a day ago
- Jim Barksdale's theory: there are only two ways to make money in business: bundling and unbundling.
- The author accidentally started a Ruby+AI meetup (Artificial Ruby) in New York, which grew to 60+ attendees.
- Running the meetup involved tedious tasks like syncing RSVPs, newsletters, and estimating attendance, which led to building a custom tool.
- The author built a hyper-niche tool called 'Where Is Everyone' that syncs Luma and Mailchimp, tracks attendance patterns, and estimates pizza needs.
- This tool represents an unbundling of Zapier: a domain-specific solution made possible by falling software costs.
- Falling software costs enable one-person businesses serving 50 customers with perfect tools, similar to how cheaper shipping enabled IKEA.
- The article explores the impact of AI on work, referencing 'Brace for the Fuckening' and the potential for new types of jobs in a low-cost software world.
- The author concludes by connecting the meetup, the tool, and speculative fiction about future jobs, emphasizing convergence of these ideas.