GiordanoRandone

I'm in love with building great products. Writing about all the things that matter to me, and hopefully to you as well.

Projects

What I'm working on right now.

ovao

The relational AI coach that understands you and your team.

Every AI hears one side. It listens to one person and backs their view, so the gap between two people grows instead of closing.

ovao also knows what the people around you have shared about how they work. Collaboration profiles, shared on purpose, feed a coach that gives advice for a real situation with a real person, and a team profile that shows where working styles complement each other and where friction is likely.

12 Principles

Things I try to stick to.

I use what I recommend

I only recommend things I actually use. If a tool or a habit doesn't hold up in my own life, I won't tell you it'll work in yours.

It has to matter

Money matters, I'm not naive about that. But I'd rather work on something I still believe in five years from now than on whatever pays best this quarter.

If it's not fun, why bother?

When I stop enjoying something, the work gets worse. I've seen it happen often enough that I take it seriously when the fun starts to fade.

I like staying small

I like staying small. I can move quickly, keep the quality where I want it, and actually know the people I work with.

The small stuff counts

Most people can't say why something feels good to use. They just notice that it does. Usually it's the small stuff, and that's where I like to spend my time.

No exit plan

I'm not building toward an exit. If something I made makes someone's day a bit easier, that's enough for me.

I follow rabbit holes

I go down a lot of rabbit holes. Most of them lead nowhere, but a few turned into the things I'm proudest of.

Sleep on it

My best ideas usually show up on a walk or after a good night's sleep. I've thrown away enough code written at 2 AM to know that rest is part of the job.

Tell me what I missed

I get plenty wrong on my own. The people around me spot things I'd never see, so I ask them for honest feedback and try to really listen.

Travel light

I try to keep everything light: my tools, my calendar, the stuff I own. The more I carry around, the slower I get.

The work comes first

I care more about the work than about how it looks from the outside. Titles and personal branding are nice, but they're not the point.

Do it properly

I care about how things are made. I'd rather do a few things properly than a lot of things halfway, and it usually shows in the result.

Contact

Get in touch

If something here made you think of me, write me. I read everything and usually answer within a few days.

hello@giordanorandone.com