Cater2.me

cater2me

Based on this story: Trackin: Solo Founding a +$167,000/Month Food Startup The way to success is a thorny one. While a lot of fresh entrepreneurs are eager to show what they’ve got, only a few make it to the top. Today, Bruno Didier is the CEO at MobyDish. Before this, Bruno worked as a lead engineer at Cater2.me and has served as a product manager at Jobyra. He holds a master's of science degree in computer engineering, management, informatique from SUPINFO. Bruno Didier has 3 current jobs including CEO at MobyDish, CTO at Jobyra, and CEO & Founder at Trackin. MobyDish is an online platform that provides catering and event services. And Trackin is an online delivery solution to help restaurants easily manage their food delivery. He has been doing sales, design, tech, UX, management, marketing, and enjoy learning new things. Mr.Didier is the best at talking to customers and solving problems through technology and automation. He has been in the food space since 2012 and entrepreneur since he was  20. Since then he has rapidly built the MVP, acquired $25,000 from the 3 best French entrepreneurs, and started with different marketing campaigns. But it wasn’t always like that. He had to set out on the road towards the full realization, and it was strewn with obstacles. So here are the valuable lessons he’s learned on his rocky way. His main idea emerged when he used to work for another catering company. So the main problem was that it was impossible to track the food once the driver left the restaurant. And it wasn’t relevant only for this place, it was a worldwide problem. Also, there was no technology whatsoever to streamline deliveries. This is how he embarked on this lifelong project. At the outset of his journey, he needed to find money to hire some people. Fortunately, he won some French national contests, got money from the government, loans, banks, and other European awards. But in the end, it turns out that all these contests are a waste of time, although this can become a financial tool to get your project going. But it won’t help you to win your customers over and make love your project. So this is tip number one. The next tip is to know your audience and to choose the right pricing model. Thus, Bruno’s team wanted to create the product for chains, but they had to work with small businesses. Obviously, they developed features based on their feedback, but they were missing it. So he built a solid business for small businesses and remained in this niche. As for the pricing model, at first, they charged per driver tracked on the platform but then decided to charge per deliveries as it made more sense. As for his secret to growth, it is quite basic, yet essential. Joining strategies and doing it the right way by focusing on subtleties and knowing what you do is key. Fast progress means combining many channels, then paying attention to the ones that work for your business. It is essential to locate your target audience and the keywords they’re searching for when they have the issues you’re trying to solve. Direct sales is another cornerstone that can undermine your business unless done wisely. Try automating SDR, Follow up and Sales pitch. And last but not least, is to choose your team wisely and know when it’s time to say goodbye. The worst mistakes Bruno Didier has made were hiring ones. Don’t keep people for too long in the team when you know they aren’t performing. Of course, it’s impossible to learn all this just by reading books. In the end, your emotions take over and you forget something. Go with our gut, make some mistakes, and don’t give up. Read the whole story here: Trackin: Solo Founding a +$167,000/Month Food Startup Read more yummy stories: Created by Tatsiana Isakova What's Inside Junk Food? How Come Junk Food is Still An Epidemic? Machine Learning Food Datasets Collection Meal Planning Introduction Digital Transformation of Restaurant Industry Will Amazon Go Grocery Improve Our Shopping? How Italy Fighting with Food Waste How Walmart is Growing Food Subscription Business Food Tech Stories: Yummy Trends in 2020 Credits Photo by on Héctor Martínez Unsplash Photo by on Photo by on Kelly Sikkema Unsplash Patrick Tomasso Unsplash Photo by on Katarzyna Pracuch Unsplash Photo by on Joshua Ness Unsplash Photo by on Tobias Tullius Unsplash Photo by on LinkedIn Sales Navigator Unsplash Photo by on Anton Unsplash

