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Giacomo Balli
Your Consigliere

For owners and founders facing decisions that are expensive to get wrong.
Independent counsel from someone paid only by you.

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Tag: Product

Showing 230 posts tagged with "Product".

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What Happens When Users Stop Looking for Apps?
Published: Mon, Sep 28 2026 @ 10:50:40

AI-built product security worries usually land on the wrong layer
Published: Sat, Sep 26 2026 @ 22:32:01

Your most exposed IP may be how your company knows what to do
Published: Sat, Sep 26 2026 @ 4:22:41

The same question comes round the table every few months
Published: Fri, Sep 25 2026 @ 10:13:21

Who would have known so much information is publicly available?
Published: Thu, Sep 24 2026 @ 16:04:02

App vs firmware is the most expensive decision in a connected product
Published: Wed, Sep 23 2026 @ 21:54:42

Companies may be about to fire exactly the wrong people
Published: Wed, Sep 23 2026 @ 3:45:22

For a hardware company, the most expensive screen is the pairing screen
Published: Tue, Sep 22 2026 @ 2:30:45

You cannot model a software build on the vendor's estimate
Published: Mon, Sep 21 2026 @ 1:16:07

Before hiring an AI consultancy, find the part that actually needs AI
Published: Sun, Sep 20 2026 @ 0:01:30

When the development studio stops replying
Published: Fri, Sep 18 2026 @ 22:46:52

The size of the invoice is the wrong measure of a decision
Published: Thu, Sep 17 2026 @ 21:32:15

Your IT person is the wrong one to ask about a $200,000 build
Published: Wed, Sep 16 2026 @ 20:17:37

When a roof needs replacing, nobody thinks it is strange to call a second roofer
Published: Tue, Sep 15 2026 @ 19:02:59

Before your next technology investment, ask someone who gains nothing
Published: Mon, Sep 14 2026 @ 17:48:22

Technology due diligence should not happen after you have decided what you want
Published: Sun, Sep 13 2026 @ 16:33:44

The best recommendation I can give is sometimes "don't build anything"
Published: Sat, Sep 12 2026 @ 15:19:07

"Our competitor is doing it" is the worst justification for a tech investment
Published: Fri, Sep 11 2026 @ 14:04:29

A $5,000 technology decision can deserve more scrutiny than a $500,000 one
Published: Thu, Sep 10 2026 @ 12:49:52

If a CEO sent me a $500k software proposal tomorrow, this is what I would review
Published: Tue, Sep 8 2026 @ 10:20:36

Don’t make the intelligence safe enough to trust
Published: Mon, Sep 7 2026 @ 9:05:59

A popular website with no app is usually not an opportunity
Published: Sun, Sep 6 2026 @ 7:51:21

When should a CEO get a second opinion on a technology decision
Published: Sat, Sep 5 2026 @ 6:36:44

The person recommending the technology should not be the only one valuing it
Published: Fri, Sep 4 2026 @ 5:22:06

Competent executives make surprisingly bad technology purchases
Published: Thu, Sep 3 2026 @ 4:07:29

You do not have a technology problem
Published: Wed, Sep 2 2026 @ 2:52:51

What to know before signing a three-year SaaS contract
Published: Tue, Sep 1 2026 @ 1:38:13

The contract clauses that create the most lock-in get the least scrutiny
Published: Mon, Aug 31 2026 @ 0:23:36

I shipped an app that got 47 downloads and zero dollars in 90 days
Published: Sat, Aug 29 2026 @ 23:08:58

The most worrying sentence in a vendor demo: "Yes, we can customise that"
Published: Fri, Aug 28 2026 @ 21:54:21

The software demo was fantastic
Published: Thu, Aug 27 2026 @ 20:39:43

Changing ERP or CRM systems often recreates the old company's problems
Published: Wed, Aug 26 2026 @ 19:25:06

In a SaaS agreement, the data exit clause matters more than liability
Published: Tue, Aug 25 2026 @ 18:10:28

Before replacing your CRM or ERP, check whether the software is the problem
Published: Mon, Aug 24 2026 @ 16:55:50

The most expensive sentence in a software project: "We'll figure that out later"
Published: Sun, Aug 23 2026 @ 15:41:13

