How to Succeed at Sidetool 🚀

As the team grows, I no longer spend as much time with everyone as I used to. So, I thought it would be helpful to try to brain dump as much as I can into this silly little newsletter to help bring new teammates up to speed on everything we've learned. We've (JM and I) been through a lot, and chances are we've dealt with most of the problems you face. So I genuinely believe if you attentively read and understand the knowledge here, you will be much better set up for success.

This is not a rulebook.

I need to kick this thing off by saying the purpose of this is not to give you a bunch of rules to follow. On top of that, I want nothing here to be taken literally. What we do is complex and changes based on the situation. I need you to repeat this three times: "I will apply everything I read with a grain of salt." This is not an inclusive list of everything. I hope this inspires you with questions and that you come to us to learn more.

What is your goal here?

Your goal here is to make the best Apps and AI experiences possible. That's the number one goal of Sidetool. It's not to make the most complex apps, the fanciest AI, or the best-looking interfaces. It's to make the best Apps and AI experiences possible. Everything we want will come if we strive for that. It sounds obvious, but after six months in the weeds, a lot of people tend to forget what we are actually trying to achieve here.

We don’t care how Silicon Valley does things.

Sorry for the bluntness. This is not Silicon Valley, and I do not want to be in Silicon Valley. And if that sentence is a turn-off to you, you're probably at the wrong job. I genuinely mean that. Software and AI are the future, and I believe every fiber of my body will keep growing yearly. In 10 years, the tech landscape will be bigger than anyone has imagined, and I want this company to be a part of it. Silicon Valley is wildly unprofitable, has no flexibility, and has long development cycles that can't adapt to user needs. We aren't here to make a small app once or twice a year, I want to make one a week lol. This is why you need to be nimble and produce software OUR way.

The amount of hours you work is irrelevant.

We want grinders that put in the hours and love you guys to death that do. But at the end of the day, you will be judged based on results, not hours. We are a results-based company. Get shit done and move the goalpost!

I only want "A Players"

As I type this I realize it may not be the wisest to categorize everyone into 3 buckets but this is how I believe we should look at everyone a part of the Sidetool team. You're either an A-Player, B-Player, or C-Player. There is only room in this company for A-Players. A-Players are obsessive, learn from mistakes, coachable, intelligent, don't make excuses, believe in tech, see the value of this company, and are the best in the goddamn world at their job. B-Players are new people that need to be trained into A-Players, and C-Players are just average employees. They don't suck, but they aren't exceptional at what they do. They exist, do whatever, and get a paycheck. They aren't obsessive and learning. C-Players are poisonous and should be transitioned to a different company.

Creativity Saves Money.

I don't think it comes as a surprise when I say we don't have unlimited money here. We can't have every project constantly going over budget because the money has to come from somewhere, but you're in a tough spot because I constantly want better and better products. People always assume money is the answer, and if we just spend more money, we can give Ed or JM what they want, which is wrong. Creativity is the answer.

It's your fault, track the contractor.

I can't stand when people dump and forget their project on a contractor and then blame them the day before the due date when it's not ready. That's on YOU, not the contractor. Let's say we are building a new feature, and you need someone to write a custom script. Most people would call someone, have them do it, and tell them to be done by X day. Instead, you should have it done a specific time frame in advance so we can make changes if something is off. It would be best if you then decided whether or not it's a critical component. If it is, you should also begin working on a backup, and while working on a backup, you should check in with the contractor daily. Ask them to send progress reports daily to spot problems early, and maybe talk to them twice daily. I don't care; don't leave room for error. No excuses; stop leaving room for error. Check-in daily, receive updates, and know weeks in advance if you're fucked. Not days.

I am not always right.

Shocker, I know 😂. I'm young and am the first to admit I'm not perfect. I promise not a single person on this planet wants us to succeed more than I and JM do, and no matter how much you work, you'll never invest more time into this company than I and JM will, but I can't promise I'll always be right. There are ways you can help me be right more often. For starters, you need to understand my world and how my mind works. Whatever you don't tell me, I don't know. When getting an answer from me, it's ideal that you do the research and come to me with context and options. This also applies when dealing with JM.

Communication Lines

We must maintain proper communication lines as a company. Someone is always responsible for everything on the project, and if multiple people are responsible for the same thing, then that problem must be fixed immediately. Ideally, when communicating across departments, you go up and then over. If you skip and just go below, you must call and inform the people in charge.

Don't take anything at face value, always dig

This is particularly important when dealing with people outside the Sidetool team. If someone says something too good to be true, find out why. If it's fishy, investigate. Do not overly trust people outside the company. Investigate and verify what they say or it is your fault if they don't pull through.