Food Tech Stories: How To Fail Food Delivery Startup

HONG KONG, NOVEMBER 21 – Cryptology, a well-renowned cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017, is rebranding as Tothemoon, marking a bold new chapter in its history. Initially focused on serving corporate and institutional clients, this rebrand aligns with an ambitious vision to expand its offerings and become a key player for retail users while remaining an all-in-one solution for crypto needs. As part of its rebranding, Tothemoon introduces a bold new visual identity, an upgraded website, a revamped mobile application, and its inspiring new slogan: “Make Crypto Extraterrestrial.” The new identity adopts a vibrant, space-inspired color palette, symbolizing ambition and limitless possibilities, paired with a sleek, minimalistic design that ensures simplicity and accessibility. The slogan reflects Tothemoon’s mission to push boundaries and redefine digital finance, evolving into a user-centric, community-driven platform. In addition to its new name, Tothemoon’s platform will now be accessible at its new domain: <https://tothemoon.com/](https://tothemoon.com/). To ensure a seamless transition, users visiting the old Cryptology website will be automatically redirected to the new Tothemoon site, providing uninterrupted access to the platform’s full suite of services. Since its establishment in 2017, the platform has primarily focused on serving corporate clients with reliable and secure services tailored to institutional needs. Now, with this rebranding, Tothemoon is taking an inclusive approach to expand its reach to retail users, empowering individuals to explore, trade, and grow their assets seamlessly in the digital finance world. In the next phase of its strategic roadmap, Tothemoon will roll out new features and product enhancements to empower users and bridge the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). By focusing on inclusivity, innovation, and a connected community, Tothemoon is transforming into a platform that sets new standards for the crypto industry—making digital finance more accessible, secure, and practical for all. “Rebranding as Tothemoon aligns with our mission to build a multiservice crypto ecosystem accessible to everyone, allowing users to trade, stake, learn, and grow their assets on one unified platform. Following the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency, we aim to remain at the forefront of the industry and envision a future where digital finance seamlessly integrates into everyday life.This rebranding is the logical next step toward that goal,” said Nick Poz, Chief Product Officer at Tothemoon. Tothemoon helps users make their first steps into the world of crypto. With over 300 supported tokens, multiple staking options, and its crypto debit card, Tothemoon is creating a platform where users of all levels can participate confidently. The platform pledges to uphold the highest standards of protection while actively implementing security enhancements to safeguard its users and their assets. About Tothemoon Tothemoon, formerly Cryptology, is a global crypto platform on a mission to make digital finance accessible, secure, and intuitive for everyone. Established in 2017, the platform initially catered to corporate and institutional clients before expanding its vision to include retail users. Serving a community across 160+ countries and supporting more than 300 cryptocurrencies, Tothemoon offers a complete ecosystem that empowers users to trade, invest, and grow in the crypto space—all in one place. With a commitment to cutting-edge security and an ever-evolving suite of tools, Tothemoon is redefining what’s possible in digital finance, helping users worldwide reach beyond the ordinary. For more information, visit the Tothemoon platform at <https://tothemoon.com/](https://tothemoon.com/) and explore a new world of crypto possibilities. Contact Information Company name: Tothemoon For media inquiries, please contact: Gorjan Kolev Email: g.kolev@tothemoon.com Telegram | X | LinkedIn | Discord This story was distributed as a release by Btcwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here HONG KONG, NOVEMBER 21 – Cryptology, a well-renowned cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2017, is rebranding as Tothemoon , marking a bold new chapter in its history. Initially focused on serving corporate and institutional clients, this rebrand aligns with an ambitious vision to expand its offerings and become a key player for retail users while remaining an all-in-one solution for crypto needs. Tothemoon Tothemoon As part of its rebranding, Tothemoon introduces a bold new visual identity, an upgraded website, a revamped mobile application, and its inspiring new slogan: “Make Crypto Extraterrestrial.” The new identity adopts a vibrant, space-inspired color palette, symbolizing ambition and limitless possibilities, paired with a sleek, minimalistic design that ensures simplicity and accessibility. The slogan reflects Tothemoon’s mission to push boundaries and redefine digital finance, evolving into a user-centric, community-driven platform. In addition to its new name, Tothemoon’s platform will now be accessible at its new domain: <https://tothemoon.com/](https://tothemoon.com/) . To ensure a seamless transition, users visiting the old Cryptology website will be automatically redirected to the new Tothemoon site, providing uninterrupted access to the platform’s full suite of services. <https://tothemoon.com/](https://tothemoon.com/) Since its establishment in 2017, the platform has primarily focused on serving corporate clients with reliable and secure services tailored to institutional needs. Now, with this rebranding, Tothemoon is taking an inclusive approach to expand its reach to retail users, empowering individuals to explore, trade, and grow their assets seamlessly in the digital finance world. In the next phase of its strategic roadmap, Tothemoon will roll out new features and product enhancements to empower users and bridge the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). By focusing on inclusivity, innovation, and a connected community, Tothemoon is transforming into a platform that sets new standards for the crypto industry—making digital finance more accessible, secure, and practical for all. “Rebranding as Tothemoon aligns with our mission to build a multiservice crypto ecosystem accessible to everyone, allowing users to trade, stake, learn, and grow their assets on one unified platform. Following the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency, we aim to remain at the forefront of the industry and envision a future where digital finance seamlessly integrates into everyday life.This rebranding is the logical next step toward that goal,” said Nick Poz, Chief Product Officer at Tothemoon. “Rebranding as Tothemoon aligns with our mission to build a multiservice crypto ecosystem accessible to everyone, allowing users to trade, stake, learn, and grow their assets on one unified platform. Following the fast-paced world of cryptocurrency, we aim to remain at the forefront of the industry and envision a future where digital finance seamlessly integrates into everyday life.This rebranding is the logical next step toward that goal,” said Nick Poz, Chief Product Officer at Tothemoon. Tothemoon helps users make their first steps into the world of crypto. With over 300 supported tokens, multiple staking options, and its crypto debit card, Tothemoon is creating a platform where users of all levels can participate confidently. The platform pledges to uphold the highest standards of protection while actively implementing security enhancements to safeguard its users and their assets. About Tothemoon Tothemoon, formerly Cryptology, is a global crypto platform on a mission to make digital finance accessible, secure, and intuitive for everyone. Established in 2017, the platform initially catered to corporate and institutional clients before expanding its vision to include retail users. Serving a community across 160+ countries and supporting more than 300 cryptocurrencies, Tothemoon offers a complete ecosystem that empowers users to trade, invest, and grow in the crypto space—all in one place. With a commitment to cutting-edge security and an ever-evolving suite of tools, Tothemoon is redefining what’s possible in digital finance, helping users worldwide reach beyond the ordinary. For more information, visit the Tothemoon platform at <https://tothemoon.com/](https://tothemoon.com/) and explore a new world of crypto possibilities. <https://tothemoon.com/](https://tothemoon.com/) Contact Information Company name: Tothemoon For media inquiries, please contact: Gorjan Kolev Email: g.kolev@tothemoon.com Telegram | X | LinkedIn | Discord Telegram Telegram X X LinkedIn LinkedIn Discord Discord This story was distributed as a release by Btcwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here This story was distributed as a release by Btcwire under HackerNoon’s Business Blogging Program. Learn more about the program here here here

Cryptology Rebrands As "Tothemoon," Pioneering The Next Era Of Crypto Innovation

Cryptology cambia su nombre a "Tothemoon" y marca el comienzo de la próxima era de la innovación en criptomonedas

क्रिप्टोलॉजी ने अपना नाम बदलकर "टोथेमून" कर लिया है, जो क्रिप्टो इनोवेशन के अगले युग की शुरुआत है

Cryptology cambia nome in "Tothemoon", aprendo la strada alla prossima era dell'innovazione crittografica

Cryptology が「Tothemoon」としてブランド名を変更し、暗号イノベーションの次の時代を切り開く

Cryptology가 "Tothemoon"으로 리브랜딩, 암호화폐 혁신의 다음 시대를 개척

Kriptologi Menjenamakan Semula Sebagai "Tothemoon," Merintis Era Inovasi Kripto Seterusnya

Cryptologie verandert van naam in "Tothemoon", baanbrekend voor het volgende tijdperk van crypto-innovatie

Cryptology Rebrands Se "Tothemoon," Kupayona Iyo Inotevera Nguva YeCrypto Innovation

கிரிப்டாலஜி "டோத்மூன்" என்று மறுபெயரிடுகிறது, கிரிப்டோ கண்டுபிடிப்புகளின் அடுத்த சகாப்தத்திற்கு முன்னோடியாக உள்ளது

Криптологія ребрендингується як «Tothemoon», піонер наступної ери криптоінновацій

Kriptologiya "Tothemoon" nomini oldi, bu kripto innovatsiyalarining keyingi davriga kashshof bo'ldi

I-Cryptology Rebrands Njenge "Tothemoon," Ivula Inkathi Elandelayo Ye-Crypto Innovation