The best model is becoming a surprisingly bad default
Published: Sat, Aug 22 2026 @ 14:26:35

Your development agency says the project is 80% complete
Published: Fri, Aug 21 2026 @ 13:11:58

Your CTO says the architecture needs to be rebuilt
Published: Thu, Aug 20 2026 @ 11:57:20

Software projects look green right until they fail
Published: Tue, Aug 18 2026 @ 9:28:05

A software project can be on time and already lost
Published: Mon, Aug 17 2026 @ 8:13:27

Your software project is six months late
Published: Sat, Aug 15 2026 @ 5:44:12

The first 10% of a software project usually determines whether the other 90%
Published: Fri, Aug 14 2026 @ 4:29:35

AI made software dramatically cheaper to create
Published: Thu, Aug 13 2026 @ 3:14:57

The prototype took three weeks
Published: Wed, Aug 12 2026 @ 2:00:19

An ad group of mine was set to exact match
Published: Tue, Aug 11 2026 @ 0:45:42

Your business probably does not need an app
Published: Sun, Aug 9 2026 @ 23:31:04

Custom software should have to earn the right to exist
Published: Sat, Aug 8 2026 @ 22:16:27

Build versus buy is an incomplete question
Published: Fri, Aug 7 2026 @ 21:01:49

The $180,000 dispatch system and the question about month five
Published: Thu, Aug 6 2026 @ 19:47:12

The $20 AI tool versus the $200,000 AI implementation
Published: Wed, Aug 5 2026 @ 18:32:34

Your team just proposed an AI initiative
Published: Tue, Aug 4 2026 @ 17:17:56

I run paid ads across a portfolio of more than 40 apps
Published: Mon, Aug 3 2026 @ 16:03:19

The dangerous AI project is the one that works
Published: Sun, Aug 2 2026 @ 14:48:41

"We need an AI strategy" is usually the wrong first sentence
Published: Sat, Aug 1 2026 @ 13:34:04

The questions a CEO should ask in the approval meeting
Published: Fri, Jul 31 2026 @ 12:19:26

The last moment a replacement decision is still cheap to change
Published: Thu, Jul 30 2026 @ 11:04:49

Before spending $250k building software, spend a week trying to kill the idea
Published: Wed, Jul 29 2026 @ 9:50:11

Your vendor says you need a custom solution
Published: Tue, Jul 28 2026 @ 8:35:33

Three proposals for the same project: $80k, $240k and $600k
Published: Sun, Jul 26 2026 @ 6:06:18

Share of new apps with "AI" in the name, by year: 0.1% through 2016
Published: Sat, Jul 25 2026 @ 4:51:41

The biggest App Store developers are the ones you've never heard of
Published: Fri, Jul 24 2026 @ 3:37:03

I pulled every live app on the US App Store into a database this week
Published: Thu, Jul 23 2026 @ 2:22:26

The expertise that built an institution can quietly become the reason it stops
Published: Wed, Jul 22 2026 @ 1:07:48

Years of internal operational mess are about to have a market value
Published: Mon, Jul 20 2026 @ 23:53:10

Beautiful software architecture historically mattered because humans needed
Published: Fri, Jul 17 2026 @ 20:09:18

37signals let designers use agents to implement features
Published: Thu, Jul 16 2026 @ 18:54:40

Universities are becoming very expensive places to buy time, friendships
Published: Wed, Jul 15 2026 @ 17:40:03

A custom domain can hide the builder from your customers
Published: Mon, Jul 13 2026 @ 15:10:47

NVIDIA buying Hugging Face could make open AI depend on a single vendor
Published: Sun, Jul 12 2026 @ 13:56:10

Excellence pays only where it's visible
Published: Sat, Jul 11 2026 @ 12:41:32

It took me less than an hour to reach 200,000 people's private data
Published: Thu, Jul 9 2026 @ 10:12:17

AI demos work because the data is clean
Published: Tue, Jul 7 2026 @ 7:43:02

"We don't have anyone who knows how to do this." Neither did the companies
Published: Sat, Jul 4 2026 @ 3:59:09

Most AI pilots produce nothing measurable
Published: Fri, Jul 3 2026 @ 2:44:32

"I don't trust it to be right." You shouldn't
Published: Wed, Jul 1 2026 @ 0:15:17

