From the work
Field notes
Honest, sometimes contrarian takes on what actually works when you build with AI.
Enough mistakes to have something worth saying.
We work with AI every day. We build things with it, we think hard about it, and we've made enough mistakes with it to have something worth saying.
We write when something is worth writing down — a pattern we keep seeing, an assumption that turned out to be wrong, something we learned the hard way that might save you a few painful hours. We're not trying to cover everything. We're trying to tell you about the things we've found to be useful.
We also record podcasts when a conversation is better had out loud. Some ideas need the back-and-forth. Some things are easier to say than to write.
If you're working with AI and trying to figure out what's real and what's noise, you're in the right place.
Latest notes
- The importance of writing your own specsIf you can't explain what you want, how can an agent be expected to build it?Read the note →
- Musk: the film nobody got to seeAlex Gibney's Musk lasted two weeks in US cinemas and got written off as a flop. I'm not sure anyone really had the chance to see it.Read the note →
- Hedgehogs, Foxes and FoundersIsaiah Berlin split thinkers into hedgehogs and foxes. Founders assume they have to pick one. The ones we've seen succeed hold both - just not about the same thing.Read the note →
- Building an MVP: A Worked ExampleA real founder, a long feature wishlist, and a 'TripAdvisor for dog owners' - here's how we turned it into a scoped, buildable MVP.Read the note →
- What Is an MVP, Really? And What Actually Drives Its CostAn MVP isn't a prototype, a proof of concept, or a cut-down version of your product. Here's what actually belongs in one, and the factors that drive its complexity and cost.Read the note →
- How Much Does It Cost to Build an MVP in the UK? (2026)UK MVP costs range from £5k for a prototype to £180k+ for a complex build in 2026 - here's what drives the price, and how AI-first development changes the maths.Read the note →
- Balancing AI Tooling Costs - The FutureAI subscriptions are heavily subsidised today. Here's where the real cost of tokens is headed, and how teams should prepare.Read the note →
- Specifying is hard — and most of us have forgotten how to do itWe live in a world of off-the-shelf everything. That's made us bad at describing what we want before it exists. AI is making that problem expensive.Read the note →
- It's Not a GameTwo illusionists, an AI assistant called Deborah, and a simple message: don't let the algorithms make you forget to look up.Read the note →
Working through something similar?
If you're trying to figure out what's real and what's noise, we're happy to talk it through.
Talk to us →