The Joe Reis Show

“What I built today might be obsolete tomorrow.”This is something I heard this week from a developer, and this is not uncommon given the warp speed nonstop advancement of AI models every week. We used to measure the rate of change in months or years. Now it’s days or weeks.In this episode, I talk about why writing code is rarely hard part, and why having good taste and shipping things that people love is the most important things we can do.

In this episode, Nik Suresh returns to the show to discuss his first year running a bootstrapped services company. And no, he probably will not throat punch or pile drive you.Nik explains why he moved away from hourly billing to fixed pricing, why writing code is often the least profitable part of a project, and how to spot "status games" in the tech industry. We also dive into the current state of AI, why bad leadership is the real problem behind failed tech initiatives, and trade stories about MMA and boxing.We debunk the myth that starting a business has to be miserable, explore the performative nature of "hustle culture" in Silicon Valley, and break down why engineers often struggle with consulting sales.

Oh yeah...ontologies. In this mini-clip from Matt Housley and I, we chat about why ontologies are super popular now.

Had an interesting discussion with my 15 year old son. He and his friends see white collar work as “cooked.” They see it as a rat race where the work is increasingly insecure, abusive, and meaningless. Then there’s the looming question of AI…Instead, they’re interested in careers they find meaningful and not as exposed to whatever AI does to work. And if they own a company, they’ll just hire “clankers” whenever that moment arrives.I’m excited that these kids are looking at what’s happening right now, questioning if it’s their path, and choosing a life that’s fit for them.More broadly, especially in the age of AI, I think some of the most important conversations we need to have is over what we find valuable and meaningful, making a living and the nature of work, and the nature of community.

It's Friday! Matt Housley and I catch up to discuss the aftermath of AWS re:Invent and why the industry’s obsession with AI Agents might be premature. We also dive deep into the hardware wars between Google and NVIDIA , the "brain-damaged" nature of current LLMs , and the growing "enshittification" of the internet and platforms like LinkedIn. Plus, I reveals some details about my upcoming "Mixed Model Arts" project.