"I can't put customer data into an AI tool." Correct
Published: Mon, Jun 29 2026 @ 23:00:39

Every customer issue should make the company slightly harder to surprise next
Published: Sun, Jun 28 2026 @ 21:46:01

A $150k employee no longer costs $150k
Published: Sat, Jun 27 2026 @ 20:31:24

Everyone seems focused on when we’ll reach AGI
Published: Fri, Jun 26 2026 @ 19:16:46

Building software is no longer the hard part of starting a company
Published: Wed, Jun 24 2026 @ 16:47:31

Four months after I shipped SnackCheckApp.com
Published: Tue, Jun 23 2026 @ 15:32:54

Rules are often an admission that incentives were never designed
Published: Mon, Jun 22 2026 @ 14:18:16

How to make AI "know everything" about your business
Published: Sun, Jun 21 2026 @ 13:03:38

Companies are struggling to innovate because nobody has priced the cost
Published: Sat, Jun 20 2026 @ 11:49:01

This might seem like a joke, but is it really
Published: Fri, Jun 19 2026 @ 10:34:23

The price of content is about to separate from the price of access
Published: Thu, Jun 18 2026 @ 9:19:46

The website stopped being the scarce asset
Published: Wed, Jun 17 2026 @ 8:05:08

Owning your own e-commerce store has become cheaper than earning attention
Published: Tue, Jun 16 2026 @ 6:50:30

Entry-level jobs are becoming a less reliable way to predict future headcount
Published: Mon, Jun 15 2026 @ 5:35:53

People are confusing "can build" with "should own"
Published: Sun, Jun 14 2026 @ 4:21:15

Everyone talks about how AI makes startups easier to build
Published: Sat, Jun 13 2026 @ 3:06:38

X (formerly Twitter) started asking Claude for money
Published: Fri, Jun 12 2026 @ 1:52:00

I spend a lot of time helping business owners think through AI strategy
Published: Thu, Jun 11 2026 @ 0:37:23

Everyone seems to be reading this chart from Financial Times
Published: Tue, Jun 9 2026 @ 23:22:45

At #WWDC26, Apple finally delivered much of what it had promised two years
Published: Mon, Jun 8 2026 @ 22:08:07

The people most obsessed with startup ideas rarely start a company
Published: Sun, Jun 7 2026 @ 20:53:30

Many CEOs get blamed for decisions the incentive system was designed to produce
Published: Sat, Jun 6 2026 @ 19:38:52

The next defensible advantage may come from process data, not customer data
Published: Fri, Jun 5 2026 @ 18:24:15

UI is the worst thing technologists built
Published: Wed, Jun 3 2026 @ 15:55:00

Analytical SaaS is losing the right to charge for answers
Published: Tue, Jun 2 2026 @ 14:40:22

120 employees, 40 experimenting with AI, all trapped in private tabs
Published: Mon, Jun 1 2026 @ 13:25:44

Most firms are optimizing the wrong variable
Published: Sun, May 31 2026 @ 12:11:07

AI is unbundling professional services by deleting the middle of the work
Published: Sat, May 30 2026 @ 10:56:29

“10x engineering” is a comforting story because it gives you a single lever
Published: Fri, May 29 2026 @ 9:41:52

In some companies you’ll see headcount traded for tokens
Published: Thu, May 28 2026 @ 8:27:14

I grew up in Italy
Published: Wed, May 27 2026 @ 7:12:37

The most effective way to disrupt an incumbent is to remove the problem
Published: Tue, May 26 2026 @ 5:57:59

When AI Makes Features Cheap, What Becomes the Moat?
Published: Sun, May 24 2026 @ 3:28:44

I’ll be honest: it makes me sad
Published: Sat, May 23 2026 @ 2:14:06

A 2014 study shows walking significantly boosts creative thinking
Published: Fri, May 22 2026 @ 0:59:29

Most of my work happens in abstraction
Published: Wed, May 20 2026 @ 23:44:51

Most people still think of Shopify as a website builder
Published: Tue, May 19 2026 @ 22:30:14

Wow, this piece brought back so many memories
Published: Mon, May 18 2026 @ 21:15:36

