Entre+gineer - Product Development, Data Analytics, Market Validation, and UI/UXhttps://cnu.name/https://cnu.name/posts/why-youd-be-crazy-not-to-start-a-startup-in-2025/https://cnu.name/posts/why-youd-be-crazy-not-to-start-a-startup-in-2025/Look, I'll be straight with you. I bombed my first startup back in 2012.Thu, 14 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/measure-your-goals/https://cnu.name/posts/measure-your-goals/Now that the new year has started, you probably have written down some New Year's resolutions and promised yourself to lose weight, write that book, travel more, etc.Sun, 07 Jan 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/software-engineering-teams-principles/https://cnu.name/posts/software-engineering-teams-principles/At its core, Software Engineering has to do with crafting and building things. We are all craftsmen.Thu, 06 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/self-hosted-vs-managed-hosting-for-side-projects/https://cnu.name/posts/self-hosted-vs-managed-hosting-for-side-projects/This is something I have been thinking a lot lately. Whenever I start working on a new side project, the first thing I do (after coming up with an available domain name) is to setup the landing page...Wed, 05 May 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/choices/https://cnu.name/posts/choices/I was sitting in my car alone, furious and angry. The car was like a shark cage protecting me.Tue, 04 May 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/5-common-mistakes-about-note-taking/https://cnu.name/posts/5-common-mistakes-about-note-taking/Taking notes is something we all do (or did). Whether you are in high school, college, or running your own business note-taking can be a vital skill to have.Sat, 01 May 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/how-to-stop-procrastinating/https://cnu.name/posts/how-to-stop-procrastinating/Pre Script: I began writing this post on April 4th. But procrastinated finishing it and publishing it.Sun, 25 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/built-to-sell-book-summary/https://cnu.name/posts/built-to-sell-book-summary/Building and running a company is hard. But running a company that was built to sell is even harder, especially if you run a consulting/services business.Tue, 05 May 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/new-challenge-publish-one-piece-of-content-every-day/https://cnu.name/posts/new-challenge-publish-one-piece-of-content-every-day/It's time for a new challenge. If you have read my previous blog posts, you would've known that I do like to take up new challenges like "only cold showers" or "speaking to at least one stranger...Sat, 29 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/building-for-scale-before-launch/https://cnu.name/posts/building-for-scale-before-launch/With all the startups I have worked with, I have noticed one mistake that every founder keeps making when they are starting off with the product.Wed, 09 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/one-question-before-accepting-an-offer/https://cnu.name/posts/one-question-before-accepting-an-offer/Whenever I go out to meetups and conferences, fresh out of college graduates and entry-level engineers always have a few questions to ask me.Wed, 02 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/how-was-2018/https://cnu.name/posts/how-was-2018/It has been more than a year since I posted here and it is already the end of 2018.Mon, 31 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/how-do-you-introduce-yourself/https://cnu.name/posts/how-do-you-introduce-yourself/Whenever I meet people in conferences or meetups, I experiment with how I introduce myself.Sun, 26 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/five-dysfunctions-team-inattention-results/https://cnu.name/posts/five-dysfunctions-team-inattention-results/This is the last dysfunction that is discussed in the book "Five Dysfunctions of a Team".Fri, 24 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/five-dysfunctions-team-avoidance-accountability/https://cnu.name/posts/five-dysfunctions-team-avoidance-accountability/For the past 3 days, I have been writing about the book Five Dysfunctions of a team.Thu, 23 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/five-dysfunctions-team-lack-commitment/https://cnu.name/posts/five-dysfunctions-team-lack-commitment/This week I am writing about the book Five Dysfunctions of a Team which is about a fictional company whose executive team is highly dysfunctional and how the new CEO brings them all together to...Wed, 22 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/five-dysfunctions-team-fear-conflict/https://cnu.name/posts/five-dysfunctions-team-fear-conflict/In yesterday's post, I was explaining about the latest book that I was finished reading: Five Dysfunctions of a team and the first dysfunction - the absence of trust.Tue, 21 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/five-dysfunctions-team-absence-trust/https://cnu.name/posts/five-dysfunctions-team-absence-trust/Five Dysfunctions of a Team is a book I started reading recently and I think is one book that everyone who is working together with a team needs to read.Mon, 20 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/7-extensions-install-new-firefox-quantum-browser/https://cnu.name/posts/7-extensions-install-new-firefox-quantum-browser/On 14 November, Mozilla released a new version of Firefox called Quantum, which