In Vietnam, Porn Is Better Served and More Accessible Than Starbucks

Back in August 2024, I launched NextLevelJobs.eu, a job board focused on connecting developers with top-tier tech roles across the EU. My goal was to aggregate high-paying job openings from companies offering the kind of compensation that top talent seeks. Unlike other job boards, which often focus on quantity, I wanted to focus exclusively on quality — targeting roles in the upper salary brackets, the "Tier 2/3" positions in the trimodal tech career model. The Vision Behind NextLevelJobs.eu After years of working as a software engineer, I noticed how fragmented the job search process could be, especially for developers looking for well-compensated positions. Many job boards lacked the specificity I was looking for — high-paying, Europe-based tech roles. That’s where NextLevelJobs.eu came in: an automated job board that surfaces the best tech roles for top talent. The Tech Behind NextLevelJobs.eu I wanted the platform to be robust and efficient from day one, so I made key decisions about the tech stack to enable that vision. Web Scraping with Golang I built the backend in Golang. Why? It’s perfect for scraping webpages efficiently, especially given its strong support for concurrency. Golang allowed me to write scrapers that could handle multiple requests at once, making the process of collecting job listings much faster and more scalable. I used Chromedp, a Go library for controlling headless Chrome. This helped with scraping dynamic content from more complex websites that required JavaScript rendering to access job postings. It was a great way to learn a new language while solving real-world problems efficiently. Remix.run for the Front End For the front end, I chose Remix.run. Remix is fantastic for creating fast, SEO-friendly web applications. One of the biggest advantages is that I can disable JavaScript on landing pages and still maintain full functionality, resulting in lightning-fast load times and a perfect score of 100 on Lighthouse for performance, accessibility, and SEO. This has been crucial for improving the site’s organic visibility and user experience. Landing My First 10 Customers With the tech stack in place, the next challenge was to find the first paying customers. Here’s how I did it: Leveraging Influencers: I reached out to an influencer in the tech space who shared NextLevelJobs.eu with their audience. This brought in a wave of early signups, and from that, I got my first paying customers.
Iterating Based on Feedback: I stayed in close contact with these early users, gathering feedback on the job listings and site features. Their input was invaluable in making improvements that catered directly to their needs, such as optimizing search functions and improving the freshness of job listings.
SEO and Content Strategy: I also put a lot of effort into SEO from day one. By creating targeted landing pages for specific job titles and industries, I started getting organic traffic quickly. Those niche searches converted into paying users sooner than I expected.
Affordable Pricing: I kept the subscription pricing affordable — starting at €19 per month. This made it easier for job seekers to commit to the platform without hesitation. Why NextLevelJobs.eu Stands Out It comes down to focus. Instead of trying to list every tech job available, NextLevelJobs.eu curates only the best, high-paying positions in Europe. For developers looking to move up in their careers, this makes it easier to find the roles that matter most without wading through irrelevant listings. Final Thoughts Reaching the milestone of my first 10 customers was a big achievement, but this is only the beginning. The combination of tech and curation has allowed me to build something unique in the crowded job board space. If you're a developer looking to take the next step in your career, check out NextLevelJobs.eu — you might find your next big opportunity. Back in August 2024, I launched NextLevelJobs.eu , a job board focused on connecting developers with top-tier tech roles across the EU. My goal was to aggregate high-paying job openings from companies offering the kind of compensation that top talent seeks. Unlike other job boards, which often focus on quantity, I wanted to focus exclusively on quality — targeting roles in the upper salary brackets, the "Tier 2/3" positions in the trimodal tech career model . NextLevelJobs.eu trimodal tech career model The Vision Behind NextLevelJobs.eu After years of working as a software engineer, I noticed how fragmented the job search process could be, especially for developers looking for well-compensated positions. Many job boards lacked the specificity I was looking for — high-paying, Europe-based tech roles . That’s where NextLevelJobs.eu came in: an automated job board that surfaces the best tech roles for top talent. high-paying, Europe-based tech roles The Tech Behind NextLevelJobs.eu I wanted the platform to be robust and efficient from day one, so I made key decisions about the tech stack to enable that vision. Web Scraping with Golang Web Scraping with Golang I built the backend in Golang . Why? It’s perfect for scraping webpages efficiently, especially given its strong support for concurrency. Golang allowed me to write scrapers that could handle multiple requests at once, making the process of collecting job listings much faster and more scalable. Golang I used Chromedp , a Go library for controlling headless Chrome. This helped with scraping dynamic content from more complex websites that required JavaScript rendering to access job postings. It was a great way to learn a new language while solving real-world problems efficiently. Chromedp Remix.run for the Front End Remix.run for the Front End For the front end, I chose Remix.run . Remix is fantastic for creating fast, SEO-friendly web applications. One of the biggest advantages is that I can disable JavaScript on landing pages and still maintain full functionality, resulting in lightning-fast load times and a perfect score of 100 on Lighthouse for performance, accessibility, and SEO. This has been crucial for improving the site’s organic visibility and user experience. Remix.run perfect score of 100 on Lighthouse Landing My First 10 Customers With the tech stack in place, the next challenge was to find the first paying customers. Here’s how I did it: Leveraging Influencers: I reached out to an influencer in the tech space who shared NextLevelJobs.eu with their audience. This brought in a wave of early signups, and from that, I got my first paying customers. Iterating Based on Feedback: I stayed in close contact with these early users, gathering feedback on the job listings and site features. Their input was invaluable in making improvements that catered directly to their needs, such as optimizing search functions and improving the freshness of job listings. SEO and Content Strategy: I also put a lot of effort into SEO from day one. By creating targeted landing pages for specific job titles and industries, I started getting organic traffic quickly. Those niche searches converted into paying users sooner than I expected. Affordable Pricing: I kept the subscription pricing affordable — starting at €19 per month. This made it easier for job seekers to commit to the platform without hesitation. Leveraging Influencers: I reached out to an influencer in the tech space who shared NextLevelJobs.eu with their audience. This brought in a wave of early signups, and from that, I got my first paying customers. Leveraging Influencers: Iterating Based on Feedback: I stayed in close contact with these early users, gathering feedback on the job listings and site features. Their input was invaluable in making improvements that catered directly to their needs, such as optimizing search functions and improving the freshness of job listings. Iterating Based on Feedback: SEO and Content Strategy: I also put a lot of effort into SEO from day one. By creating targeted landing pages for specific job titles and industries, I started getting organic traffic quickly. Those niche searches converted into paying users sooner than I expected. SEO and Content Strategy: Affordable Pricing: I kept the subscription pricing affordable — starting at €19 per month. This made it easier for job seekers to commit to the platform without hesitation. Affordable Pricing: Why NextLevelJobs.eu Stands Out It comes down to focus. Instead of trying to list every tech job available, NextLevelJobs.eu curates only the best, high-paying positions in Europe. For developers looking to move up in their careers, this makes it easier to find the roles that matter most without wading through irrelevant listings. NextLevelJobs.eu Final Thoughts Reaching the milestone of my first 10 customers was a big achievement, but this is only the beginning. The combination of tech and curation has allowed me to build something unique in the crowded job board space. If you're a developer looking to take the next step in your career, check out NextLevelJobs.eu — you might find your next big opportunity. NextLevelJobs.eu NextLevelJobs.eu

How I Got My First 10 Customers for NextLevelJobs.eu (And the Tech Behind It)

How Ethereum Layer 2 Solutions Have Evolved: From Rollups to zkEVM

How To Actually Benefit From An Accelerator As A Digital Tech Startup

একটি ডিজিটাল টেক স্টার্টআপ হিসাবে একটি অ্যাক্সিলারেটর থেকে প্রকৃতপক্ষে কীভাবে উপকৃত হবেন৷

