COO and Partner @ MA Family, where we run communications for tech startups and VC firms.
About Me Subscribe TwitterWhy Algorithmic Feeds Can Be Good
People like to say they prefer chronological feeds to algorithmic ones. The actual problem is we rarely see good algorithms built to help us and not drive engagement. But I’d love to see a social network giving me tools to catch up on the people I care about.
Read More May 18, 2023Subscribe to my blog and get new posts delivered right to your inbox!
Writing
Why Micropayments Don’t Work And People Hate Paywalls
Customers want micropayments but they're a bad option for news organizations. What they should do instead is provide us with better paywalls.
Touch the Glass: Finding a Better Home for Your Photos
The painful journey of photographers looking to find the best avenue to post their photos online and the lock-in exacerbated by subscriptions.
How to Use Virtual Backgrounds for Meetings in a Non-Cringe Way
Virtual backgrounds might look goofy but if you use them right you can definitely improve your picture without spending $5000 on a DSLR and a shelf full of books to be your background.
Use Raindrop Instead of Native Bookmarks on Twitter and YouTube
Twitter, YouTube, and many other services have built-in bookmarks and playlists encouraging you to save content for later. I encourage you to try using a third-party service instead of them. Raindrop is a great alternative.
How to Read Newsletters In An App
Your email app isn't the best way to read newsletters. Especially if you're subscribed to dozens of them. Try a separate app for this.
Some Controversial Things I Believe
Just a few things I believe that a lot of people seemingly find controversial.
How to Start Your Blog in 2023
Running your own blog helps you keep an online journal of your life and thoughts that doesn't depend on unreliable tech platforms like Facebook or Twitter. But this process is still needlessly complicated and certainly not user-friendly for regular people.
Action-Watch-Later Framework
Sharing my approach to categorizing tasks inside your task manager so you will not forget anything and will understand what you have to work on at any moment.
How to Run A Remote Team
I’ve been working remotely for 8+ years and now running a team distributed at least across 5 countries. It’s challenging but it’s also very likely the best work environment that can help you attract talented people no matter where they live.
The PARA Method
The PARA method is the most universal productivity technic. It’s very flexible and can be recreated in any app, whether it’s Notion, Workflowy, Apple Notes, Things 3, Roam Research, Evernote, or Todoist.
How to Remote
I’ve been working remotely for nine years now. I wouldn’t say it’s everyone’s future. There are pros and cons. For me personally, the advantages far outweigh the problems. If you ended up in a remote work arrangement, you might find these tips helpful.
Switch to a Modern Read-Later App Already
Read–later apps are simultaneously popular and outdated. A lot of people use them. They’re now embedded right in our browsers and there's a couple of age-old names, but if you’re still using any of these options you should reconsider.
How Would Anti-Instagram Look Like?
Reading all those discussions about the updates to Instagram and how people are becoming disillusioned with the app, I began thinking: what would an ideal anti-Instagram service look like?
Crypto Preachers vs Crypto Skeptics
Social networks incentivize people to take on radical positions as that brings engagement and followers. Yet in most areas, a reasonable centrist take is usually the right one (there are exceptions of course). Crypto is certainly one of the most divisive topics both on Twitter and in real life.
How to Get Media to Cover Your Fundraising
Five years ago announcing your funding round was quite a reliable option to get coverage in the press but it all changed. We ran dozens of announcements in recent months, so I wanted to give you a step-by-step tutorial on how to secure placements for your fundraising in the media.
Workflowy is the Platform to Build Your Ideal Notes System
Time and time again, I'm getting back to WorkFlowy as my primary system for notes and knowledge storage. It is truly a bicycle for the mind that helps you structure your thoughts while providing unparalleled flexibility.
Your Inner Voice and the Value of Silence
Recently I've been feeling that constantly putting on AirPods and pumping spoken words into my ears might be too much. There's nothing wrong with being bored and enjoying the silence for a bit. But most importantly, it feels like both music and podcasts tune out your inner voice, that intra-cranial conversation people have which generates ideas and inspiration.
