wonders if he should hire someone else to run fileinbox while he builds the video clipper. Chris is still working on the Kaggle gravity waves competition.
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97 MeetingPlace shuts down, Musk buys twitter, and crypto crashes
Chris found out that the person who bought MeetingPlace shut it down :/. Christian is evaluating whether or not he should go all in on clips.marketing, or what to do about it vs FileInbox.
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96 When customer conversations feel bad
Christian has a potential customer conversation for clips.marketing that didn't feel very great. Chris joins a kaggle competition about gravity waves.
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95 Consultancy vs Software as a Service
Chris has his first full week of Google, and also got his prize money from the Kaggle competition! Christian wonders if he should focus more on clips.marketing as a consultancy, or as a service, or just focus on FileInbox.
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94 Freemium features
Christian tries to figure out where his customers are coming from, and how to get more signups for FileInbox. He also is trying to figure out what freemium features are best for clips.marketing. Chris starts his first week at Google. (timestamps coming later)
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93 $157.126 per hour
Chris is prepping to start his new job. Christian got $157.126 per hour on his latest consulting project for Ali Abdall, and is now wondering if he should spend a lot more time on clips.marketing instead of FileInbox. 00:00 Intro 01:07 Prepping to start a job 07:51 Acornchat changes 13:20…
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92 Getting a job at Google
Chris gets a job! Christian talks about his latest marketing experiments, and wonders if he should start working on clips.marketing again. 00:00 Intro 01:28 Google Photos DevRel role 03:52 What about acornchat? 05:20 Compensation at FAANG companies 09:03 Salary negotiation 11:34 Hiring freeze…
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91 Unexpected Google ads results
Christian quickly bought a google ad for Chris (for acornchat), but there were some unexpected results that required a lot more tweaking. Christian is doing a consulting project and enjoying it, and is wondering how to get more projects like that one. 00:00 Intro 02:15 Dedicated marketing days...
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90 100% user growth and profitable
Chris gets another customer for acornchat, which is 100% user growth! Christian is thinking about marketing for FileInbox using SEO, youtube, a new feature, and more. 00:00 Intro 05:55 2nd Acorn Chat user 09:18 Buying Google ads seems hard 16:35 Winning $5k from Kaggle 21:54 Twitter…
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89 Winning $5000
Chris wins $5k from Kaggle! Christian fixes some bugs and picks up woodworking to fix his new organization troubles. 00:00 Intro 02:43 Winning $5000 in an AI competition 12:10 The hardest problem in the competition 24:41 AI master's class 32:15 AcornChat: why people switch 38:32 Motivation comes...
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88 10,000 Downloads + end-to-end testing
We've reached 10,000 downloads for makers.dev! (a while ago). Chris has started his next master's class and is working on AcornChat. Christian is doing end-to-end testing with Playwright, and is still trying to figure out how to get better metrics for FileInbox. 00:00 10,000 downloads 00:54 3...
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87 Christian comes to Indy
Christian came to Indy! Chris started his new ML class and is onboarding his first AcornChat customer. Christian tries to figure out a way to test dropbox file uploads. 00:00 Intro 01:28 Kaggle 4th place 04:04 AcornChat motivation 08:12 Case studies in machine learning 10:29 Christian's travels...
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86 First paying customer
Christian got married! Chris got his first paying customer for AcornChat. 00:00 Intro 01:24 First paying customer 07:32 Heroku is removing the free tier 10:43 Kaggle CTF competition 20:13 Taxes 24:36 Killing grass weeds 30:03 Next marketing thing for acornchat 39:48 💍🎉 Christian got married!...
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85 Is DALLE going to take over art? + Business taxes
Christian is in up state New York so he hasn't done much SaaS stuff this week - but he is preparing his business taxes. Yippee! Chris is recovering from being sick, so he's working on an AI security competition on Kaggle. 00:00 Intro 03:19 Kaggle DefCon AI security competition 15:07 DALLE prompts...
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84 What do you use for analytics?
Chris got covid; Christian is in upstate New York, and wonders about a new marketplace project. 00:00 Intro 05:09 AcornChat feature requests 12:41 Marketing for acornchat 15:23 What do you use for analytics? 21:20 Outreach strategies 29:59 GPS Gold Medal 32:57 AI driving to the woods 39:28 Weird...
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83 Christian loves TDD now
AcornChat has real users now! Christian loves how TDD makes his code bulletproof. 00:00 Intro 06:58 Kaggle GPS update 14:09 AcornChat real users 15:33 Reaching out to users is hard 19:00 Analytics 27:50 MarketingChangelog ? 30:32 FileInbox work time 33:55 New features for fileinbox 35:16 TDD…
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82 Face on a billboard
Chris had his name and face on a billboard. Christian is pushing forward FileInbox stuff, and is looking for the next marketing task. 00:00 Intro 01:40 Face on a billboard 10:10 How to evoke emotion 11:09 Marketing strategies work until they don't 14:38 AcornChat trials 21:17 DALL-E 2 25:21…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Chris and Christian build some software businesses.
HOSTED BY
Chris Achard and Christian Genco
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Makers.dev have?
Makers.dev currently has 131 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Makers.dev about?
Chris and Christian build some software businesses.
How often does Makers.dev release new episodes?
Makers.dev publishes regularly with 131 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Makers.dev?
You can listen to Makers.dev on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Makers.dev?
Makers.dev is created and hosted by Chris Achard and Christian Genco.
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