Kako zapravo imati koristi od akceleratora kao pokretača digitalne tehnologije

Cómo sacar partido de una aceleradora como startup de tecnología digital

چگونه از یک شتاب دهنده به عنوان یک استارتاپ فناوری دیجیتال واقعاً بهره مند شویم

Como beneficiarse realmente dun acelerador como startup de tecnoloxía dixital

Kako zapravo izvući korist od akceleratora kao digitalnog tehnološkog startupa

Ki jan yo aktyèlman benefisye de yon akseleratè kòm yon demaraj teknoloji dijital

デジタル技術スタートアップとしてアクセラレーターから実際に利益を得る方法

Maitiro Ekunyatso Batsirwa Kubva kune Anomhanyisa SeDigital Tech Kutanga

Hur man faktiskt drar nytta av en accelerator som en digital teknisk startup

Чӣ тавр воқеан аз акселератор ҳамчун оғози технологияи рақамӣ манфиат гирифтан мумкин аст

Ndlela Yo Vuyeriwa Hakunene Eka Accelerator Tanihi Digital Tech Startup

The Top WinForms UI Controls

শীর্ষ WinForms UI নিয়ন্ত্রণ

Die wichtigsten WinForms-UI-Steuerelemente

Los mejores controles de interfaz de usuario de WinForms

Les meilleurs contrôles de l'interface utilisateur WinForms

शीर्ष WinForms UI नियंत्रण

トップ WinForms UI コントロール

최고의 WinForms UI 컨트롤

Os principais controles de interface do usuário do WinForms

Лучшие элементы управления пользовательского интерфейса WinForms

En İyi WinForms UI Kontrolleri

Các điều khiển UI hàng đầu của WinForms

顶级 WinForms UI 控件

Picture this: you're a startup founder (or CTO) with a vision of a product burning bright in your mind. You're ready to conquer your dreams, armed with nothing but your idea and a laptop. Well, hopefully with some VC money too. You hire your early engineers and embark on your entrepreneurial journey. Soon though, you and your engineering team are faced with a daunting dilemma: how do you best bring your vision to life? When building out your product, you’ll need some foundational software that you can either build from scratch in-house or simply pay for an existing off-the-shelf solution and simply integrate it with your product. Having navigated this terrain myself at Frec, I've grappled with the nuances and complexities inherent in both approaches. With building, you have the freedom to mold your product according to your exact specifications, crafting a minimal solution tailored to your unique needs. But let's not sugarcoat it: building software is no walk in the park. It requires grit, determination, and a healthy dose of caffeine. We often underestimate the effort required to build something. I’ve seen countless posts on HackerNews claiming apps like Twitter, Uber, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc. are simply a CRUD app, and they can build it over a weekend. It’s typical for many engineers to underestimate the time and effort to build something. Yet, amidst the uncertainty, there's a sense of exhilaration when building something from scratch, I call it an engineer’s itch. And sometimes, it actually takes a day or two to build out the solution that you need. On the other hand, buying software off the shelf is like ordering takeout - it's quick, convenient, and satisfies your immediate cravings. With off-the-shelf solutions, you can hit the ground running, skipping the uncertain development process and diving straight into implementation. But understand that there is no free lunch, convenience comes at a cost. Quite often, paid solutions are catered to a wide variety of use cases, and you might only care about a very small feature of the product. Yet, you have to pay for the entire package. Now that you have already paid for the package, you try to force-fit your other use cases into that solution. It's like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole—sometimes it works, but often, it leaves you scratching your head in frustration. And finally, let’s not downplay the impact of vendor lock-in. Startups risk being shackled to a one-size-fits-all solution that stifles innovation and differentiation. It’s quite evident that the decision to build or buy software solutions is the same as something you can use for any question: It depends. It’s not one-size-fits-all. It hinges on a myriad of factors, including budget constraints, time sensitivity, and strategic objectives. Here is the framework we’ve used at Frec that has worked well for us. Find a balance between simplicity and speed, with simplicity taking priority.
Cost is generally not a factor in most cases.
Adding new infra overhead should be avoided as much as possible (aka simplicity).
Be realistic, and don’t over-complicate a solution trying to solve for Google scale. Let’s look at some real-life examples to see the above framework in action. Telemetry is mission-critical for any SaaS startup. It’s easy to fall into the trap and try to use OSS software like Prometheus and statsD to build something in-house. This would typically require you to self-host a service where this data can be published and viewed. And then you’d try to build monitoring over it. This is called Application Performance Management (APM) and is a solved problem by many vendors. We decided to go ahead with Datadog since it was so easy to integrate with them using a client they provided and a free account (speed + simplicity). We could integrate with the Slack + notification system to manage on-call alerts. Their agent setup on AWS took minimal config changes (no infra overhead) so the decision to purchase battle-tested software for something as critical as monitoring was a no-brainer. With the integration, we got access to metrics to all our AWS infra, along with browser sessions on the front end. Let’s consider another use case where we decided to build an in-house solution. Many SaaS startups require some kind of job framework to run periodic jobs. These jobs could have some cadence (daily, weekly, monthly) or might have dependency graphs (Run job C, only if jobs A and B are done). Once again, there are a lot of solutions that provide this as a self-hosted solution or as a cloud solution (e.g. temporal). Based on the above framework, we decided to simply build this out since it took a couple of PostGres tables and an AWS lambda call to manage the entire framework. We were already using AWS lambda and PostGres as our primary database, so it didn’t add any new infra. The solution has worked well for all our use cases, and we were even able to customize some specific use cases like stateful jobs running with a lag. Whether forging ahead with a DIY approach or embracing off-the-shelf solutions, the journey of startups is defined by the ability to make decisions that make sense based on the company’s unique circumstances and the resilience to adapt in the face of uncertainty. Picture this: you're a startup founder (or CTO) with a vision of a product burning bright in your mind. You're ready to conquer your dreams, armed with nothing but your idea and a laptop. Well, hopefully with some VC money too. You hire your early engineers and embark on your entrepreneurial journey. Soon though, you and your engineering team are faced with a daunting dilemma: how do you best bring your vision to life? Picture this: you're a startup founder (or CTO) with a vision of a product burning bright in your mind. You're ready to conquer your dreams, armed with nothing but your idea and a laptop. Well, hopefully with some VC money too. You hire your early engineers and embark on your entrepreneurial journey. Soon though, you and your engineering team are faced with a daunting dilemma: how do you best bring your vision to life? When building out your product, you’ll need some foundational software that you can either build from scratch in-house or simply pay for an existing off-the-shelf solution and simply integrate it with your product. Having navigated this terrain myself at Frec, I've grappled with the nuances and complexities inherent in both approaches. When building out your product, you’ll need some foundational software that you can either build from scratch in-house or simply pay for an existing off-the-shelf solution and simply integrate it with your product. Having navigated this terrain myself at Frec, I've grappled with the nuances and complexities inherent in both approaches. With building, you have the freedom to mold your product according to your exact specifications, crafting a minimal solution tailored to your unique needs. But let's not sugarcoat it: building software is no walk in the park. It requires grit, determination, and a healthy dose of caffeine. We often underestimate the effort required to build something. I’ve seen countless posts on HackerNews claiming apps like Twitter, Uber, Snapchat, Pinterest, etc. are simply a CRUD app, and they can build it over a weekend. It’s typical for many engineers to underestimate the time and effort to build something. Yet, amidst the uncertainty, there's a sense of exhilaration when building something from scratch, I call it an engineer’s itch. And sometimes, it actually takes a day or two to build out the solution that you need. On the other hand, buying software off the shelf is like ordering takeout - it's quick, convenient, and satisfies your immediate cravings. With off-the-shelf solutions, you can hit the ground running, skipping the uncertain development process and diving straight into implementation. But understand that there is no free lunch, convenience comes at a cost. Quite often, paid solutions are catered to a wide variety of use cases, and you might only care about a very small feature of the product. Yet, you have to pay for the entire package. Now that you have already paid for the package, you try to force-fit your other use cases into that solution. It's like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole—sometimes it works, but often, it leaves you scratching your head in frustration. And finally, let’s not downplay the impact of vendor lock-in. Startups risk being shackled to a one-size-fits-all solution that stifles innovation and differentiation. It’s quite evident that the decision to build or buy software solutions is the same as something you can use for any question: It depends. It’s not one-size-fits-all. It hinges on a myriad of factors, including budget constraints, time sensitivity, and strategic objectives. Here is the framework we’ve used at Frec that has worked well for us. Find a balance between simplicity and speed, with simplicity taking priority. Cost is generally not a factor in most cases. Adding new infra overhead should be avoided as much as possible (aka simplicity). Be realistic, and don’t over-complicate a solution trying to solve for Google scale. Find a balance between simplicity and speed, with simplicity taking priority. Cost is generally not a factor in most cases. Adding new infra overhead should be avoided as much as possible (aka simplicity). Be realistic, and don’t over-complicate a solution trying to solve for Google scale. Let’s look at some real-life examples to see the above framework in action. Telemetry is mission-critical for any SaaS startup. It’s easy to fall into the trap and try to use OSS software like Prometheus and statsD to build something in-house. This would typically require you to self-host a service where this data can be published and viewed. And then you’d try to build monitoring over it. This is called Application Performance Management (APM) and is a solved problem by many vendors. We decided to go ahead with Datadog since it was so easy to integrate with them using a client they provided and a free account (speed + simplicity). We could integrate with the Slack + notification system to manage on-call alerts. Their agent setup on AWS took minimal config changes (no infra overhead) so the decision to purchase battle-tested software for something as critical as monitoring was a no-brainer. With the integration, we got access to metrics to all our AWS infra, along with browser sessions on the front end. Let’s consider another use case where we decided to build an in-house solution. Many SaaS startups require some kind of job framework to run periodic jobs. These jobs could have some cadence (daily, weekly, monthly) or might have dependency graphs (Run job C, only if jobs A and B are done). Once again, there are a lot of solutions that provide this as a self-hosted solution or as a cloud solution (e.g. temporal). Based on the above framework, we decided to simply build this out since it took a couple of PostGres tables and an AWS lambda call to manage the entire framework. We were already using AWS lambda and PostGres as our primary database, so it didn’t add any new infra. The solution has worked well for all our use cases, and we were even able to customize some specific use cases like stateful jobs running with a lag. Whether forging ahead with a DIY approach or embracing off-the-shelf solutions, the journey of startups is defined by the ability to make decisions that make sense based on the company’s unique circumstances and the resilience to adapt in the face of uncertainty.

