More coffee dates

Share

More coffee dates

My resolution this year is to say yes to more of those coffee dates you get asked to go on. They start like Hey! I was wondering if I could grab a coffee with you and get your help with hunting fo...

Ewakened @kentf

My resolution this year is to say yes to more of those coffee dates you get asked to go on. They start like

Hey! I was wondering if I could grab a coffee with you and get your help with hunting for my next gig, been working as a growth PM for a year now and figured you’d be a good resource for tips on making my next move

Sometimes these are fishing expeditions, driven around getting a new job or introduction, but often, as advertised, someone out there either looks up to you, respects your opinion or just wants to get your thoughts on something.

I always said no to these in the past. I took pride in it. Worse, sometimes I would just ignore them, or say yes, but then not actually book anything, so why didn’t I say no. I vow to change that this year.

So why did I stop staying yes? These meetups are time consuming, and right around the time I had my first kid, I started saying no. It coincided with a lot of Tim Ferriss reading / listening too, and I am sure the lesson in how to say no, didn’t help.

Why am I saying yes again? Because I couldn’t think of a good reason to say no. Obviously, I will still say no, but in 2023, I’m saying yes more often. To more coffee dates and more opportunities for learning. I’m going to walk away from all of these meetings with at least two new, meaningful connections, and that’s something I’m really looking forward to. Tim Ferriss be damned.

Read more

Introducing Runner

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

By Kent Fenwick
How I build: Dec 2025 Edition

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? ✅

By Kent Fenwick
The Messy Middle

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

By Kent Fenwick
Someone needs to hear it

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

By Kent Fenwick