Essays and notes on AI products, product leadership, and company building.https://www.halarewich.com/enhttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/software-roll-ups-what-happens-when-the-original-plan-stops-working/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/software-roll-ups-what-happens-when-the-original-plan-stops-working/A holding company can own a software business forever. The plan for running it can't be permanent too.Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTEssayhttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/the-hire-i-wanted-to-believe-in/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/the-hire-i-wanted-to-believe-in/I allowed for exaggeration in a developer I hired. I never allowed for fabrication, and it cost us a year.Mon, 28 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTEssayhttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/what-happens-when-ai-makes-thinking-optional/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/what-happens-when-ai-makes-thinking-optional/AI can hand you the output. Understanding the work well enough to question it is the part you have to keep.Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTEssayhttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/writing-that-sounds-like-you/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/writing-that-sounds-like-you/Sounding like you takes context no prompt carries. So I built Writers Room and open-sourced it.Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTEssayhttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/garmin-bought-the-coaching-layer/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/garmin-bought-the-coaching-layer/Sensor data can’t hear “my knee felt off on the descent.” That gap is why I’m building Ontrack.Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTNotehttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/ai-cant-give-you-standing/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/ai-cant-give-you-standing/When everyone can build faster, the advantage moves to credibility in a market you belong to.Sun, 14 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTNotehttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/unfinished-ideas-are-what-got-cheaper/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/unfinished-ideas-are-what-got-cheaper/“Just an app for X” used to be enough. Now a real idea has to arrive fully formed.Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTNotehttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/the-product-is-becoming-the-easy-part/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/the-product-is-becoming-the-easy-part/AI made building cheap. What lost value is the unfinished idea.Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTEssayhttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/discipline-not-to-build-the-wrong-thing/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/discipline-not-to-build-the-wrong-thing/Anyone can ship now. Knowing what not to build is the job.Sat, 30 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTNotehttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/the-subscription-becomes-a-tax/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/the-subscription-becomes-a-tax/Nobody churns loudly about thin SaaS. They sit with the renewal notice a little longer.Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTNotehttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/the-wrapper-has-a-shelf-life/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/the-wrapper-has-a-shelf-life/Once a customer can rebuild your $29 tool with a prompt, the subscription starts to feel like a tax.Wed, 20 May 2026 00:00:00 GMTEssayhttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/they-bought-a-de-risked-relationship/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/notes/they-bought-a-de-risked-relationship/A year as integration partners answered the question diligence usually can’t: can we trust them?Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTNotehttps://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/building-was-never-the-whole-job/https://www.halarewich.com/writing/essays/building-was-never-the-whole-job/A year before Mailchimp acquired LemonStand, they were already watching us work. In Slack.Wed, 15 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMTEssay