Kelly Vaughn

Non-technical founders struggle to prioritize features effectively. They don’t have the necessary experience to understand all the moving parts. I talk to founders like this all the time. They’re burnt out on figuring out how to move their project forward. They have decision paralysis. And the cost of that is measured by wasted budget and a longer run-up to launch. However, I’ve found that the project runs smoother if I ask three simple questions before adding a new feature. I’ll share questions that cut through the noise in this video.

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Today is the one year anniversary of announcing DevClarity! When they say startup life is "peak life", they aren't kidding. From launching our first MVP, landing our initial paying customers, and winning Alabama Launchpad to tackling a massive problem space with no funding (or salary) and getting rejected dozens of times, the past 12 months have been the biggest roller coaster I've ever been on. And yet I have zero regrets about my decision because starting a company has been BY FAR the greatest learning experience I've ever had. So much so that I've lately started telling people that I believe EVERYONE should start a company at some point. In the coming days, I will share some reflections from the past year. But there are two main takeaways that stand out to me: 1. Perseverance is the most important trait for an entrepreneur. More than intelligence, specific knowledge, boldness, or anything else. The entire game is to stay in the game. Everything can change with one conversation, one customer, one investor. But you have to stay in the game long enough for that to happen. Great things take time. Perseverance gives you the mental fortitude to allow yourself that time. 2. People are the most important aspect of a business. When we announced the launch of DevClarity, I said that in the course of a career, or a lifetime, when you meet special people, you bet on them. I continue to feel validated that Will Blackburn is one of those people and am glad that we continue to bet on each other and ourselves. It's hard to know what the next 12 months will hold, but I am open to the journey and excited for what's to come! - Peter

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A while back, I was recruiting full-stack engineers for several teams at a growth stage startup They had a great product (and still do), competitive comp, and a very nice remote work culture My team was working with several hiring managers, but one of them caught our attention right away 100% of the engineering candidates who spoke with him were excited to move forward in the process During our debriefs, they all said something to the effect of "forget what the company does, I just want to work for him" Naturally, I wanted to figure out what made this hiring manager so popular So I booked some time on his calendar to figure out what he was doing differently My assumptions were that he was either really good at pitching the company, or that something in his background was resonating with candidates Turns out, it was neither of those things Here's what I uncovered 👉 1. He didn't ask any technical questions during the first interview Instead, he used that time to get to know the other person, what their career goals were and what they liked to work on 2. He had almost no ego He was very transparent (almost to a fault) and highly approachable, but not fake You got the feeling right away that he didn't think any higher of himself than he thought of you Being a magnet for top talent is less about interviewing techniques, and more about who you are

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When you are looking for software developers to build a website or mobile application, you are often left with one of two options: Option 1: Hire someone overseas at a fraction of the cost, but deal with time, language, and efficiency barriers. Option 2: Hire someone based in the U.S., but end up overpaying, sometimes up to $150 per hour. Neither option is feasible for any SMB, which is why I partnered with my co-founder, Qasim Masud, to start Zing. I am based in Austin, Texas, and Qasim has a team of developers in his Lahore, Pakistan office that work U.S. hours. About a year ago, I brought in another partner, Ephraim Gittler, who lives in New York and works directly with our clients. Now, you can hire cost-effective developers who are also efficient. Here are some testimonials from our clients: “Dan (Zing) is the go-to team I'm recommending! It was a term in our sales agreement that if we didn’t have the app working, they weren’t going to give us millions of dollars. It was critical that we found someone reliable.” - Noah Kagan, CEO of AppSumo “It works really well for us to have a smaller in-house team that works as part of a much larger organization. And the nicest thing is we can scale up and down with Zing, which is phenomenal. It means we don’t have to say no to projects anymore.” - Daniel Black, CEO of Glass-Media “What I loved about working with Zing is that these guys really communicate with their customers. I just feel so grateful. Whether it's technical work or websites, these guys can do it all. I highly recommend them!” - Julia Albert, Founder of JM Packaging These are just some of the client testimonials that we have. If you are looking for help with your website, mobile application, software, or more, feel free to book a free call today or message me. I would love to see how we can help!

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Very energized by the customer workflows I’m seeing incorporating Zapier core, Tables by Zapier, Interfaces by Zapier and Central by Zapier! Whole applications and ecosystems are being built and they are all powered by Zapier! If you haven’t heard of the solutions above, you’re not late but folks are certainly bush whacking no code and it’s just a whole new category of automation! #zapier #builders #automation #saas #central #tables #interfaces #chatbot #zapconnect #automationforeveryone

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I scaled ScraperAPI from a one-man project to a 7-figure acquisition. Here are 6 tips on writing copy for a developer audience. 1) Don’t BS Devs can smell that from a mile away. Don’t know what you’re talking about? Find a technical person who does. Thinking of stretching the truth to make your product sound a little better? Forget it. 2) Call to action, but not too much Conversions happen slowly with developers. The worst thing you can do is constantly make them feel rushed. 3) Keep it clear This isn’t the time for run-on sentences—short and to the point will do. If your “why” and “how” aren’t clear after the first read, it’s game over. 4) Prioritize accuracy Whether it’s a landing page or a paid ad, you want your first impression to not just be cohesive but to give the right information. If developers see inconsistencies in your messaging further down the conversion path, consider them gone. 5) Know the lingo I’ve seen way too many dev tool ads describing products with terms developers themselves would never use. Make sure there’s a line of communication between your copywriters and your technical folks to keep the language authentic. 6) Build trust Got technical experts on your team? (If you’re building a dev tool, the answer is almost undoubtedly a “yes”). Even if it’s only a phrase, play that up. Developers want to know they’re getting something from like-minded peers who actually understand their pain points. tl;dr: 6 tips on writing copy for developers - Don't BS, avoid being too sales-y, keep it clear, prioritize accuracy, speak like a developer, build trust

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Is your team looking to bring on a Backend Engineer? Take a look at Michael's profile below! Michael – Backend – CA Headhunter Prescreen Notes: I really enjoyed this conversation. He is an expert at integrating API with 3rd party vendors. He has worked with some major 3rd parties like Amazon, Albertsons, Samsung, and Zocdoc on integrations. He is passively looking and is currently at $160K and is looking for a bump. Resume Notes: 💠 Extensive Integration Expertise: Successfully led integration projects with major partners such as Amazon, Samsung, and Zocdoc, showcasing adeptness in designing and implementing APIs, microservices, and backend services, directly applicable to building backend API integrations with diverse systems in the electric power industry. 💠 Authentication Architecture Overhaul: Redesigned and enhanced authentication architecture, developing a versatile magic link and verification system extendable for third-party integration, aligning with the need to own all aspects of meter data processing and implement new features for virtual power plants. 💠 Workflow Component Design: Designed and implemented a flexible workflow component for handling complex notifications, directly transferable to implementing API monitoring tools and proactively monitoring API service performance in the electric power industry. 💠 Advocacy for Best Engineering Practices: Advocated for and implemented better engineering practices and resilient infrastructure, including principles of DDD, OOP/SOLID, and microservice architecture, which align with the need for strong software engineering background and attention to detail. 💠 Tooling and Infrastructure Optimization: Created developer efficiency tools and optimized infrastructure and service pipelines, reducing service build times by up to 40%, showcasing proficiency in optimizing cloud services and infrastructure, a crucial aspect in the electric power industry. FlanStaff #BackendEngineer #TechTalent #Hiring #EngineeringJobs #APIDevelopment #TechRecruitment #JobOpportunity #SoftwareEngineering #CareerGrowth #RenewableEnergy #imhiring #hiring

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