Notes from the operators.
Thoughts on operator-first software, payments, AI, infrastructure, and the build-vs-buy question — from the team that builds the products.
What "operator-first" actually means when you're choosing software
The phrase "operator-first" gets used in a lot of pitch decks, including ours. It's worth defining what we actually mean by it before we build a whole company around it.
When do you actually need payments orchestration?
Payments orchestration is the most over-pitched and under-explained category in fintech. Half the founders we talk to don't know whether they need it. Here's the honest framework we give them.
Three AI features that paid for themselves in their first quarter
The bar for "AI worked" should be: did this feature pay for its own hosting bill within ninety days. If you can't answer that question, you didn't ship an AI feature. You shipped a slide deck.
Why our DBA picks up the phone (and your hyperscaler doesn't)
There's a specific kind of pain that growing companies hit somewhere between Series A and Series B. The product is working. The infrastructure is mostly working. And then at 2 a.m. on a random Tuesday, the database isn't working.
Build vs. buy: the honest version
We are the kind of company that benefits when you decide to buy. So you should probably read this with that in mind. Here is the honest version of the build-vs-buy question — including the cases where we tell clients to build.