Mostly Technical

By Ian Landsman and Aaron FrancisBusiness Entrepreneurship Technology

Mostly Technical episodes

May 06, 202581: Nothing Ever Happens
Ian and Aaron give updates on the Mostly Technical Party & what's new with Try Hard Studios before talking a little bit about politics (tariffs!), using AI, and more.
Sponsored by Bento, WorkOS, Native PHP for Mobile, and Laracon US 2025
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - Hanging In There
(06:53) - Twin Dad Meetup Update
(15:28) - Mostly Technical Party Update
(24:27) - Try Hard Studios Update
(31:28) - Mini Package
(37:04) - AI Pricing
(46:38) - Aaron's Hobby Horse
(55:23) - A Little Politics Segment
(01:10:44) - Course Update
(01:17:29) - HelpSpot Update
Links:
Thunderbolts*
A Minecraft Movie
Mostly Technical Laracon Pre-Party!
Givebutter
Aaron's newsletter
Windsurf
Junie
Warp
ElevenLabs
Trump orders tariffs on movies
1 hr 24 min
April 29, 202580: The Big Announcement w/ Taylor Otwell
Ian and Aaron are joined by Taylor Otwell to discuss the Mostly Technical Party at Laracon, what exactly Taylor does on a day-to-day basis, how they all use AI, and so much more.
Sponsored by Bento, WorkOS, Native PHP for Mobile, and Laracon US 2025
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - Revenge of the Sith
(09:18) - The Big Announcement
(12:00) - Laracon US
(14:57) - Taylor's Day-to-Day
(21:57) - Forge Updates
(28:00) - Starter Kits & WorkOS
(36:35) - Using AI
(55:11) - You Still Need Good Ideas
(01:05:28) - Tina Fey & Amy Poehler
(01:10:48) - Aaron's Climbing Wall
Links:
Mostly Technical Laracon Pre-Party! sponsored by Diagonal
Revenge of the Sith re-release
Andor Season 2
Kamal
Jason McCreary on Twitter
YAGNI
Aaron's ChatGPT sidebar
Aaron's video about AI
OpenAI's Codex
Tina Fey & Amy Poehler on tour
Aaron's tweet about his climbing wall
1 hr 18 min
April 23, 202579: Super Ultra Tilted
Ian and Aaron discuss their respective trips to Vegas and Miami, Aaron's latest video, making new friends in real life, & more.
Sponsored by Bento, WorkOS, Native PHP for Mobile, and Laracon US 2025
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - Back from Vegas
(17:26) - Marker 237
(17:26) - Mostly Technical Day Zero Party
(21:38) - React Miami
(39:49) - Fusion Follow Up
(43:11) - Aaron's New Video
(57:00) - Twin Dads
Links:
Papi Steak
Pot Limit Omaha
Double Board Bomb Pot
JetBlue Mint
Wrestlemania 41
30 Year Macallan
React Miami
Whiskey, Web and Whatnot
PHP x NYC
Ghost.org
Terminal Coffee
Terminal Feud - Live in Miami
Aaron's video about his course platform data model
tldraw
1 hr 6 min
April 15, 202578: The Haters Were Right
Ian and Aaron discuss upcoming travel to Miami & Vegas, Aaron's new 'Dead Drop" command, the future of Fusion, & more.
Sponsored by Bento, WorkOS, Native PHP for Mobile, and Laracon US 2025
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - Rebounding
(11:46) - Heading To React Miami
(16:01) - Vegas Baby, Vegas
(22:56) - Dead Drop
(32:15) - Update on Fusion
(57:58) - Ian's Computer Follow Up
(01:02:46) - Projects, Hobbies & Time
Links:
Volkswagen Atlas
React Miami
Whiskey Web and Whatnot Episode 186 w/ Aaron Francis
Wrestlemania 41
Aaron's tweet about Dead Drop
Fusion
Wayfinder
Ziggy
VoidZero
1 hr 24 min
April 08, 202577: Eye on the Future
Ian and Aaron discuss Ian's trip to PHP x NYC, Aaron's new art, how to try to thrive if you think a recession is coming, and so much more.
Sponsored by Bento and WorkOS.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - A Billionaire Sighting