is literally a quantum leap in performance over the previous versions.Sun, 19 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/listen-to-podcasts-get-most-out-of-them/https://cnu.name/posts/listen-to-podcasts-get-most-out-of-them/I am a regular podcast listener even before the recent upsurge of numerous podcast shows that has cropped up in recent times.Sat, 18 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/how-to-convert-features-into-benefits/https://cnu.name/posts/how-to-convert-features-into-benefits/When writing copy for a product's homepage, one mistake I see everyone doing is they keep talking about all the features that their product has.Fri, 17 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/3-ways-competitors-will-help-copy/https://cnu.name/posts/3-ways-competitors-will-help-copy/In yesterday's article, I explained 6 different ideas to read your customer's mind and use the language/words that they use.Thu, 16 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/speak-customers-language-writing-copy/https://cnu.name/posts/speak-customers-language-writing-copy/The landing page for your product is the single most important page on your entire website and it is important that you communicate well on that page to connect with your customers.Wed, 15 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/fair-billing-policy-saas-products/https://cnu.name/posts/fair-billing-policy-saas-products/Gone are the days when people used to pay and get software installed on each computer.Tue, 14 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/gmail-response-time-predictor-browser-extension/https://cnu.name/posts/gmail-response-time-predictor-browser-extension/Many companies today uses Google Suite for their Email and everyone has gotten used to the Gmail interface.Mon, 13 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/keep-track-of-blog-posts-to-write/https://cnu.name/posts/keep-track-of-blog-posts-to-write/I get ideas and topics to write in my blog during unusual time and places and I wanted to have an easy way to track them.Sun, 12 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/saving-webpages-pinboard-iphone/https://cnu.name/posts/saving-webpages-pinboard-iphone/I have been using Pinboard for nearly an year and it has been a great replacement for Delicious, except for one minor gripe: It doesn't have a good app for iPhone.Sat, 11 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/website-review-buttalks/https://cnu.name/posts/website-review-buttalks/Today on my twitter feed, I came across a new startup Buttalks - an underwear subscription service for men, first of its kind in India.Fri, 10 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/12-everyday-challenges/https://cnu.name/posts/12-everyday-challenges/I am a fan of James Altucher's writing and he is one big proponent of the practice of "writing 10 ideas everyday".Thu, 09 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/logical-brain-vs-emotional-brain-designing-product/https://cnu.name/posts/logical-brain-vs-emotional-brain-designing-product/Whenever you design a product, there are two important things that one needs to remember to get the user experience right.Wed, 08 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/code-readability-feature/https://cnu.name/posts/code-readability-feature/If you are developing a product and working with a team of engineers writing code, you would have definitely faced the horror of reading someone else's code.Tue, 07 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/give-good-feedback/https://cnu.name/posts/give-good-feedback/Yesterday I talked about why criticism is important in the success of any company and how to accept feedback about your work.Mon, 06 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/michael-jackson-theory-feedback/https://cnu.name/posts/michael-jackson-theory-feedback/Few months back listening to one of Noah Kagan's podcast episode, (the one where he talks about his conversation with Jonathan Coon of WikiBuy.com) he mentions something called the Michael Jackson...Sun, 05 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/make-unique-work/https://cnu.name/posts/make-unique-work/In any business organization, there are two types of sub-units or teams.Sat, 04 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/decided-write-article-everyday/https://cnu.name/posts/decided-write-article-everyday/In my November month challenge, I mentioned that I will be writing one article every day.Fri, 03 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/form-habits-using-two-day-rule/https://cnu.name/posts/form-habits-using-two-day-rule/We humans are creatures of habit. We always want to do things which are good for our lives.Thu, 02 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/conversations-with-stranger-challenge/https://cnu.name/posts/conversations-with-stranger-challenge/It is the first of November, which means end of the October Challenge. As mentioned last month, I decided to have a conversation with a stranger every day of October.Wed, 01 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/productivity/https://cnu.name/posts/productivity/Have you felt proud of yourself because you could multi-task two or more things?Thu, 19 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/ceiling/https://cnu.name/posts/ceiling/Few years back, I heard a quote which made me rethink about personal growth.Mon, 16 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/daily-cold-shower-challenge/https://cnu.name/posts/daily-cold-shower-challenge/One of my favourite podcast in recent times is Noah Kagen Presents and I have been devouring each episode back-to-back.Sat, 30 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/bugs-vs-features/https://cnu.name/posts/bugs-vs-features/Lets say you are building a Social Media marketing automation product, where you allow the users to schedule multiple posts to different social media platforms.Thu, 28 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/hallway-usability-testing/https://cnu.name/posts/hallway-usability-testing/When you design a product, be a website, SaaS Application or a mobile app, usability testing is one important iterative process that needs to be done before shipping the product.Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/conflict/https://cnu.name/posts/conflict/When you run a company or manage a team big enough to not fit in a room, one problem you are going to face is interpersonal conflicts.Fri, 22 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/devopsdays-india-2017-notes/https://cnu.name/posts/devopsdays-india-2017-notes/DevOpsDays is a technical conferences covering topics of software development, IT infrastructure operations, and the intersection between them.Sun, 17 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/issue-tracker-budget/https://cnu.name/posts/issue-tracker-budget/Everyone has numerous reasons NOT to use an issue tracker. Few reasons that the old style management people say are:Sat, 26 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/rejection/https://cnu.name/posts/rejection/Few months back there was a lot of activity on twitter and medium about conference proposals and how so many people had to face lot more rejections than acceptances.Sun, 20 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/100-days-code-challenge/https://cnu.name/posts/100-days-code-challenge/All the individual day's posts have been collected into this single post.Thu, 13 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/limiting-cpu-memory-usage/https://cnu.name/posts/limiting-cpu-memory-usage/Yesterday I wrote about how to use a very simple timing context manager to measure how much time your python code/functions take.Thu, 30 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/timing-python-code/https://cnu.name/posts/timing-python-code/There are many times when you would want to see how much time your program takes to execute.Wed, 29 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/facebook-privacy-permissions-hoax/https://cnu.name/posts/facebook-privacy-permissions-hoax/If you had a facebook account, you would have seen at least 1 friend who had posted something like this sometime in the past 2 days.Tue, 28 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/tracking-productivity/https://cnu.name/posts/tracking-productivity/Some smart guy once said “_What isn’t measured doesn’t get improved._” As I grow older, I seem to understand this a lot.Mon, 27 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/social-media-marketing-for-physical-products/https://cnu.name/posts/social-media-marketing-for-physical-products/Today I was in the mood for some ice cream and got a stick of one popular/expensive brand.Sun, 26 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/d-command-in-oh-my-zsh/https://cnu.name/posts/d-command-in-oh-my-zsh/I use zsh as my primary shell and have Oh My Zsh which has lot of helpful plugins, themes and functions which make using the terminal easy.Sat, 25 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/average/https://cnu.name/posts/average/I started blogging back in 2004 on LiveJournal (it was Medium of those days, if you kids don’t know).Sun, 05 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/bank-account-statement/https://cnu.name/posts/bank-account-statement/I have a few bank accounts and there is this particular local bank called City Union Bank, that is more than hundred years old.Wed, 01 Jun 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/tackle-technical-debt/https://cnu.name/posts/tackle-technical-debt/Technical Debt is a term that most developers have heard of. Even if you haven’t heard of the term, I am pretty sure you would have done something in your programming career that is a technical debt.Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/programmer-productivity-vs-salary/https://cnu.name/posts/programmer-productivity-vs-salary/Disclaimer: Persons/organisations mentioned in this story are based on real-life.Sun, 28 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/ideas-vs-time/https://cnu.name/posts/ideas-vs-time/The other day I was consolidating all my ideas in my Evernote and I found that I have noted down a lot of projects/ideas for products.Tue, 16 Dec 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/idea-realtime-webpage-chat/https://cnu.name/posts/idea-realtime-webpage-chat/Here’s a crazy simple idea that someone can build over a weekend.Mon, 13 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/change/https://cnu.name/posts/change/They say change is the only constant in life. May be that’s why I keep changing my blog host and the software.Sat, 04 Oct 2014 00:00:00 GMThttps://cnu.name/posts/new-site/https://cnu.name/posts/new-site/For a long time all my personal stuff were posted on my livejournal, blogger or posterousblogs.Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT