Build It Faster

Mike and Joe

Build it Faster with Mike and Joe

Episodes

  1. Mar 24

    Is Shipping Still the Goal? (BIF EP6)

    When AI can build anything, how do you decide what's worth building? Josh comes back on the show and throws a question at Mike and Joe that every solo dev and indie hacker is quietly wrestling with: is shipping still the goal? We dig into what "value" actually means when code is free, why building for yourself beats building for the market, and how the shovel factory metaphor exposes the trap most AI-era developers fall into without realizing it. Mike breaks down how real product managers filter signal from noise and pick what to build next. Joe makes the case that what's timeless matters more than what's novel. And Josh gets honest about pausing a product he's been heads-down on — and what that decision actually cost him. If you've ever vibe-coded three apps in a weekend and felt empty at the end of it, this one's for you. Topics covered: Signal vs noise in product prioritizationWhy passion-first building outperforms market-first buildingThe "shovel factory" trap and how to escape itWhat PMs actually do when they score backlog itemsWhen consulting beats shipping a productHow to know if your beachhead is real 00:00 Reconnecting After a Break 00:37 Navigating Project Management Challenges 03:05 Defining Value in Product Development 08:23 Signals vs. Noise in Decision Making 18:22 Finding the Right Focus in Fast-Paced Environments 26:12 Building for Passion vs. Others 27:01 Finding Excitement in Projects 28:19 Navigating the Saturated App Market 30:02 The Shovel Factory Metaphor 30:55 The Value of Timeless Solutions 32:19 Identifying Real-World Outcomes 35:23 Consulting as a Viable Path 38:58 The Importance of Use Cases 43:48 Teaching and Sharing Knowledge

    51 min

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Build it Faster with Mike and Joe