Own your mistakes

I hate excuses and despise my entire soul when people try to save face instead of learning from how they messed up. Mistakes are okay! Genuinely, they are, and I expect you to make a lot. That's perfectly fine. The reason I'm okay with fuck ups is because I know that's how you learn. We see it as us investing in you and your brain.

Nothing Comes Before Your Priorities

When you're being assigned tasks, you should have a priority list. If JM says your priorities are to

1. Get a clutch review

2. Book a meeting with X lead

3. Send customer update

Then nothing on this freakin planet is allowed to come between you and getting those priorities done.

Use consultants

Consultants and advisors are cheat codes. Need to create the world's most efficient Voice AI agent? Start by calling or emailing the person who made one, lol. They've already completed countless tests and can save you weeks of work. I really want to drive this point home because I'm a massive believer in consultants and advisors.

No does not mean no

When dealing with people outside Sidetool, never take a No at face value. If we need a company to partner with for a project, and you call OpenAI, the person who answers says, "No, you can't use our API." That literally doesn't mean shit. Talk to another employee, try talking to their boss, their bosses’s boss, have me dm them on LinkedIn, etc. Never ever take the first no. Keep pushing.

What makes good software

This is where things get subjective, and my brain will probably turn mush. The problem with my writing here is that good software is limitless. Anything can make good software. Let's take a simple to-do app, for example. You can make it learn from the user's behavior and start predicting what tasks they'll add next—watching an AI guess what someone needs to do. You can add a competitive element where friends can challenge each other to complete their to-do lists, with the app trash-talking them based on their progress. I'm trying to convey here that even something as simple as a to-do app has infinite ways to turn it into unique, original, and engaging software.

Good software isn't just about making the app scalable (though that shit matters too). It's about creating experiences that make people's lives easier, more fun, or ideally both. It's about solving problems in ways that make users go, "holy shit, I didn't even know I needed this."

The key is never to stop asking "what if?" What if we could make this app better? What if we could make an AI that predicts supply chain disruptions before they happen? What if we could create a virtual reality app that lets remote teams feel like they're in the same room, complete with the ability to toss virtual staplers at each other? What if we could develop a program that turns boring quarterly reports into epic movie trailers, making financial data exciting for once?

Understand

What you consume on social media, when you watch YouTube, the games you play, the blogs you read, books you read, etc., are what I like to call your information diet. If you're a developer or designer, you really need to monitor and perfect your information diet. If your diet is incorrect, you won't have a good pulse on what we need to build. You. Can't. Get. Inspired. By. Things. You. Don't. Know. Exist.

So, how do you learn more about what's out there? How do you stay up to date on the latest tech trends? How do you know what's going on with AI? What other companies are doing? Who is the best Software operator? How does Linear ship updates so fast? Your information diet. Consume daily things that help you create better products or a better company.

Your Career at Sidetool

If you've made it this far, you are probably at least semi-interested in this being your career. So, I wanted to chat about it. I don't care to hoard a bunch of money, and I deeply believe in rewarding the people who help Sidetool get where it needs to be. But before I get into that, let's talk about the future. As I write this, we have three teams (PM, Development, and Growth) that will grow to 4 next year. (and possibly 8 in the next two years, but I can't talk about that cause JM will kill me, haha). We need more leaders in the company. We need hard-working, obsessive, coachable, intelligent grinders who can step up and take some of these leadership spots over the next two years. Every department has an opportunity for you to grow. If you want to become a project lead, tell JM your intention and ask him why you suck and how you can become better. Seriously. He will give you a list of things you need to improve to become what we need, and if you listen and master those things, we will provide you with a shot at the role. (The only problem is most people think they are better than they really are and don't take it seriously when we give them things to improve and then wonder why they never move up). This isn't a bureaucratic corporate company. You don't have to do something for five years to get a promotion, I hate the word promotion. The more responsibility, risk you help us navigate, and overall bullshit you deal with, the more you make. And if you want more of that, we will gladly help train you to receive it, haha. There is infinite room for you to grow here. This isn't a stepping stone; this is your final destination. We will win, and we are going to build something unique. I see a world where this company is worth a lot of money. And those of you who help build this will be rewarded. I want nothing more than for you to go all in, obsessive all day, every day, and become so goddam valuable; this company can't operate without you. In return for becoming so valuable, I hope to give you incredible experiences, a fun place to work, and, of course, more money than you could ever dream of making at any other company. Now read this all over again because I guarantee you didn't retain enough.