Startups Dilemma: Build vs Buy

I lived in San Francisco from 2013 to 2021. When I first got there, like many others, I was super excited to visit the Google campuses, eat some free catered lunches, and try out their bathrooms! My first time at one of the campuses, I remember gorging on the free snacks and visiting the spotless bathrooms. It felt cool. I felt cool. Google felt cool. A couple of years later, I remember meeting someone who worked at Google at a hacker party. He proudly introduced himself as “Jake who works at Google,” like Google employees get to, and we started chatting. As we continued to chat, I realized I was very bored with the conversation, and he felt very different from the genius hipster you went to college with who could drink a case of beer and still rock a final the next day. He felt...corporate. Just a one-off. Then, while working at Galvanize, I was able to work with Google for Startups/Entrepreneurs on a Google Mentor program. I got two mentors appointed to me, and they helped in many facets of my company—marketing, how to grow it faster, and how to make it more profitable. They were great—and cool. Ah, I was worried for a second! Through them, I was invited to some other events at Google, and through the Google for Startups program, I got to attend 1-day workshops at Google. But something weird happened during these workshops. When I went to sign in for the workshop, things didn’t feel as cool at the Google campus as on my previous visits. All of the small talk was very surface-level, and no one felt real. We then sat through a presentation of slides on how we could make our websites perform better. The people talking lacked any real emotion or any tactical advice—you could tell they were just good with people and did not know how to help a startup. And then, when we got into breakout groups, everyone felt like Jake. As I looked around, it hit me all at once—Google is not cool anymore, and further than that—it’s super corporate. After this was on my radar, I found that all of my friends who used to work at Google had left, as did my mentors. My one last friend to work there left after 2 months because it felt “too PC,” which to be fair, he is very not PC. But to translate for him, maybe it felt too corporate. Anyone that I met who worked at Google after that seemed to have this “I work at the city” feeling of not really knowing what they are talking about and not really caring. I then realized that Google was dying. It wasn’t going to happen instantly, but slowly. Flash forward to now. I use ChatGPT for 50% of my searches and am thoroughly not impressed with Google’s AI recommendations. I believe it’s only a matter of time before Google becomes the secondary search engine. From ChatGPT “As of mid-2024, OpenAI's ChatGPT is seeing a substantial amount of activity, with around 1.8 billion website visits in April 2024 and about 100 million active users. This marks a significant increase from previous months, showcasing the growing popularity and utility of the platform​ (ToolTester)​​ (Mailbutler)​. In comparison, Google Search remains a dominant force on the internet. While specific numbers for 2024 aren't readily available, it is known that Google processes around 8.5 billion searches per day globally. This dwarfs the search volume on ChatGPT, emphasizing Google's continued prevalence as the primary search engine for most users.” So, while we are nowhere close to ChatGPT taking over anytime soon. I do believe this is slowly happening and give Google about 2.5 years before being the second largest website used for searches. So, what does this mean for Google if this is true? They need to be cool again, learn how to recruit all of the people that now proudly put on their LinkedIn profiles “x-Google,” and improve their AI.  What did they decide to do instead? Hello advertiser, We are reaching out to provide you with an important update to your account(s): the billing options for your Google Ads account(s) are changing. Your account(s) have specific payment options and will only be allowed to use bank-based payment methods, which does not include credit or debit cards. Accepted forms of payment include check or wire transfer via the Monthly Invoicing billing method (recommended), or via Direct Debit for those choosing to remain on the Automatic Payments billing method (if available in your region). Because you currently pay via a form of payment no longer accepted, the payment method on your Google Ads account listed below will need to change: Account Name: Noson Customer ID: XXX-XXX-XXXX You will need to complete this billing change by July 31, 2024 or your Ads account will be subject to suspension. There are no exceptions to this requirement for impacted advertisers. All impacted advertisers will be similarly notified throughout the coming months. Next steps The Monthly Invoicing billing method is best suited for your account(s) given the flexibility it provides high-growth customers (e.g. access to a credit line, monthly invoices with 30 days to pay, greater control over spend, more reliable). We recommend your account(s) transition to monthly invoicing to comply with this change. Please note, you are receiving this email as the administrator of this account; however, if this account is linked to a manager account (MCC), the switch to invoicing will need to be completed by the MCC administrator. Our records indicate that you already have a credit line established with Google or that we are able to create one for you given your existing billing information, which makes this transition seamless. The designated billing contact will be sent a Master Service Agreement (MSA) for the credit line during the first week of July, if you have not accepted this agreement already. After that agreement is accepted, you will receive instructions detailing how to switch your account to invoicing. No need to take any action until that point. Your specific Google Sales team is aware that you are impacted by this change and is prepared to help you navigate the transition. You can also reach out to Google's billing specialist team here for questions about monthly invoicing. We thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation. Thank you, The Google Ads Team Google is now going to high-touch customers like us (who spend around $1m in advertising annually) and telling us we can no longer use Credit Cards as a payment method for Google Ads. Not cool. This is a significant amount of income and points generated for our company.. and my family damn it lol.. We will start to phase out using Google for advertising and use Bing and Social Media as our main channels-- I’ll give Google a chance to rectify this, but I don’t anticipate any changes. I lived in San Francisco from 2013 to 2021. When I first got there, like many others, I was super excited to visit the Google campuses, eat some free catered lunches, and try out their bathrooms! My first time at one of the campuses, I remember gorging on the free snacks and visiting the spotless bathrooms. It felt cool. I felt cool. Google felt cool. A couple of years later, I remember meeting someone who worked at Google at a hacker party. He proudly introduced himself as “Jake who works at Google,” like Google employees get to, and we started chatting. As we continued to chat, I realized I was very bored with the conversation, and he felt very different from the genius hipster you went to college with who could drink a case of beer and still rock a final the next day. He felt...corporate. Just a one-off. Then, while working at Galvanize, I was able to work with Google for Startups/Entrepreneurs on a Google Mentor program. I got two mentors appointed to me, and they helped in many facets of my company—marketing, how to grow it faster, and how to make it more profitable. They were great—and cool. Ah, I was worried for a second! Through them, I was invited to some other events at Google, and through the Google for Startups program, I got to attend 1-day workshops at Google. But something weird happened during these workshops. When I went to sign in for the workshop, things didn’t feel as cool at the Google campus as on my previous visits. All of the small talk was very surface-level, and no one felt real. We