Mostly Technical

By Ian Landsman and Aaron FrancisBusiness Entrepreneurship Technology

Mostly Technical episodes

August 19Sweet Hang #5: My Psychosis Moment w/ Jesse Hanley
Ian is joined by Jesse Hanley, founder of Bento, to discuss everything from Grok Bot to finding your ideal customer to the future of knowledge work and so much more.
Sponsored by Bento, DropInBlog, Valorin Security, and Svix.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - Settle All Family Business
(02:04) - Grok's Bot
(12:43) - AI & Knowledge Work
(35:17) - How much can one person automate?
(46:42) - Will normies use bots?
(59:29) - Jesse's videos
(01:12:17) - Growing Revenue
(01:20:11) - Finding your ideal customer
(01:33:56) - Cameras
(01:41:51) - Life in Japan
Links:
Jesse Hanley / @jessethanley — founder-in-the-park videos live here
Grok "bot" agent app (xAI)
OpenClaw
Hermes Agent (Nous Research)
Less Annoying CRM
Ben Orenstein
Laravel Live Japan
Tatami
Max MRR article
Hidden Multipliers (book/audiobook)
Find Your Carol workshop
A Smart Bear blog
Jason Cohen
Sony FX30
Sony a6000 (body)
Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 (Sony E)
Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II
Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS (Ian's)
Kase Filters
Patrick McKenzie
1 hr 50 min
August 18145: Marketing As Engineering
Ian & Aaron discuss what's coming to Solo, how Aaron's running marketing at Laravel, why Ian swears by a cabana, and so much more.
Sponsored by Bento, DropInBlog, Valorin Security, and Svix.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - Cabana Life
(12:44) - Using Linear for Marketing
(22:57) - Who's agent should you use?
(33:02) - Marketing = Engineering?
(45:37) - Aaron's hit tweet
(56:42) - Solo Updates
(01:04:27) - Laravel Live Denmark
Links:
Sandpearl Resort, Clearwater Beach
Martha's Vineyard
Surf Style
Jason Cohen has the DropInBlog founder on the show
Jason Cohen's new book, Hidden Multipliers
Laracon US photos
Sam Sappenfield's tweet
"We built laracon.us/photos. We're not developers."
Aaron's codebase-audit tweet
Soloterm
Laravel Live Denmark
Aaron's DSA audit prompt gist
1 hr 11 min
August 11144: First Week as VP
Ian and Aaron discuss Aaron's first week as VP of Marketing & Community at Laravel, why he's writing manifestos in Notion, Ian's huge week with AI coding, and an update on Nachogate.
Plus Ian's live from a cabana, ending Token Town (RIP to a real one), and so much more.
Sponsored by Bento, DropInBlog, Valorin Security, and Svix.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - Live from a cabana
(03:26) - The End of Token Town
(10:39) - Aaron's First Week
(28:03) - A few manifestos
(44:24) - 1:1's
(53:40) - Ian's Mega AI Coding Week
(01:10:21) - Nachogate Update
(01:12:43) - Aaron's Studio Update
(01:18:25) - The next Illustrated Classics
Links:
Aaron's Notion setup
Taylor's tweet about Trello
Rands In Repose: The Update, The Vent, and The Disaster
John O'Nolan's tweet indicating some discrepancies with the nacho story
Great Illustrated Classics
1 hr 23 min
August 05143: Rice On Your Nachos
Ian and Aaron are back for a second episode this week to talk about more LaraProm & Laracon follow up, why Ian will never ship Outro (kidding), and.....adding rice to your nachos?
Sponsored by Bento, DropInBlog, Valorin Security, and Svix.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - Aaron's First Real Day
(04:38) - LaraProm -> Laracon
(23:05) - Never Ship
(37:33) - Nachos With Rice
(47:06) - First Class Is Better
(53:29) - Aaron's Sewing Machine
(01:02:47) - Shower Wine Follow Up
Links:
Laracon US Day 1 Stream
Laracon US Day 2 Stream
Hannah Gzehoviak on Twitter
House of Blanks
1 hr 7 min
August 04142: Aaron's a VP at Laravel?!
Ian and Aaron are back after Laracon US to talk about....Aaron's new job as VP of Marketing & Community at Laravel?!
Plus a recap of LaraProm, something called "shower wine", and more.
Sponsored by Bento, DropInBlog, Valorin Security, and Svix.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - We're back, baby
(01:26) - VP of Marketing & Community
(14:15) - What prepared Aaron for this position?
(27:31) - Grand Unifying Theory of Laravel Marketing
(50:21) - What's next for Try Hard?
(55:28) - Shower wine (?)
(01:04:06) - The future of MT
(01:16:11) - LaraProm
Links:
Laracon US
Laravel Live UK
Aaron's tweet announcing his new job
Chris Fidao on Twitter
Solo
Ian's LaraProm Photos
1 hr 24 min
July 21141: The Era of Sol
Ian and Aaron discuss letting Sol Ultra rip for over 2 days straight, Aaron's new side project, problems with macOS, trying to price AI usage in apps, and more.
Sponsored by Bento & DropInBlog.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
Going to Laracon? Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!