Coding and design keep getting cheaper
Published: Sun, May 17 2026 @ 13:31:12

I’ve been in mobile since 2010
Published: Sat, May 16 2026 @ 5:46:48

AI adoption fails when learning stays trapped inside individual workflows
Published: Thu, May 14 2026 @ 22:02:24

Agentic code is free like a baby goat
Published: Wed, May 13 2026 @ 14:18:00

The next platform shift will not be won where users click
Published: Tue, May 12 2026 @ 6:33:36

Another INNOVIT - Italian Innovation and Culture Hub startup mentorship event
Published: Sun, May 10 2026 @ 22:49:12

Freezing junior engineering hiring is not a cost move
Published: Sat, May 9 2026 @ 15:04:48

AI cost conversations usually start at the model and end at pricing
Published: Fri, May 8 2026 @ 7:20:24

For decades we've shipped frozen interfaces where every pixel was decided
Published: Wed, May 6 2026 @ 23:36:00

We spend endless hours agonizing over marketing, tweaking brand colors
Published: Tue, May 5 2026 @ 15:51:36

AI is being discussed as if the economy is mostly software, content
Published: Mon, May 4 2026 @ 8:07:12

Vibe-coded apps usually deliver on the big features but they bleed out
Published: Sun, May 3 2026 @ 0:22:48

Most people assume digital has already won
Published: Thu, Apr 30 2026 @ 8:54:00

Moats are retention tools sold as growth strategy
Published: Wed, Apr 29 2026 @ 1:09:36

Speed is no longer a differentiator once the customer has to finish the job
Published: Mon, Apr 27 2026 @ 17:25:12

Anthropic has figured out that fear sells
Published: Sun, Apr 26 2026 @ 9:40:48

In AI work, volume is not vanity
Published: Sat, Apr 25 2026 @ 1:56:24

Engineering teams that went heaviest on AI coding tools are now the ones
Published: Thu, Apr 23 2026 @ 18:12:00

Agile fails when it optimizes the speed of building instead of the speed
Published: Wed, Apr 22 2026 @ 10:27:36

Most people do not want your app
Published: Tue, Apr 21 2026 @ 2:43:12

If your strategy requires you to fight for every deal
Published: Sun, Apr 19 2026 @ 18:58:48

Most “disruption” is just a better interface on top of the same system
Published: Sat, Apr 18 2026 @ 11:14:24

The BNP Paribas Indian Wells tennis tournament is my favorite and I attend
Published: Fri, Apr 17 2026 @ 3:30:00

People often ask if you still need to be in San Francisco to build something
Published: Wed, Apr 15 2026 @ 19:45:36

I get the math, but the part I’d pressure test is the framing
Published: Tue, Apr 14 2026 @ 12:01:12

I built a Python script that generates App Store screenshots in 1s
Published: Mon, Apr 13 2026 @ 4:16:48

If your ARPU did not go up by at least 50%
Published: Sat, Apr 11 2026 @ 20:32:24

AI boosted coding and now is moving to GTM
Published: Fri, Apr 10 2026 @ 12:48:00

Apple will finally have their own niche hyper-performant secure models
Published: Thu, Apr 9 2026 @ 5:03:36

The highest paid AI roles will belong to the people who can make
Published: Tue, Apr 7 2026 @ 21:19:12

Life with Claude
Published: Mon, Apr 6 2026 @ 13:34:48

Apple’s “Apple Business” launch is not a productivity-suite story
Published: Sun, Apr 5 2026 @ 5:50:24

The AI job everyone is talking about does not exist
Published: Fri, Apr 3 2026 @ 22:06:00

I keep seeing the same mistake from vibecoders
Published: Thu, Apr 2 2026 @ 14:21:36

Everyone is talking about “AI agents replacing ecommerce.”
Published: Wed, Apr 1 2026 @ 6:37:12

White House Unveils National AI Policy Framework
Published: Mon, Mar 30 2026 @ 22:52:48

One of the stranger patterns in AI adoption is emotional, not technical
Published: Sun, Mar 29 2026 @ 15:08:24

When a company tells me “AI is helping people grieve, learn, get care
Published: Sat, Mar 28 2026 @ 7:24:00

Anthropic just changed how AI coding tools will be used
Published: Thu, Mar 26 2026 @ 23:39:36