then sat through a presentation of slides on how we could make our websites perform better. The people talking lacked any real emotion or any tactical advice—you could tell they were just good with people and did not know how to help a startup. And then, when we got into breakout groups, everyone felt like Jake. As I looked around, it hit me all at once—Google is not cool anymore, and further than that—it’s super corporate. After this was on my radar, I found that all of my friends who used to work at Google had left, as did my mentors. My one last friend to work there left after 2 months because it felt “too PC,” which to be fair, he is very not PC. But to translate for him, maybe it felt too corporate. Anyone that I met who worked at Google after that seemed to have this “I work at the city” feeling of not really knowing what they are talking about and not really caring. I then realized that Google was dying. It wasn’t going to happen instantly, but slowly. Flash forward to now. I use ChatGPT for 50% of my searches and am thoroughly not impressed with Google’s AI recommendations. I believe it’s only a matter of time before Google becomes the secondary search engine. From ChatGPT “As of mid-2024, OpenAI's ChatGPT is seeing a substantial amount of activity, with around 1.8 billion website visits in April 2024 and about 100 million active users. This marks a significant increase from previous months, showcasing the growing popularity and utility of the platform​ (ToolTester)​​ (Mailbutler)​. “As of mid-2024, OpenAI's ChatGPT is seeing a substantial amount of activity, with around 1.8 billion website visits in April 2024 and about 100 million active users. This marks a significant increase from previous months, showcasing the growing popularity and utility of the platform​ (ToolTester)​​ (Mailbutler)​. In comparison, Google Search remains a dominant force on the internet. While specific numbers for 2024 aren't readily available, it is known that Google processes around 8.5 billion searches per day globally. This dwarfs the search volume on ChatGPT, emphasizing Google's continued prevalence as the primary search engine for most users.” In comparison, Google Search remains a dominant force on the internet. While specific numbers for 2024 aren't readily available, it is known that Google processes around 8.5 billion searches per day globally. This dwarfs the search volume on ChatGPT, emphasizing Google's continued prevalence as the primary search engine for most users.” So, while we are nowhere close to ChatGPT taking over anytime soon. I do believe this is slowly happening and give Google about 2.5 years before being the second largest website used for searches. So, what does this mean for Google if this is true? They need to be cool again, learn how to recruit all of the people that now proudly put on their LinkedIn profiles “x-Google,” and improve their AI.  What did they decide to do instead? Hello advertiser, Hello advertiser, We are reaching out to provide you with an important update to your account(s): the billing options for your Google Ads account(s) are changing. Your account(s) have specific payment options and will only be allowed to use bank-based payment methods, which does not include credit or debit cards. We are reaching out to provide you with an important update to your account(s): the billing options for your Google Ads account(s) are changing. Your account(s) have specific payment options and will only be allowed to use bank-based payment methods, which does not include credit or debit cards. Accepted forms of payment include check or wire transfer via the Monthly Invoicing billing method (recommended), or via Direct Debit for those choosing to remain on the Automatic Payments billing method (if available in your region). Because you currently pay via a form of payment no longer accepted, the payment method on your Google Ads account listed below will need to change: Accepted forms of payment include check or wire transfer via the Monthly Invoicing billing method (recommended), or via Direct Debit for those choosing to remain on the Automatic Payments billing method (if available in your region). Because you currently pay via a form of payment no longer accepted, the payment method on your Google Ads account listed below will need to change: Account Name: Noson Account Name: Noson Customer ID: XXX-XXX-XXXX Customer ID: XXX-XXX-XXXX You will need to complete this billing change by July 31, 2024 or your Ads account will be subject to suspension. There are no exceptions to this requirement for impacted advertisers. All impacted advertisers will be similarly notified throughout the coming months. You will need to complete this billing change by July 31, 2024 or your Ads account will be subject to suspension. There are no exceptions to this requirement for impacted advertisers. All impacted advertisers will be similarly notified throughout the coming months. Next steps The Monthly Invoicing billing method is best suited for your account(s) given the flexibility it provides high-growth customers (e.g. access to a credit line, monthly invoices with 30 days to pay, greater control over spend, more reliable). We recommend your account(s) transition to monthly invoicing to comply with this change. Please note, you are receiving this email as the administrator of this account; however, if this account is linked to a manager account (MCC), the switch to invoicing will need to be completed by the MCC administrator. Next steps The Monthly Invoicing billing method is best suited for your account(s) given the flexibility it provides high-growth customers (e.g. access to a credit line, monthly invoices with 30 days to pay, greater control over spend, more reliable). We recommend your account(s) transition to monthly invoicing to comply with this change. Please note, you are receiving this email as the administrator of this account; however, if this account is linked to a manager account (MCC), the switch to invoicing will need to be completed by the MCC administrator. Our records indicate that you already have a credit line established with Google or that we are able to create one for you given your existing billing information, which makes this transition seamless. The designated billing contact will be sent a Master Service Agreement (MSA) for the credit line during the first week of July, if you have not accepted this agreement already. After that agreement is accepted, you will receive instructions detailing how to switch your account to invoicing. No need to take any action until that point. Our records indicate that you already have a credit line established with Google or that we are able to create one for you given your existing billing information, which makes this transition seamless. The designated billing contact will be sent a Master Service Agreement (MSA) for the credit line during the first week of July, if you have not accepted this agreement already. After that agreement is accepted, you will receive instructions detailing how to switch your account to invoicing. No need to take any action until that point. Your specific Google Sales team is aware that you are impacted by this change and is prepared to help you navigate the transition. You can also reach out to Google's billing specialist team here for questions about monthly invoicing. We thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation. Your specific Google Sales team is aware that you are impacted by this change and is prepared to help you navigate the transition. You can also reach out to Google's billing specialist team here for questions about monthly invoicing. We thank you in advance for your understanding and cooperation. Thank you, Thank you, The Google Ads Team The Google Ads Team Google is now going to high-touch customers like us (who spend around $1m in advertising annually) and telling us we can no longer use Credit Cards as a payment method for Google Ads. Not cool. This is a significant amount of income and points generated for our company.. and my family damn it lol.. We will start to phase out using Google for advertising and use Bing and Social Media as our main channels-- I’ll give Google a chance to rectify this, but I don’t anticipate any changes.

