The Mac FAQ
All your frequent questions about Fullstack Mac
Hello! I thought I should take some time for you to get to know me at least a little better. And frankly, this will help me better structure my thoughts for future articles going forward.
FAQ
Your subtitle covers a broad range of topics, what is this substack really about?
My curiosity about how people create and express their interest in things. That is intentionally broad, but my main focus will be my own experiences working in the media and tech startup spaces and the increasing overlap between the two. You can also expect some thoughts on video game development, as well as industrial and prosumer Internet of Things (IoT).
Why is your substack titled “Fullstack Mac”? Are you an engineer or something?
I enjoy hacking things together, but not a fullstack engineer in the original sense of the term. Instead, I was inspired by articles like Chris Messina’s The Full-stack Employee detailing the ideal startup team member able to navigate various layers in a “company stack,” and it became part of what I aspired for and evangelized to other team members. Chris Dixon on Full-stack Startups was an inspiration as well.
Why do you have a cartoon avatar? What’s wrong with a profile pic of your real face?
Nothing against using a picture of my “real life” face in the slightest, I drew this avatar when I first joined Twitter as a way to loosely tie together the “real world” profile I explicitly display on on sites like LinkedIn and the broader social Twitter web, which largely projected an aura of ambiguous identity. I felt (and still do) if people cared enough, they could take the time and find out my “real life” visage easily enough. I suppose I have always been interested in the internet’s potential to be a second life where you could reinvent who you are and project those aspects you most wanted to. The cartoon avatar is a product of when I first taught myself to draw and wanted to project an archetype I aspire to daily: a smiling mind and face, curious and open to new ideas, yet nonetheless anchored in principles I believe in.
What is your background?
I helped build a few companies in the online video space, particularly in the YouTube ecosystem, including top YouTube networks like Fullscreen and Studio71, with a stint at Tastemade. I currently am a PM at AI company Veritone ($VERI) which is building the operating system for AI, where I focus on helping make our platform services more accessible to the rising class of non-engineering users who want to build their own solutions with AI/ML.
What is your superpower?
Curiosity!
What topics and themes are you most excited about?
People creating and then sharing things in new ways is super interesting to me, chiefly because I believe that people will be most productive when they can clearly see a strong incentive for doing so. In that vein, User Generated Content (UGC) and Community platform tools are especially exciting. I have a side interest in looking for ways to apply the lessons learned in the media space to industries that are increasingly looking for “digital transformation” (eg manufacturing and device OEMs) as a way to remain competitive and relevant in the global market.
What is something you want to do a little differently than other internet publishers?
I am curious to see what happens by emphasizing attribution of the article ideas back to who the discovery node was for me. This brain teaser first enticed me when I listened to Jesse Walden’s view on derivative works, informed first with his work at Medichain and then later at a16z.
How do you test ideas?
I think about what the idea actually is and then talk to two sets of people: the first set includes folks that are familiar with the problem space at a higher level and have more tuned business instincts for how the idea could be implemented. The second-- and arguably more important-- set are the folks for whom the solution is intended. The discussions are loose and non-transactional (no “would you buy this” questions) and I adjust or discard the solution design as needed. I then rapidly prototype something with a combination of code, low-code, and no-code tools (depending on solution) and follow up with the folks in the market!
Do you plan to charge for your substack?
Nope, not at the moment and likely not for a while. Of course, if you have ideas for how we could build something together or any way I could help you, please drop me a line any time!
Do you think about your substack differently than other publishers on Substack?
I think the main difference from most other Substack publishers is that I currently am treating this substack like a public blog where you can optionally subscribe to get my articles delivered directly to your inbox. Medium seemed a bit of a faff and the quotas on free articles onerous and counterproductive to my writing goals.
Can I ask you a question or just chat?
Yes absolutely! I’m open for any kind of inquiry, whether looking for career advice, brainstorming, starting a company or side hustle, or just looking to trade thoughts on the tech, media, or broader startup space.
Say hello on twitter!
What if I don’t like your thoughts?
That’s fine, but tell me why— comments are always open!
Thanks to & Inspired by
Feedback and edits from @igorlenterman and @3266miles
Chris Messina’s The full-stack Employee, Aaron Dignan’s The Operating Model eating the World and Chris Dixon’s the full stack startup
Derivative works conversation evangelized by Jesse Walden
And most recently, Nadia’s Working in Public which she discusses with Interintellect founder Anna Gát in a great fireside chat
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