The Updated Guide to Workflowy
I've updated my guide to Workflowy, the king of outliners, which I wrote almost two years ago. Since then, Workflowy has added many great features, including rich media support and backlinks, so the previous iteration felt incomplete.
All the Ways to Keep Tasks
There are so many task managers because people have drastically different views on how to keep their tasks. I went over all primary ways that I've seen.
Why I Dropped Apple Watch for a Mechanical Watch
I’ve always been into watches and for the last 5 years, since Series 2, I’ve been almost exclusively wearing an Apple Watch. Recently I pulled a trigger on a mechanical timepiece I wanted a long time ago and have been enjoying it since.
Mailbrew: Get Personalized Email Digests of News and Content
Mailbrew is the only app that allows you to receive news and content from the web in the form of regular digests. The idea behind it is to avoid the anxiety and guilt caused by endless feeds in social apps by doing bulk delivery of content at a pre-defined time throughout the day.
Why You've Dropped Your Task Manager
I’ve always been one of the people who religiously lives by their task manager – I can’t survive without one. That’s why I’m always surprised when I talk to people who actually get by. For some, task managers only cause anxiety and end up abandoned and forgotten. What if I told you that you were just using it wrong?
Feedbin: One App to Consume All News
It’s one thing to read a lot of content, it’s another to spend hours jumping between apps trying to get a dopamine hit and then getting caught in them. Feedbin is the best RSS service which collects RSS feeds, email newsletters, Twitter feeds, and YouTube videos.
Why Apple Has to Allow Sideloading
I think the lack of sideloading has been a tremendous advantage for iOS and Apple’s ecosystem. I also think Apple should give it already.
Browsers Are Outdated And Somebody Has To Do Something
Our browsers are astoundingly outdated and their developers seem to be oblivious to that. We went from basic HTML pages sprinkled with a little bit of Javascript to running full-scale applications like Figma or Descript yet browsers have practically the same UI as they had ten years ago.
A Controversial Opinion: Online Ads Are Good
One of my most controversial opinions is that online ads are actually great for the society and the public narrative shifting to paid subscription software, services and content might prevent a lot of people from accessing them in the first place.
There Is An Empty Space In Team Productivity
At all of my jobs we used different tools for project management: from Asana to Notion and Todoist Business. I've also looked at Monday, Trello, Flow, Taskade, and others. Still, none of them can match a personal task manager.
How to Write Helpful Investor Updates
I've seen hundreds of investor updates and wanted to share the things I learned from them and how you can write a good one.
A Comparative Review of iOS Browsers
I compared all third-party iOS browsers to check if they're ready to be used as default ones. Only if you really want to.
There's No Such Thing As Crisis PR
Just like a lot of other areas, external communications shouldn't exist on their own. PR is a part of the overall company's strategy and vision. The only way to be properly heard is to be authentic.
The PARA Method in Workflowy
PARA is a universal productivity methodology that can be implemented in any app or service. It helps you categorize your notes, thoughts, documents, and files.
Google and the Paradigm Shift
The product that will dethrone Google Search won't be a search engine. Instead of links, it will simply provide you with answers.
The Basic Guide to Workflowy
Workflowy is the ultimate productivity app that closely mimicks the way I want to work. It might be overwhelming at first, so I wrote a guide that covers all the basics.
The Evolution of Outliners
Outliners are apps which force you to write in hierarhical bullet points, helping you to structure your thoughts They are are a very curious category of software products that have been mostly used by a small number of geeks but recently captured more attention with the launch of Roam Research.
Superhuman and Premium Software
Superhuman with its premium pricing of $30 per month expands the Overton windows for apps pricing and has already enabled higher (and more sustainable prices) for new companies.
The Art of Storytelling
Storytelling is an art that is applied in any area by people working in all kinds of professions. You need to understand it in order sell your products, your ideas, and your own time.
How to Work With Reporters and Get Publications in Media
Even if you don't have resources for hiring a team or even a single person to handle your public relations that doesn't mean your announcement doesn't deserve to be on TechCrunch.
What Are The Chances They Will Replace You As The CEO?
I looked at the list of US-based tech unicorns and tried to find the ones who replaced the founding CEO with an external hire.