Google Is Dying

Meghan Verena Joyce, the CEO of Duckbill, is on a mission transforming personal assistance by encouraging people to “duck it,” by seamlessly integrating AI technology with human expertise. With a background rooted in technology and operations at industry giants like Uber and Oscar Health, Meghan witnessed the persistent struggles of balancing professional and personal responsibilities. This experience inspired her to create Duckbill, a service designed to alleviate the daily burdens of life admin tasks, making personal assistance accessible and affordable for everyone. Meghan's vision was clear: to address the limitations of pure technology solutions and provide a reliable, hybrid model that combines AI-driven efficiency with human oversight. What inspired you to start Duckbill, and how did your background influence the development of the hybrid AI model? The inspiration for Duckbill came from witnessing firsthand the struggles of balancing professional responsibilities with personal life, especially for dual working and single working people with both jobs and personal obligations in the mix. My background in technology and operations at companies like Uber and Oscar Health provided me with a deep understanding of the potential of technology to solve real-world problems. However, I also recognized the limitations of pure technology solutions. We believe that AI and AI agents are similar to early autonomous vehicles - great in a controlled environment, but not yet capable of dealing with the long tail of real-world edge cases. This led to the development of our hybrid model, which combines AI-driven efficiency with human oversight to ensure reliability and trust. Our goal was to create a service that alleviates the burden of daily tasks, making personal assistance accessible and affordable for everyone. Can you explain how Duckbill’s hybrid AI and human collaboration model works in practice? Duckbill’s hybrid model leverages the strengths of both AI and human expertise. The AI component executes as much as possible on tasks, getting them as close to the finish line as possible. It may even guide the user to provide all necessary information. However, there is always a human on call for final execution, accuracy, and quality. This approach allows us to manage a wide range of tasks efficiently while maintaining a high level of service reliability. For example, AI might schedule appointments and send reminders, while a human assistant handles more detailed tasks like organizing travel plans or dealing with customer service issues. In the future, we aim for AI to fully execute some tasks, but for now, the balance between AI and human input is key. What challenges did you face when integrating AI with human assistance, and how did you overcome them? Integrating AI with human assistance presented several challenges. One major challenge was how to super-power our human copilots with AI, ensuring they had the best tools and information at their fingertips. We also had to train the AI to gather and reference all necessary information for task completion at the time of submission. Ensuring quality and consistency with human assistance output in real-time was another significant hurdle. We addressed these challenges by developing sophisticated algorithms that recognize the complexity of a task and route it appropriately, and by implementing rigorous training programs for our human assistants. Continuous refinement of our AI’s learning algorithms based on feedback has been crucial in maintaining service quality. How does Duckbill differentiate itself from other AI-driven personal assistants on the market? Duckbill differentiates itself through its unique ability to anticipate your needs before they arise, and to execute reliably  on life tasks and operate as an extension of our members. While other AI assistants can summarize or research, they don’t relieve the cognitive load of anticipating what you’ll need and serving those items up for you on the ideal timeframe - nor can they execute tasks like scheduling, filling out forms, calling, negotiating, or ordering. The burden of life admin is felt by everyone, and Duckbill has figured out how to democratize access to personal assistant services through both AI and real expert humans. This comprehensive solution goes beyond what traditional AI assistants offer, making personal assistance a necessity rather than a luxury. Can you share some success stories or feedback from users who have benefited from Duckbill’s services? Absolutely! We’ve received numerous positive testimonials from our users. One of our users, a working mother, shared how Duckbill has significantly reduced her daily stress by putting all of her recurring life events - birthdays, anniversaries, groceries, home and beauty purchases, doctor’s and self-care appointments  - on autopilot. These items are now anticipated and executed for her proactively. Another user, a busy executive, praised Duckbill for efficiently tackling customer service issues - waiting on hold to resolve returns, warranties, product issues, and refunds - and handling all hard-to-find prescription refills, allowing him to focus more on his work. These stories highlight how Duckbill’s services have made a tangible difference in our users' lives, providing them with valuable time and peace of mind. What are your future plans for Duckbill, and how do you see the role of AI evolving in personal assistance? Our future plans for Duckbill involve expanding our capabilities and further refining our hybrid model. We aim to integrate more advanced AI technologies to enhance our service offerings and increase efficiency. We’re also exploring new markets and expanding our user base to include more diverse demographics. As for the role of AI in personal assistance, I believe it will continue to grow and evolve, becoming more intuitive and integrated into our daily lives. The key will be maintaining a balance between automation and human touch to ensure personalized and reliable service. Duckbill will continue to innovate and lead in this space, setting new standards for AI-driven personal assistance Duckbill is a personal assistant platform for everyone to tackle the most dreaded everyday tasks by anticipating needs, surfacing results personally catered to member tastes and preferences, and executing on their behalf. By combining expert humans plus AI, Duckbill offers a service that gives real people real help. Meghan Verena Joyce , the CEO of Duckbill , is on a mission transforming personal assistance by encouraging people to “duck it,” by seamlessly integrating AI technology with human expertise. With a background rooted in technology and operations at industry giants like Uber and Oscar Health, Meghan witnessed the persistent struggles of balancing professional and personal responsibilities. This experience inspired her to create Duckbill, a service designed to alleviate the daily burdens of life admin tasks, making personal assistance accessible and affordable for everyone. Meghan's vision was clear: to address the limitations of pure technology solutions and provide a reliable, hybrid model