Gabe Mays

Gabe Mays / Semper esurientem. Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:17:10 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /wp-content/uploads/2023/11/cropped-gmays-32x32.png Gabe Mays / 32 32 Main Character 🦸‍♂️ /main-character/ Fri, 06 Mar 2026 04:18:30 +0000 /?p=1453 I’m working on a new app called Main Character. It’s a gamified productivity app where you earn XP and level up for completing tasks & tracking habits. Tasks run on a kanban board and habits show up on a GitHub-style consistency graph. Basic tasks + habit tracking are live today and I use it daily.

]]> Pragmatic agent-native architecture /building-agent-native-software/ Thu, 15 Jan 2026 22:00:14 +0000 /?p=1373 Over the last few months I went deep burning ~$1,000/month on tokens building various ‘agent-native’ products and trying new things. I finally realized what ‘agent-native’ means through trial and error. I couldn’t believe how simple it was. I’ll explain the gist here to save you the hassle, and hopefully you’ll use it to build something awesome. Current (pre-AI) software assumes the…

]]> HaaS will be the new SaaS /haas-will-be-the-new-saas/ Sun, 07 Dec 2025 20:16:32 +0000 /?p=1360 HaaS will be the new SaaS…but we’ll still call it SaaS because it’s all just software. I had this realization when I tried using GPT Codex and Gemini in Cursor with plan mode. Opus/Sonnet are insanely good with Cursor plan mode, but Codex/Gemini are pretty bad in that harness. What I learned is that the models work different in how they plan execute, which makes sense.

]]> Blind constraints, not blind spots /blind-constraints-not-blind-spots/ Mon, 10 Nov 2025 19:56:00 +0000 /?p=1354 The AI boom is exciting, there’s so much opportunity and so much to build at the application layer. But the question is: what to build? Two theses I’ve seen for AI application startups: On the first one, I don’t consider luck a strategy. This could work, but as a founder I’d have a hard time building something that isn’t sustainable or without a long-term vision. On the second…

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]]> How AI makes for better software (& companies) /how-ai-makes-for-better-software-companies/ Wed, 15 Oct 2025 18:54:00 +0000 /?p=1330 Most of my experience with AI had been retrofitting: Incorporating AI into existing software and codebases. Yeah, what a mess. I imagine it’s like it was trying to electrify existing factories. The habits, workflows, assumptions, etc. were just too different. Contrast that with starting a new project with AI so everything is AI-native and code is AI-maintainable from the start.

]]> AI should write 50%+ of your code /ai-should-write-50-of-your-code/ Tue, 07 Oct 2025 18:38:00 +0000 /?p=1327 If AI isn’t writing 50%+ of your code by the end of the year, you’re moving too slow and you’ll get lapped by the next competitor who does. The bar will be 90%+ soon after (for me it’s over 99%). There may have been an excuse before, but not since Sonnet 4.5 released. If you try it and think it’s still not good enough, you’re probably using it wrong. And it’ll only get harder to adapt as…

]]> Estimated tokens to merge (ETM) & other thoughts on AI coding /estimated-tokens-to-merge-etm-other-notes/ Sun, 05 Oct 2025 19:15:53 +0000 /?p=1306 Time-based estimates don’t make sense when your pair programmer is an AI. So, I switched to ETM (estimated tokens to merge). It’s the agent’s token budget to design, implement, and polish a feature until it’s merge-ready. Doing that helped flip to more of an AI native, agent first mindset that’s helping me embrace a new way of working. By default Cursor always gave me…

]]> Apple & Amazon will miss AI like Intel missed mobile /the-biggest-bet-in-tech/ Fri, 15 Aug 2025 19:41:05 +0000 /?p=1257 The biggest bet in tech right now isn’t a deliberate decision, but rather the result of company cultures that were a benefit until they weren’t. The result? Apple and Amazon will miss AI like Intel missed mobile. Tim Cook and Andy Jassy “CEOs of Apple and Amazon” both agree that AI is a paradigm shift, “as big or bigger than the internet.” But the strategies their companies are…

]]> 3 year follow-up on buying the dip on pandemic stocks /3-year-follow-up-on-buying-the-dip-on-pandemic-stocks/ Thu, 24 Jul 2025 15:06:30 +0000 /?p=1197 This is my 3-year investment update following buying the dip on ‘pandemic stocks’ that declined (70%+) in 2022. I started sharing public updates 1-2 times a year. Data in this update is as of June 2025. In early 2023 I built one of the first AI products at my company and my head exploded with the possibilities. So later that year I started reallocating into AI-related stocks.