(06:22) - PHP × NYC
(14:25) - Follow Up
(18:28) - Aaron's Art
(27:51) - Ian's New Computer
(39:34) - Screencasting.com
(45:23) - Adapting to a Recession
(01:03:20) - Conference Talk
Links:
Jerry Jones
Mansion on Turtle Creek
The Nanny
T. Boone Pickens
The First Billion Is the Hardest (Book)
Rosie
Aaron's Art
Lazarus of Bethany
Stage Manager (macOS)
Marshall Haas
Dave Ramsey
Kent C. Dodds
Epic Web Conference 2025
MicroConf
1 hr 15 min
April 07, 2025 Bonus Episode: PHP × NYC Chaos-Cast™
Recorded live after PHP × NYC with Ben Holmen, John Drexler, Daniel Coulbourne, Chris Morrell, Ian Landsman, Dave Hicking, and Joe Tannenbaum.
Considering we're all podcasters, we decided to sit down and discuss the most important issues of the day: Trader Joe's in basements, Poker, Day 2 Soup, Chess.com, something called "The Pizza Belt", and so much more.
1 hr 12 min
April 01, 202576: Distribution & Taste w/ Adam Wathan
Aaron is joined this week by Adam Wathan to talk about everything from Disney Cruises to what he wants to do on YouTube and a whole lot more.
Sponsored by Bento and WorkOS.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - The Disney Debate
(03:27) - Zero MRR
(05:15) - YouTube Stuff
(13:38) - Course Talk
(23:33) - Competitive Advantage
(42:48) - Building A Course Platform
(52:59) - Tailwind's YouTube Strategy
(01:23:31) - Nanny Talk
Links:
Disney Cruise Line
Adam's tweet about $0 MRR
'Build UIs that don't suck'
Tailwind Connect Miami
Steve Schogar on YouTube
teenage engineering
1 hr 28 min
March 25, 202575: Mob Mentality
Ian and Aaron discuss Ian's trip to Disney World, Aaron's adventures with Reddit & Hacker News, building a new billing system, and so much more.
Sponsored by Bento, Stream, Laravel Cloud, and PHP Tek 2025.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - Disney World
(17:01) - Follow Up
(22:03) - Aaron's Newsletter
(25:59) - Bookmarking Situation
(40:02) - Reddit & Hacker News
(52:29) - Building A Billing System
(01:17:40) - Monarch Follow Up
Links:
Will King on Twitter
Minnie Van
Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin
The Art of Product
Ben Thompson's Interview w/ Sam Altman
mymind
Pinboard
Aaron's post about Screen on r/php
Solo on GitHub
Screen on GitHub
Screencasting.com
Monarch
1 hr 25 min
March 18, 202574: The Hourglass w/ Jordan Gal
Aaron is joined this week by Jordan Gal (Ian's off at Disney World) to discuss everything from finding product market fit for his new product Rosie to the Try Hard business model and so much more.
Sponsored by Bento, Stream, Laravel Cloud, and PHP Tek 2025.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
(00:00) - #1 Topic
(02:47) - What Makes A Podcast Compelling?
(33:43) - Early Product Market Fit
(57:06) - Fighting The Bootstrap Ideology
(01:15:58) - The Try Hard Business Model
(01:30:24) - It's Business Time
(01:48:22) - Making Friends
(02:02:55) - Disneyland vs. Disney World
Links:
Jordan Gal
Episode 764 of Startups for the Rest of Us
http://youcanjustdothings.com/
Rosie
David Chang
ICPs (Ideal Customer Profiles)
Brick
CartHook
Justin McGill
Bryan Shankman
NewForm
Dan Shipper
Rob Walling
2 hr 5 min
March 11, 202573: Explore vs. Exploit
Ian and Aaron talk about scheduling your day, Aaron's newsletter, setting big goals, and a whole more.
Sponsored by Bento, Stream, Laravel Cloud, and PHP Tek 2025.
Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more.
Links:
Chris Morrell on Bluesky
Steve Carell with gray hair
'What Is The Cosmere?'
Jesse Hanley's eyepatch photo
Lex.page
Aaron's Newsletter
57 min