(00:00) - Tim Cook's Office
(06:00) - Introducing cfmpeg
(12:27) - Ian & ElevenLabs
(15:04) - Subscriptions In Outro
(18:45) - World Cup
(24:06) - Sol Ultra
(28:07) - An Update on HelpSpot AI Pricing
(52:04) - Aaron’s Custom Model
(01:07:40) - Next Week: Laracon US!
(01:10:23) - Great Illustrated Classics
Links:
cfmpeg
ElevenLabs
GPT-5.6 Sol
Ian on Notes on Work
HelpSpot AI
Token Town Episode 008
BigSkyDevConf
Laracon US
Great Illustrated Classics
1 hr 18 min
July 14140: Eating The Burst
Ian and Aaron talk about pricing AI usage in apps, what's coming next for HelpSpot, a Jay-Z concert in NYC, and so much more.
Sponsored by Bento & DropInBlog.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
Going to Laracon? Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!

(00:00) - Aaron got a ticket
(06:45) - Jay-Z Concert
(11:47) - World Cup Update
(22:36) - Blogging & SEO
(29:19) - Pricing AI Usage In Apps
(43:43) - HelpSpot & AI
(59:54) - GPT Sol & Fable
Links:
Jay-Z at Yankee Stadium
Clock Radio Speakers Patreon
19th.com
GPT Sol 5.6
Token Town Episode 007
1 hr 11 min
July 07139: High On Fable
Ian and Aaron talk about saving a kid's life (!), Solo's big update, and an emerging controversy - do you still need to read the code?
Sponsored by Bento & DropInBlog.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
Going to Laracon? Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!

(00:00) - Aaron Saved A Life
(05:18) - No Good Comes From A Bounce House
(11:40) - 4th of July Parades
(15:20) - Workspaces In Solo
(24:33) - Should You Still Read The Code?
(40:05) - Aaron's Breakout Tweet
(51:05) - Outro Update
Links:
Big Tex is Destroyed By Fire
Solo
Aaron's tweet about Louis CK
Nate Bargatze
Jim Gaffigan
Filament
1 hr 4 min
July 01138: Back In The Game
Ian and Aaron discuss Ian's misadventures with poker, a huge update for Solo (Windows!), why Aaron thinks languages don't matter but frameworks & ecosystems do, and so much more.
Sponsored by Laracon AU, Honeybadger, Bento, Vask, and DropInBlog.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
Going to Laracon? Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!

(00:00) - Mostly Poker
(10:55) - Poker Town?
(13:34) - Outro Update
(20:46) - Solo for Windows (!)
(30:50) - Pricing Advice
(33:52) - Laravel Live UK
(42:58) - Languages Don't Matter
(56:09) - LaraProm Update
(01:04:46) - World Cup
Links:
World Series of Poker
Resorts World Las Vegas
Outro
Solo
1 hr 14 min
June 23137: You Do Have To Care w/ John Drexler & Daniel Coulbourne
Aaron is joined by John & Daniel of Thunk to talk about why you should think like a PM, what they want to see from Solo, trash cans in New York, "footy", and a whole lot more.
Sponsored by Laracon AU, Honeybadger, Bento, Vask, and DropInBlog.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
Going to Laracon? Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party!

(00:00) - Introduction to the Thunk Boys
(04:13) - Working on Laravel Forge
(09:22) - What does Daniel do?
(14:30) - Big week for New York
(22:34) - World Cup Social Media
(29:13) - Laravel Live
(36:33) - AI Code Responsibilities
(41:52) - Think Like A PM
(51:08) - Do Old Best Practices Still Apply?
(58:12) - Daniel's Solo Gripes & Asks
(01:20:34) - Tidy
(01:24:02) - Where Is Ian?
Links:
Thunk
Talking Businessly
Tighten
Laravel Forge
Laravel Live UK
Laravel Live Japan
Laravel Live Denmark
Solo
Tidy
1 hr 29 min