Iddan's Latest Posts

Iddan's Rome Recommendations

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Over the past few years I've visited Rome a few times. This is a short list of recommendations for first that visit the eternal city. For coffee recommendations please see Rome in my coffee list.

Historical Sites

The Pantheon

https://maps.app.goo.gl/EzWVLNyLKkMkv6596

One of Rome’s best-preserved ancient buildings, the Pantheon is a former Roman temple known for its massive dome and central oculus that lets in a column of natural light. Its perfect proportions and engineering have inspired architects for centuries, and inside you'll find the tombs of notable figures, including the painter Raphael.

The Colosseum

https://maps.app.goo.gl/V8ssifcS83WVd2N59

Rome’s iconic amphitheater, the Colosseum hosted gladiatorial games, public spectacles, and political events for tens of thousands of spectators. Walking through it gives a vivid sense of ancient Roman entertainment culture and the massive engineering efforts behind this 1st-century structure.

Piazza Navona & Chiesa di Sant'Agnese in Agone

https://maps.app.goo.gl/uEFpKCtciJ9w6S4TA

Piazza Navona is one of Rome’s liveliest squares, built on the footprint of an ancient stadium and lined with cafés, fountains, and Baroque architecture. The highlight is Bernini’s Fountain of the Four Rivers facing Borromini’s elegant Church of Sant’Agnese in Agone, a perfect example of Rome’s artistic rivalry and beauty.

The Forum & Capitoline Hill

https://maps.app.goo.gl/zCJUzotYbBrfGv6f6

The Roman Forum was the political, religious, and commercial heart of ancient Rome, filled with temples, basilicas, and public meeting spaces. Nearby Capitoline Hill offers panoramic views over the ruins and houses Michelangelo-designed piazzas and museums that showcase Rome’s most important ancient artifacts.

Temple of Adrian

https://maps.app.goo.gl/WTeFQ6Uu8qpCrH3Y9

Dedicated to Emperor Hadrian, this temple now forms part of a modern building, but its surviving Corinthian columns still tower over the street. It’s a striking example of how ancient Rome blends seamlessly with the contemporary city.

Chiesa di Sant'Ignazio di Loyola

https://maps.app.goo.gl/uLp9XEdYbYd8bWmv8

A Baroque masterpiece known for its mind-bending ceiling frescoes, this church creates the illusion of a soaring dome through astonishing trompe-l’œil painting. It’s one of Rome’s most impressive examples of artistic illusion and Jesuit architectural grandeur.

The Spanish Steps

https://maps.app.goo.gl/5YY85bXTrxXBXbB2A

A sweeping 18th-century staircase linking Piazza di Spagna with the Trinità dei Monti church, the Spanish Steps are a classic Roman meeting point. The area is surrounded by elegant streets, shops, and the famous Barcaccia Fountain by Bernini’s father.

Portico of Octavia

https://maps.app.goo.gl/SG63LM3Jnkpo8KqQ8

Located in the Jewish Ghetto, the Portico of Octavia is the impressive remains of a structure built by Augustus in honor of his sister. Its surviving columns and archways give a glimpse into the monumental architecture of Rome’s imperial period and the layers of history in this atmospheric neighborhood.

Fontana di Trevi

https://maps.app.goo.gl/oGDzXLnz5Vgk4C6N9

A cliché but must mention, the most iconic fountain in europe. Recommended to see at night.

Fontana delle Tartarughe

https://maps.app.goo.gl/1QLaWKBTj5Ktq9Gb9

Nice renaissance fountain in the heart of Rome.

Palatine Hill

https://maps.app.goo.gl/voWNYSbSoKyYg9zU8

One of the most important sites in ancient Rome, Palatine Hill is where emperors built their lavish palaces and where, according to legend, Romulus founded the city. Walking its ruins and gardens gives you sweeping views over the Forum and Circus Maximus, along with a sense of how Rome’s rulers lived at the height of imperial power.

Villas & Parks

Villa Borghese

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ckvkZUvim2swYhjLA

Rome’s central green oasis, Villa Borghese is a vast landscaped park filled with museums, fountains, quiet paths, and lake views. It’s perfect for a relaxed walk, a bike ride, or a visit to the world-class Galleria Borghese, all just steps away from the city’s busiest streets.

Villa Ada

https://maps.app.goo.gl/hdkRefHdq3uj4zz18

One of Rome’s largest parks, Villa Ada offers a more natural, wooded atmosphere with long walking trails, open fields, and a calm, local vibe. It’s ideal if you want to escape the city noise and enjoy a peaceful stretch of greenery without the crowds.

Villa Sciarra

https://maps.app.goo.gl/B4wNKNuJssXMvN3H6

A kind of odd villa but charming non the less. Recommend reading about it when arriving.

Villa Medici

https://maps.app.goo.gl/EhBctMxnFbcJFjVH8

Overlooking the city near the Spanish Steps, Villa Medici is a Renaissance palace with beautiful gardens and sweeping views of Rome. Home to the French Academy, it offers guided tours that reveal elegant interiors, art studios, and one of the most serene green spaces in the historic center.

The Botanical Garden

https://maps.app.goo.gl/w1TxRhxanmXi1Tew8

Tucked behind Trastevere, Rome’s Botanical Garden is a peaceful haven with shaded paths, exotic plants, a bamboo forest, and a panoramic hillside view. It’s a quiet escape ideal for wandering, relaxing, and discovering a calmer, greener side of the city.

Vatican

https://maps.app.goo.gl/kjnmJGmV8r63mf7VA

I've had tremendous fun in the Vatican museum (although being completely atheist and not a big fan of the Catholic church). Their art collection and gardens are just bigger and richer than anything I've seen. If you go make sure to free a whole day for it (or at the very least 4 hours).