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]]> Quick guide to heuristic & bot programming contests /quick-guide-to-heuristic-bot-programming-contests/ Wed, 16 Jul 2025 18:11:37 +0000 /?p=1230 Heuristic ([H]) or bot ([B]) contests are a killer way to improve your programming, problem-solving, and prototyping skills. It’s best to just dive in and focus on rapid improvement. Here are my notes from this tweet storm on the topic, credit to Psyho for the insights. Make touch typing your top priority. Spending 10-30 hours mastering this skill drastically improves…

]]> AI killed the hardware cycle /ai-killed-the-personal-hardware-cycle/ Tue, 15 Jul 2025 17:45:08 +0000 /?p=1226 I was having trouble charging my phone (iPhone 12 Pro Max) yesterday and wondered how old it was. It’s 5 years old I was shocked, that’s the longest I’ve ever had a phone. Before this one I was on the Apple upgrade program for years, so I got a new phone every year. Then I stopped because setting things up on a new phone became more trouble than the benefit of getting a new phone.

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]]> 500 days of math /500-days-of-math/ Mon, 05 May 2025 18:03:14 +0000 /?p=1139 I recently crossed 500 days of practicing math daily with Math Academy. I wrote about my experience after 100 days here. TL;DR: I am still very impressed by the Math Academy system and highly recommend it, but you get out of it what you put in. My consistency has been exceptional, but my volume has been frequently low, which has had a cascading impact on my progress. To help…

]]> How to build (more) successful products /how-to-build-more-successful-products/ Wed, 15 Jan 2025 18:59:37 +0000 /?p=1106 I’ve been consistently impressed with how fast new, AI-native companies are growing. Cursor is a great example: Cursor isn’t alone here. I’ve noticed a few things consistent between them that’ll inform new products I build going forward. The distribution angle resonates since I was listening to Nikita Bier on Lenny’s podcast last night and he talked about how he…

]]> 2.5 year follow-up on buying the dip on pandemic stocks /2-5-year-follow-up-on-buying-the-dip-on-pandemic-stocks/ Sun, 15 Dec 2024 19:45:31 +0000 /?p=1030 I bought the dip on several ‘pandemic stocks’ that had significant declines (70%+) in 2022 and started sharing public updates 1-2 times a year. In Q3 2023 I began reallocating into AI-related stocks when I developed strong conviction. I’m also working on a self-funded AI startup, which keeps me in the loop. Returns have been strong and continue to give me the runway to work on my startup…

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]]> Why incumbents struggle with AI more than it seems /why-incumbents-struggle-with-ai-more-than-it-seems/ Sat, 07 Sep 2024 19:32:58 +0000 /?p=949 Historically, startups had an innovation advantage because incumbents were slow to adopt new technologies. On the surface, AI seems different from past secular trends like mobile because incumbents are readily adopting it. But with AI, mere adoption is not enough. It’s not sufficient to slap the AI label on something or add an AI chatbot to a product. Even ‘integrating’ AI with…

]]> 2 year follow-up on buying the dip on pandemic stocks /2-year-follow-up-on-buying-the-dip-on-pandemic-stocks/ Mon, 03 Jun 2024 13:07:05 +0000 /?p=890 For context, I bought several ‘pandemic stocks’ following the dip in 2022. Previous updates: TL;DR I planned on holding those stocks for a few years, but ended up parlaying into AI when I developed strong conviction. I’m also working full-time on an AI startup now. The returns have given me the runway to work on my startup full-time for the foreseeable future.