that combines AI-driven efficiency with human oversight. Meghan Verena Joyce Duckbill What inspired you to start Duckbill, and how did your background influence the development of the hybrid AI model? What inspired you to start Duckbill, and how did your background influence the development of the hybrid AI model? The inspiration for Duckbill came from witnessing firsthand the struggles of balancing professional responsibilities with personal life, especially for dual working and single working people with both jobs and personal obligations in the mix. My background in technology and operations at companies like Uber and Oscar Health provided me with a deep understanding of the potential of technology to solve real-world problems. However, I also recognized the limitations of pure technology solutions. We believe that AI and AI agents are similar to early autonomous vehicles - great in a controlled environment, but not yet capable of dealing with the long tail of real-world edge cases. This led to the development of our hybrid model, which combines AI-driven efficiency with human oversight to ensure reliability and trust. Our goal was to create a service that alleviates the burden of daily tasks, making personal assistance accessible and affordable for everyone. Can you explain how Duckbill’s hybrid AI and human collaboration model works in practice? Can you explain how Duckbill’s hybrid AI and human collaboration model works in practice? Duckbill’s hybrid model leverages the strengths of both AI and human expertise. The AI component executes as much as possible on tasks, getting them as close to the finish line as possible. It may even guide the user to provide all necessary information. However, there is always a human on call for final execution, accuracy, and quality. This approach allows us to manage a wide range of tasks efficiently while maintaining a high level of service reliability. For example, AI might schedule appointments and send reminders, while a human assistant handles more detailed tasks like organizing travel plans or dealing with customer service issues. In the future, we aim for AI to fully execute some tasks, but for now, the balance between AI and human input is key. What challenges did you face when integrating AI with human assistance, and how did you overcome them? What challenges did you face when integrating AI with human assistance, and how did you overcome them? Integrating AI with human assistance presented several challenges. One major challenge was how to super-power our human copilots with AI, ensuring they had the best tools and information at their fingertips. We also had to train the AI to gather and reference all necessary information for task completion at the time of submission. Ensuring quality and consistency with human assistance output in real-time was another significant hurdle. We addressed these challenges by developing sophisticated algorithms that recognize the complexity of a task and route it appropriately, and by implementing rigorous training programs for our human assistants. Continuous refinement of our AI’s learning algorithms based on feedback has been crucial in maintaining service quality. How does Duckbill differentiate itself from other AI-driven personal assistants on the market? How does Duckbill differentiate itself from other AI-driven personal assistants on the market? Duckbill differentiates itself through its unique ability to anticipate your needs before they arise, and to execute reliably  on life tasks and operate as an extension of our members. While other AI assistants can summarize or research, they don’t relieve the cognitive load of anticipating what you’ll need and serving those items up for you on the ideal timeframe - nor can they execute tasks like scheduling, filling out forms, calling, negotiating, or ordering. The burden of life admin is felt by everyone, and Duckbill has figured out how to democratize access to personal assistant services through both AI and real expert humans. This comprehensive solution goes beyond what traditional AI assistants offer, making personal assistance a necessity rather than a luxury. The burden of life admin is felt by everyone, and Duckbill has figured out how to democratize access to personal assistant services through both AI and real expert humans. This comprehensive solution goes beyond what traditional AI assistants offer, making personal assistance a necessity rather than a luxury. Can you share some success stories or feedback from users who have benefited from Duckbill’s services? Can you share some success stories or feedback from users who have benefited from Duckbill’s services? Absolutely! We’ve received numerous positive testimonials from our users. One of our users, a working mother, shared how Duckbill has significantly reduced her daily stress by putting all of her recurring life events - birthdays, anniversaries, groceries, home and beauty purchases, doctor’s and self-care appointments  - on autopilot. These items are now anticipated and executed for her proactively. Another user, a busy executive, praised Duckbill for efficiently tackling customer service issues - waiting on hold to resolve returns, warranties, product issues, and refunds - and handling all hard-to-find prescription refills, allowing him to focus more on his work. These stories highlight how Duckbill’s services have made a tangible difference in our users' lives, providing them with valuable time and peace of mind. What are your future plans for Duckbill, and how do you see the role of AI evolving in personal assistance? What are your future plans for Duckbill, and how do you see the role of AI evolving in personal assistance? Our future plans for Duckbill involve expanding our capabilities and further refining our hybrid model. We aim to integrate more advanced AI technologies to enhance our service offerings and increase efficiency. We’re also exploring new markets and expanding our user base to include more diverse demographics. As for the role of AI in personal assistance, I believe it will continue to grow and evolve, becoming more intuitive and integrated into our daily lives. The key will be maintaining a balance between automation and human touch to ensure personalized and reliable service. Duckbill will continue to innovate and lead in this space, setting new standards for AI-driven personal assistance Duckbill is a personal assistant platform for everyone to tackle the most dreaded everyday tasks by anticipating needs, surfacing results personally catered to member tastes and preferences, and executing on their behalf. By combining expert humans plus AI, Duckbill offers a service that gives real people real help. Duckbill is a personal assistant platform for everyone to tackle the most dreaded everyday tasks by anticipating needs, surfacing results personally catered to member tastes and preferences, and executing on their behalf. By combining expert humans plus AI, Duckbill offers a service that gives real people real help.

How Meghan Joyce and Duckbill Unlocked Life Efficiency with AI and Human Collaboration

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