Most AI risk conversations are framed like this:
Published: Wed, Mar 25 2026 @ 15:55:12

Most leaders are mispricing AI
Published: Tue, Mar 24 2026 @ 8:10:48

Most AI conversations inside companies start with: “We need to be faster.”
Published: Mon, Mar 23 2026 @ 0:26:24

From a conversation with Gokul Rajaram
Published: Sat, Mar 21 2026 @ 16:42:00

Apple is cooking
Published: Fri, Mar 20 2026 @ 8:57:36

Racing used to punish mediocrity
Published: Tue, Mar 17 2026 @ 17:28:48

Most operators say they want teams that “understand the system.”
Published: Mon, Mar 16 2026 @ 9:44:24

Most developers focus on the U.S. and Europe.
Published: Sun, Mar 15 2026 @ 2:00:00

Was listening to Carlos Gonzalez de Villaumbrosia (Product School) and Tim
Published: Thu, Mar 12 2026 @ 23:00:00

Everyone tells the ATM story wrong.
Published: Thu, Mar 12 2026 @ 22:00:00

AI is going to create job categories that sound fake until you need one tomorrow
Published: Sun, Mar 8 2026 @ 3:00:00

Most organizations are thinking about AI backwards.
Published: Fri, Mar 6 2026 @ 2:00:00

Coding with AI doesn't reduce rigor
Published: Fri, Feb 20 2026 @ 1:00:00

Sometimes the reason the category is crowded is the same reason it will not
Published: Wed, Feb 18 2026 @ 2:00:00

Your data moat gets weaker the moment interpretation gets cheap.
Published: Sun, Feb 15 2026 @ 1:00:00

The biggest impact of LLMs is not replacing software.
Published: Sun, Feb 15 2026 @ 0:00:00

AI makes writing and analysis cheap.
Published: Fri, Feb 13 2026 @ 2:00:00

A strong architect is paid to say "no" earlier than everyone else.
Published: Fri, Feb 6 2026 @ 2:00:00

One old Cordova app (first launched on Aug 4, 2011).
Published: Thu, Feb 5 2026 @ 2:00:00

AI makes products look simpler while making them harder to run.
Published: Tue, Feb 3 2026 @ 2:00:00

PMF is no longer something you "achieve"
Published: Tue, Feb 3 2026 @ 1:00:00

The real scarcity is judgment, not execution.
Published: Mon, Feb 2 2026 @ 23:00:00

Understanding VC Investment Stages: From Seed to Dominance
Published: Wed, Jan 14 2026 @ 10:16:27

How a 10% Credit Card APR Cap Could Raise Your Growth Costs
Published: Wed, Jan 14 2026 @ 10:16:26

GEO: The New Frontier Beyond SEO and AEO
Published: Wed, Jan 14 2026 @ 10:16:24

Why Education No Longer Guarantees Employment
Published: Tue, Jan 13 2026 @ 10:16:24

Drone Delivery Is Easy. Getting Picked by AI Is Hard.
Published: Mon, Jan 12 2026 @ 10:16:24

Why Agentic Checkout Will Break Your Business Rules
Published: Sun, Jan 11 2026 @ 10:16:28

Stop Wasting $100K on Dev Shops Without Strategy
Published: Sun, Jan 11 2026 @ 10:16:27

Why You Should Use Plan Mode Before Writing AI Code
Published: Sun, Jan 11 2026 @ 10:16:24

Cutting features shouldn’t feel like killing your vision.
Published: Fri, Jan 9 2026 @ 10:16:39

Most product ideas fail at the feasibility layer, not the idea layer
Published: Fri, Jan 9 2026 @ 10:16:38

Why Remote Work Fails for Sense-Making
Published: Fri, Jan 9 2026 @ 10:16:35

AI in Product, Delivery, and Data
Published: Fri, Jan 9 2026 @ 10:16:31

AI in Customer Support, Product, and Leadership
Published: Fri, Jan 9 2026 @ 10:16:29

AI, Product, and Delivery
Published: Fri, Jan 9 2026 @ 10:16:26

I have an old Cordova app for iOS I wanted to convert to native
Published: Fri, Jan 2 2026 @ 10:16:30