]]> POPSMASH: Why we started with a Shopify app 🚀 /shopify-mvp-launch/ Fri, 17 May 2024 04:06:36 +0000 /?p=841 Update: We shutdown POPSMASH. Our idea was innovative, but we moved too slow since it was a side project and established competitors quickly copied our AI features. We could have doubled down, but with AI moving so fast, the premise of AI quizzes isn’t viable long-term. My co-founder and I also had some personal events that made us reassess our priorities. So we opted to cut our losses…

]]> Consumer AI product retention /consumer-ai-product-retention/ Thu, 21 Mar 2024 15:51:02 +0000 /?p=819 Olivia Moore recently posted a thread on Twitter about retention in AI consumer products: It got my wheels turning, forcing me to flesh out my intuitions and assumptions about retention with consumer AI products. Consumer retention differs by era but always ties to what that era uniquely enabled. For example, Internet 1.0 enabled websites and search. So…

]]> Aggregating demand in the age of AI abundance /aggregation-abundance-ai/ Tue, 19 Mar 2024 03:38:56 +0000 /?p=801 Today, consumers are overwhelmed by choice. ‘Aggregators’ help curate this choice and own demand by doing so better than anyone else. But AI is intelligence, and intelligence creates things. Products, services, songs, movies, experiences, you name it. There will be orders of magnitude more choices than there are today. So what’s a human to do? Just like Google, Amazon…

]]> Disruption is different with AI (& more dangerous for incumbents) /disruption-is-different-with-ai/ Sun, 03 Mar 2024 17:37:25 +0000 /?p=790 In the past, disruption was about whether or not incumbents adopt new technologies. It went something like this: But with AI, it’s not about adoption. Adopting AI is table stakes. The danger for incumbents is the degree of AI adoption. It’s easy to superficially integrate AI to claim you have an AI strategy. However, creating a compelling product predicated on post-AI…

]]> Build AI products, but don’t think of them like that /build-ai-products-but-dont-call-them-that/ Wed, 14 Feb 2024 17:32:18 +0000 /?p=732 AI is a great marketing term to describe your product, but setting out to build ‘AI’ products often leads to poor results. AI gives us all a generational opportunity to reinvent every industry—especially in industries where incumbents are predicated on pre-AI assumptions and can’t adapt without destroying their current business. There’s never been a better time to start a business…

]]> How I’m (re)learning math as an adult /how-im-relearning-math-as-an-adult/ Wed, 17 Jan 2024 19:04:48 +0000 /?p=457 Update: See my daily math streak progress here I recently passed 100 days of practicing math every single day I’ve wanted to beef up my math chops for a while, but I needed a good reason that would justify the time investment. Plus, it’s always easier to learn when you have a clear goal and something meaningful to apply it to. So, it never reached the top of my priority list.

]]> How to host WordPress sites free with GitHub + Cloudflare Pages /how-to-host-wordpress-sites-free/ Mon, 01 Jan 2024 04:59:00 +0000 /?p=321 I used WordPress for over 15 years — it’s a solid tool if you need everything it offers. But what if you want to switch to a lower-cost, lower-maintenance, more secure setup? Here’s how to do it. Until recently, I built WordPress-related software, so I maintained a dozen WordPress sites to ensure I used it regularly (yay, dogfooding). In fact, there was a period when I committed to…

]]> Business questions worth asking /business-questions-worth-asking/ Fri, 10 Nov 2023 18:22:18 +0000 /?p=436 This is a list of questions I’ve collected over the years that resonate with my business and product philosophies. Most are not original and were collected from or inspired by various books, articles or talks. These primarily apply to ‘tech’ businesses, but every business must become a ‘tech’ business to some extent to thrive these days.

]]> PSA: Put your cash in a money market instead of a savings account /psa-put-your-cash-in-a-money-market-instead-of-a-savings-account/ Wed, 08 Nov 2023 17:51:37 +0000 /?p=425 I am sharing this since this may not be common knowledge for some: Due to the current high-interest rates, you’ll earn much more on your savings in a money market account compared to a standard savings account. Current Bank of America savings yield is ~0.01%, while for Vanguard’s money market fund (VMFXX) it’s 5.29%. In late 2023…

