The AI agents I recommend
My recommendations for getting started with a personal AI agent and giving a team agent the context and access it needs.
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Notes, TILs, and half-formed ideas
Short posts, mostly: things I learned the hard way with AI agents, Elixir and Phoenix, Bubble plugins, and the occasional tweet that needed more room. The founder-coaching archive is still here — I used to do that work, and the notes aged better than the title.
TIL: Postgres truncates long database names, so I hash my worktree name
Postgres identifiers stop at 63 bytes. If your Phoenix dev database name comes from a branch or worktree name, a descriptive branch will silently blow past that limit and your app will try to connect to a database that does not exist.
Read the articleMy agent shipped 35 commits in one day. Here's what I had to fix.
A scan of my dstar repo shows 63 percent agent-involved commits and 35 of them landing in a single day — and the human work was all review.
Read the articleWhat's a klanker?
A klanker is an AI agent that does real work, and managing them is now a job title — here is what that job actually involves.
Read the articleHow Pled builds my Bubble plugins
Bubble plugins normally live in a browser editor with copy-paste code and no version history. Pled is the Elixir CLI that pulls my plugin out into real files, so I can build the Tiptap rich-text editor and my other Bubble plugins like normal software.
Read the articleTIL: Datastar's takeover signal, and letting the page refuse first
Field notes on Datastar SSE takeover — one stream replacing another, stale takeover signals poisoning the next stream, and why the page gets first refusal.
Read the articleHow to have the cofounder conversation you keep avoiding
A practical script for founders who need to address cofounder tension before it turns into politics, resentment, or execution drag.
Read the articleFounder accountability without micromanaging
How startup founders create follow-through with clear agreements, visible commitments, and a steady review rhythm instead of nagging people.
Read the articleRun meetings the Mochary way
Most of a meeting can happen before the meeting. The Mochary Method system for meetings that are short, decision-driven, and never end without written actions.
Read the articleWait a month. Your new hire's odds go from 50/50 to 90%+
How ClassDojo turned executive hiring from a coin flip into a near-sure thing with a shadowing month — and why new hires love it rather than feel insulted.
Read the articleConvince me you still want the job
A brutal, clarifying exercise for founders quietly wondering whether they should still be CEO — and how to tell "tired" apart from "done."
Read the articleWrite the issue down before you bring it to anyone
The IPS — Issue, Proposed Solution — is how Mochary Method CEOs prepare for coaching. Three questions that often solve the problem before the meeting starts.
Read the articleWhat does a CEO coach actually do?
Coaching is not advice and it is not therapy. What actually happens in Mochary-style CEO coaching, week by week, and how to tell if it is working.
Read the articleMake decisions visible before they become politics
A lightweight decision practice for founders who need speed without chaos.
Read the articleHave the hard conversation while it is still small
A practical script for first-time founders who avoid tension until it becomes expensive.
Read the articleProtect founder energy like a company asset
Why managing attention, recovery, and emotional load is not self-care theater—it is execution infrastructure.
Read the articleFeedback is an execution system, not a personality test
How founders can make feedback normal, specific, and useful before avoidance becomes culture.
Read the articleOne-on-ones are where culture becomes real
How to run one-on-ones that build trust, improve execution, and surface problems early.
Read the articleDelegate outcomes, not tasks
A founder’s guide to handing off work without creating confusion, resentment, or silent failure.
Read the articleClean agreements beat heroic follow-up
Why first-time founders should replace vague promises with explicit owners, deadlines, and definitions of done.
Read the articleRun a weekly execution review that people do not dread
How to turn the weekly meeting into a decision and accountability engine instead of a status theater.
Read the articleYour first CEO dashboard should be boring
The first-time founder dashboard that creates clarity without turning the company into a reporting machine.
Read the articleBuild the founder operating system before you need it
A practical guide to installing simple Mochary-style habits before founder chaos becomes company drag.
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