Thoughts & Perspectives
Building in public
Google Antigravity vs Cursor (2026): Free Preview vs Proven Meter
Antigravity is free and impressive; Cursor is paid and predictable. As of August 2026 that's the real comparison — a metered preview whose quotas Google keeps tightening, versus a $20-$200/month tool whose costs you can at least forecast. Here's the honest head-to-head on price, maturity, and workflow risk, from someone who bills for cleaning up what both produce.
How Much Does Custom Software Cost in 2026? Why Quotes Spread 10x
Custom software costs anywhere from $15,000 to $150,000+ in 2026 — and five shops will quote you five wildly different numbers for the same paragraph of requirements. Here's why the spread exists, what each price band actually buys, how AI-assisted building changed the bottom of the market (and created a new bill in the middle), and how to scope so you don't overpay.
AI Technical Debt: What Your Vibe-Coded App Actually Owes (2026)
AI technical debt is the maintenance burden that accumulates when AI writes code faster than humans understand it. I named it Vibe Debt, and it comes in three flavors: comprehension debt (nobody can explain the code), drift debt (five patterns for one job), and dependency debt (bloat nobody chose on purpose). Here's how it differs from classic tech debt, how to spot it, and what paying it down costs.
Technical Due Diligence in 2026: What I Actually Look At (Checklist Included)
Technical due diligence is a structured review of a company's codebase, architecture, team, and security before you buy it, invest in it, or bet your roadmap on it. In 2026 there's a new first question: how much of this code did AI write, and does anyone on payroll understand it? Here's my working checklist and the red flags that actually change deal prices.
AI ROI: The Only Formula That Works for a Small Business (2026)
AI ROI = (hours returned × loaded hourly cost + revenue captured − total system cost) ÷ total system cost, measured at day 90. Most businesses can't compute it — not because the math is hard, but because nobody measured the before-state. Here's the formula, a back-of-napkin calculator, a worked example with real numbers, and the costs everyone forgets to count.
How Much Does a CTO Cost in 2026? The All-In Math Nobody Quotes
A full-time CTO costs $380,000-600,000+ in year one once you count what salary sites leave out: benefits, equity, recruiting, and the onboarding quarter. A fractional CTO runs $5,000-15,000/month for the same senior judgment. Here's the all-in math by hiring model and stage — and the question to answer before either number matters.
What Is llms.txt? The Honest Answer From Someone Who Ships One
llms.txt is a proposed standard — a markdown file at your site root that hands AI engines a curated map of your content. Mine is live and auto-generated. Here's what the file actually is, the 15 minutes it takes to ship one, and the honest evidence on whether any AI engine reads it — which is thinner than the people selling you AEO packages admit.
Is Claude Cowork Worth It? A Verdict by Team Size (2026)
Claude Cowork is worth it if your business runs on the tools it connects to and someone actually configures it — and a $125/month mistake if nobody does. I install Cowork for small businesses for a living. Here's the honest verdict segmented by team size: solo operators, 2-5 person teams, and 6-50 person companies get three different answers.
Google Antigravity Pricing (2026): Free Is a Price With a Shelf Life
Google Antigravity is free in public preview as of August 2026 — $0 for the Individual plan, with paid headroom via Google AI Pro ($20/month) and AI Ultra ($249.99/month) plus $0.01 credits. The catch isn't the sticker, it's the meter: Google has tightened the free quotas repeatedly since launch. Here's the real cost math, how it stacks against Cursor and Claude Code, and what to check before you move your workflow in.
Claude Team Plan (2026): The $125/Month Floor Nobody Mentions
The Claude Team plan is $25/seat/month with a hard 5-seat minimum — a $125/month floor even for a 2-person business. Whether that's a bargain or a tax depends on one question: do you want Claude wired into your business tools, or just a chat tab? Here's the seat math at every team size, what Team includes that Pro doesn't, and when Enterprise pricing actually makes sense.
ChatGPT SEO: What It Actually Means in 2026 (Both Definitions)
"ChatGPT SEO" is two completely different jobs wearing one name: using ChatGPT to do SEO work, and doing SEO so ChatGPT recommends you. Four times more people ask AI assistants about it than ask Google. I do both jobs for a living — here's what each one actually involves, which one your business needs, and the data on what ChatGPT really cites.
How to Get Cited by ChatGPT (2026): What My Tracking Data Says Actually Works
I track AI citations for a living, and here's the uncomfortable finding: my expert blog holds 14 Perplexity citations and ZERO ChatGPT mentions — while my productized-services site gets cited by ChatGPT on 10 commercial queries. The difference is the playbook. Here's what ChatGPT actually cites (press, Reddit, and price pages), with the numbers to prove it.
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