]]> 1.5 year follow-up on buying the dip on pandemic stocks /1-5-year-follow-up-on-buying-the-dip-on-pandemic-stocks/ Fri, 03 Nov 2023 16:29:09 +0000 /?p=342 I was only planning on giving annual updates but opted to give this 18-month update, given the changes I made a couple of months ago to rebalance my portfolio. As a recap, I bought several ‘pandemic stocks’ following the dip in 2022. I gave a 1-year update in mid-2023 here. I planned on holding all of them longer, but 1) the recent boom in AI forced me to consider a rebalance and 2)…

]]> The problem with crypto /cryptos-real-problem/ Fri, 06 Oct 2023 18:23:03 +0000 /?p=297 This post was prompted by Li Jin’s piece stating that the barrier to crypto’s mainstream adoption is product-market fit: Li cites examples like Facebook and the iPhone. Here’s the thing: those are products, but crypto is a technology. TM fit, not PM fit. Usually, new tech does existing things incrementally better until we discover what the new tech uniquely enables.

]]> Thoughts on AI so far /why-ai-is-everything-nothing/ Fri, 29 Sep 2023 18:37:29 +0000 /?p=275 Remember the .mobi domain? It distinguished the ‘mobile internet’ from the regular internet. But now it’s all just the internet. It’s the norm. The same thing is happening with AI. AI was already everywhere, including in things we use daily, like autocomplete. However, technological improvements enabled an explosion in capabilities that became accessible to consumers via chat interfaces…

]]> 1 year follow-up on buying the dip on pandemic stocks /1-year-follow-up-on-buying-the-dip-on-pandemic-stocks/ Mon, 12 Jun 2023 13:55:00 +0000 /?p=326 Last year there was a post asking what folks were doing to profit from the current/upcoming recession on Hacker News. I replied that I purchased some pandemic stocks, which I started doing in April 2022. Most of my purchasing was through summer 2022, but I’ve bought others more recently, like Carvana on the dip in December (which luckily popped since it became a meme stock), as well as Meta…

]]> Recession opportunities /recession-opportunities/ Sat, 01 Oct 2022 03:49:00 +0000 /?p=478 There’s a question on Hacker News about what people were doing to profit from the current/upcoming recession in 2022. I responded about the investments I made earlier in the year. Below is the response in full, plus answers to a couple of follow-up questions I received. During the last recession (GFC), I did well with real estate. Every $100k invested has grown 3-4X…

]]> Growing app ecosystems /growing-app-ecosystems/ /growing-app-ecosystems/#respond Tue, 23 Mar 2021 22:27:42 +0000 /?p=96 On Hacker News I came across a thread with some good insight into app developer experience at Shopify: The interesting thing about app ecosystems is that, in a way, they’re similar to social networks from a creator perspective: App developers and creators are trying to build a following/customer base on a new platform. For example, on Youtube, Instagram, etc., the elite with the…

]]> /growing-app-ecosystems/feed/ 0 Subtracting to multiply /subtracting-to-multiply/ Fri, 12 Mar 2021 18:15:10 +0000 /?p=122 A recent article on Stratechery connected a few dots for me on digital transformations and how tech evolves. I’m a fan of Notion. Lately, I’ve been playing with the Bulletproof Workspace template. I now better understand why people are building on Notion. The interesting thing about Notion and Airtable is they are part of another digital transformation trend (in addition to no-code/

]]> Why WordPress needs Gutenberg (& the future of page builders) /why-wordpress-needs-gutenberg-the-future-of-page-builders/ Sun, 23 Sep 2018 09:11:00 +0000 /?p=47 WordPress is the largest CMS in the world, powering ~1/3 of all websites. The WordPress editing experience hasn’t changed much in over a decade and Gutenberg now aims to completely reinvent it. That’s a big deal. It won’t be easy, but here’s 1) why it’s worth it and 2) what it means for page builders. The WordPress ecosystem has been trying to improve the site editing…

]]> How I got into tech /how-i-got-into-tech/ Mon, 15 Jun 2015 11:36:00 +0000 /?p=363 I didn’t start working in tech until my late 20’s. I’ve always been interested in it, doing everything from building websites to building computers to get the edge in computer games as a kid in the 90’s. But my tech career didn’t start until late into my military career after college. My college experience was a speed run. I focused on graduating quickly to get out in the world.

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