This year reinforced something I have seen over and over across products
Published: Fri, Jan 2 2026 @ 10:16:29

AI code assistants do not make your team faster
Published: Fri, Jan 2 2026 @ 10:16:27

The 10x productivity claim with AI Is still mis
Published: Fri, Jan 2 2026 @ 10:16:26

If I see one more person calling Generative AI a tool
Published: Fri, Jan 2 2026 @ 10:16:25

One of my first apps is finally changing hands
Published: Fri, Dec 26 2025 @ 10:16:26

Most “privacy-first” products still know your real identity
Published: Fri, Dec 26 2025 @ 10:16:25

AI in Product, Engineering, and Data
Published: Wed, Dec 17 2025 @ 10:16:56

Most people get competition wrong
Published: Wed, Dec 17 2025 @ 10:16:55

corporate transformations
Published: Wed, Dec 17 2025 @ 10:16:43

Fast cheap good. Pick two?
Published: Wed, Dec 17 2025 @ 10:16:40

The bar for “good enough” is
Published: Wed, Dec 17 2025 @ 10:16:36

AI and Enterprise
Published: Wed, Dec 17 2025 @ 10:16:34

AI in Product, Sales, and Data
Published: Wed, Dec 17 2025 @ 10:16:33

AI in Product, Data
Published: Wed, Dec 17 2025 @ 10:16:32

AI in Automation, Product, and Growth
Published: Wed, Dec 17 2025 @ 10:16:31

AI in Strategy, Product, and Data
Published: Wed, Dec 17 2025 @ 10:16:27

Google just yeeted Antigravity into orbit
Published: Wed, Dec 17 2025 @ 10:16:24

AI in Strategy, Product, and Startups
Published: Mon, Nov 17 2025 @ 10:16:31

If your advisor only knows your industry
Published: Mon, Nov 17 2025 @ 10:16:30

AI in Operations, Product, and Engineering
Published: Sat, Oct 18 2025 @ 11:16:28

Today I revived an app I developed in 2011 and haven’t touched since.
Published: Sat, Oct 18 2025 @ 11:16:25

ChatGPT remembers everything about
Published: Thu, Sep 18 2025 @ 11:16:29

AI in Automation, Strategy, and Product
Published: Thu, Sep 18 2025 @ 11:16:28

AI in Strategy, Product, and Ecommerce
Published: Thu, Sep 18 2025 @ 11:16:27

Growth, Strategy, and Product
Published: Tue, Aug 19 2025 @ 11:16:39

💥 LAST MINUTE Workshop for Founders
Published: Tue, Aug 19 2025 @ 11:16:38

Most founders don't run out of ideas
Published: Tue, Aug 19 2025 @ 11:16:37

"Let's just get the requirements right the first time." That's how millions
Published: Tue, Aug 19 2025 @ 11:16:36

Most dev teams obsess over "doing it right
Published: Tue, Aug 19 2025 @ 11:16:35

The truth? Nobody really knows.
Published: Tue, Aug 19 2025 @ 11:16:33

ChatGPT has become such a suck-up
Published: Tue, Aug 19 2025 @ 11:16:31

It's not the code that kills your vision, it's the unclear decisions
Published: Tue, Aug 19 2025 @ 11:16:30

AI in Product, Sales, and Delivery
Published: Tue, Aug 19 2025 @ 11:16:29

AI doesn't raise the ceiling, it raises the floor
Published: Tue, Aug 19 2025 @ 11:16:28

Now is the time to (re)build
Published: Sun, Jul 20 2025 @ 11:16:26

Beauty is the outcome of coherence, proportion,
Published: Sun, Jul 20 2025 @ 11:16:25

AI in Product, Ecommerce, and Data
Published: Sun, Jul 20 2025 @ 11:16:24

Your favorite AI unicorn just tripped over its own numbers
Published: Fri, Jun 20 2025 @ 11:16:27

Would you leave the lights off when customers walk in?
Published: Fri, Jun 20 2025 @ 11:16:26

I'm increasingly hearing about these frustrations from Startup Founders who
Published: Fri, Jun 20 2025 @ 11:16:25

Guide to Product Roadmaps
Published: Wed, Sep 20 2023 @ 19:32:24