Ewakened — Tales and takes from the frontline of tech.

Introducing Runner

It was December 28th. I woke up at 6am and Cursor had been running all night. I had Claude working while I slept, writing code, pushing commits, doing things that would have taken me a full day. Just sitting there staring at the screen, coffee getting cold, and realizing life wasn't going to be the same. I got a taste of the agentic workflow and couldn't go back. Turns out I wasn't the only one. When the Christmas break ended, Charlie and Yitong, my co-founders at Agora, had similar epiphanies

How I build: Dec 2025 Edition

I treat AI as a tool and like any tool, people can use the same tools in different ways to acheive different results. I recently realized that I use AI differently than some of my colleagues so I was encouraged to share how I code. Before I talk about the tools and tactics, it's important to remember that I have a golden rule when using AI to code: Don't get AI to build something you don't understand or haven't built at least 3 times before. CRUD application? ✅ Simple Tab View Mobile App? ✅

The Messy Middle

My family is moving into a new house and we wanted to do a little bit of remodelling upstairs. Nothing big, just closing off a wall, making a closet a little bigger and swapping out a sink in the bathroom. My wife's family owns a construction business, so we are lucky to have an inside track with contractors and knowledge. My father in law is a genius, he runs his own construction business but still made time to come and measure, sketch and draw up the plans himself. My wife and I his customers

Someone needs to hear it

So, you want to write something but you are feeling like you can’t finish and post it for a really simple reason: there are 6 people in the world smarter than you on this topic, surely they should write it not you. During an interview today for Agora’s product manager, a warrior of art reminded me of this mental block and it rung so true. How many great pieces of advice, lessons, ideas and inspiration are left unsaid due to someone feeling as though they aren’t qualified enough to talk about it

Agora - Year One

🎯Agora is a software business that I started with Charlie and Yitong. We recently raised a $5M round led by Haun Ventures and are excited about the next chapter of the business. You know that feeling when you start a new job. You are sitting there at your computer, a new one, reading something or typing something, basically trying to look busy. You have this realization that you have no idea who these people are beside you. I mean you know them, but you don't really know them. You are reading t

You are spelling Love wrong

I've got a busy summer. Agora is growing, we just hired our 6th developer and we have some exciting new protocols that we are building decentralized governance for. I shouldn't take a vacation, I am too busy. But I will, and I am. I still see echos of the hustle culture and productivity porn that I came of age professionally in but thanks to Cal Newport's Slow Productivity movement and Tim Ferriss' new outlook on life, I feel the tide is changing. So how do you spell love? T-I-M-E There is

Meta Bites the Apple

Someone on Meta's PR team deserves a big bonus with the announcement of Meta Horizon OS today. 🏃‍♀️Horizon OS is a new platform like iOS or Android designed for VR software. Meta has partnered with other big names, Asus, Lenovo, Xbox to build devices using this new OS. Why does PR get the win? Simple... this is definition press release driven development. If I had to guess, when Apple was ready to launch the Vision Pro back in February and word got out that YouTube and Netflix were absent, so

The AI Race Has Begun

Today marks the beginning of the AI race. Wait, wasn't that a year ago when ChatGPT burst on the scene? ChatGPT created a new paradigm for how we would be interacting with AI models. ChatGPT popularized conversational workflows. These tools works best when you imagine you have a very smart friend sitting beside you. Simply turn to it and ask it anything you want, and well, you get pretty good stuff back. My family is taking a vacation over March break, and we were looking for a place to stay in

They didn’t hire you to sit silently

Just don’t be a jerk about it.

Habit Change That Works

Eawakened: How to Form a Habit That Sticks For 378 days, according to my strides app, I’ve worn the badge of “healthy hands.” That might sound ridiculous coming from a chronic nail biter like me, but trust me, these fingernails – once perpetually bloody stubs – are practically pageant-worthy. No, they’re not ballerina-length masterpieces, but considering my history, they’re pretty darn phenomenal. And I have one unexpected hero to thank: a podcast episode and a simple phrase that shifted my en

The Audio Diet

In this fast-paced world, where every moment counts, I’ve recently noticed a peculiar habit of mine: a relentless quest for sound and information. As a dedicated father and entrepreneur, my days are a juggling act between family responsibilities and business ambitions. This leaves little room for stillness, a rare commodity in my life. For two decades, I’ve embraced meditation, seeking solace in mindfulness. Yet, in a candid admission, I find my mind seldom at rest. Whether I’m engaged in munda

What do to with ideas

In my mind, always bustling with ideas, I find myself constantly trying to create. Everywhere I look, I see opportunities, businesses, and also distractions. My nature is to fully commit to an idea, to nurture and build upon it. Yet, there are always other tempting ideas floating around, luring me to explore them. I am loyal. I ignore these other ideas, knowing I don’t have the time to invest in them. I feel that ideas are like living entities, craving growth and consuming the thoughts and desi