Cool Neighbourhoods & City Areas

Tiber Island

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XMnZQgKZwZBpN3ts8

The island in the river is a charming mini-neighborhood, hosting a full fledged hospital with a beautiful facade of palm trees. One of the best places to catch the Sunset in the city. Next to it is the Great Synagogue of Rome which is very nice to see from the outside.

Trastevere

https://maps.app.goo.gl/GosNE2x1wVio1XhF7

The more chic and young part of Rome, in recent years became a bit touristy but still it's charming streets, good restaurants and unique church make a good visit. Good to combine with Villa Sciarra. Also make sure to check out Tiramisú Merisù.

Prati

https://maps.app.goo.gl/wemcjAi35LusAbkz6

The neighborhood of my choice for staying in Rome, the neighborhood is out of the hustle and bustle of the centre but still in a walking distance, cleaner than most other neighbourhoods of Rome and consists of some of its finest restaurants and shops (like La Soffitta Renovatio and Enoteca Costantini)

Monti

https://maps.app.goo.gl/jzQV4KVbT7eUYhMa8

Cool neighborhood with pretty streets, cool shops and great restaurants (like Urbana 47 and Grezzo)

Food & Cafe

La Soffitta Renovatio

https://maps.app.goo.gl/8omVJ4mP8YXrcDvK7

My favourite restaurant in Rome - featuring Neapolitan pizzas, Roman pasta dishes, and italian cuisine classics paired with great service this is the best experience of proper Roman dinner.

Tiramisú Merisù

https://maps.app.goo.gl/jka8qePYeQp71Me47

One of the best tiramisus in the city made in front of you. Sometime there's a bit of a line outside, but don't worry - it moves fast.

Urbana 47

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Fz9a6AJfT9ZpBENK7

Hip bistro - much recommended for dinner

Grezzo

https://maps.app.goo.gl/3npjW5osxm4nJEe27

Raw chocolate and pastries. Had here some of the best vegan desserts I had so far.

Neve di Latte

https://maps.app.goo.gl/3uWjtMjxVcrGn4gG8 https://maps.app.goo.gl/7CqqeNf8ULPsVHcF6 https://maps.app.goo.gl/VuCjANDYmntmMaaM8

A really good ice cream place.

Gelateria La Romana

https://maps.app.goo.gl/J9WZv2FZpCzZz2eU8

A really good ice cream place. Expanded to many european capitals (but recommended non the less).

Pizza Time

https://maps.app.goo.gl/G5YZhnuW9VAECJ549

Cool pizza take away place with a charming garden next to it (Giardino di Largo Cairoli).

Outside of Rome

Tivoli

A charming small city outside of Rome with some of the most magnificat villas in the country (such as Villa d'Este and Villa Adriana). My recommendation: dedicate one day per villa. It's okay to go to Tivoli for one day and see one of them at a time.

Iddan's Product Reading List

Thu, 29 May 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Recently, I talked to a friend who is making the exciting transition from Quality Assurance to Product. To help her hit the ground running, I curated a list of essential reading and viewing materials that have shaped my own product thinking. Whether you're new to product or looking to sharpen your skills, these resources offer invaluable insights into building great products, understanding users, and driving growth.

The Reading List

Paul Graham's Essays

Paul Graham's essays are a goldmine for anyone interested in startups, technology, and product thinking. As a product person, you'll learn how to think independently, spot opportunities, and understand what makes products succeed.

Startup School

Startup School by Y Combinator is a free online program that covers the fundamentals of building a startup. It's a great way to learn about product-market fit, user feedback, and the iterative process of product development.

Michael Seibel's Blog

Michael Seibel, Managing Director at Y Combinator, shares practical advice on building products, fundraising, and startup leadership. His content is direct and actionable—perfect for new product managers.

Dalton & Michael: Startup Advice Playlist

This YouTube playlist features Dalton Caldwell and Michael Seibel discussing real-world startup challenges. You'll gain perspective on product strategy, prioritization, and the realities of building something from scratch.

Paul Graham - Do Things that Don't Scale (MOST IMPORTANT)

If you read only one thing, make it this. This essay explains why doing unscalable things early on is crucial for product success. It teaches you to focus on users, iterate quickly, and build a strong foundation.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI: Make Something People Want

Sam Altman distills the essence of product management: building things people actually want. This talk is a must-watch for understanding user-centric product development.

Paul Graham - Startup = Growth

This essay dives into the importance of growth for startups and products. It helps product managers understand the metrics and mindset needed to drive sustainable growth.

NFX - AI Is Like Water

NFX explores how AI is transforming products and industries. This article is a great primer on thinking about AI as a foundational technology and how to leverage it in your product strategy.

Crafting Quality that Endures (Karri Saarinen, Linear) | Figma

Karri Saarinen shares how Linear builds products with enduring quality. This talk is full of practical tips on maintaining high standards and creating products that last.

Some updates to the website

Thu, 06 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT

2 days ago someone on the Orange Site asked about personal blogs and I posted a link to my blog.

I decided to use the opportunity to do some cleanups in the website infrastructure and tidy it up.

Make the blog a real boy

As my blog has a bit more visibility now I decided to make it a real boy. I added a sitemap and RSS and I hope that's everything left to do for making it readable. If you are reading this and have suggestions for making the blog better please feel free to reach me out at mail@{this website domain}.

Upgrading Gatsby

First, I updated Gatsby to version 5 to get the best it can offer. I was positively surprised by how easy it was and that by upgrading to it I could shed some of the website's code: for instance, for <head /> tags instead of using React Helmet I could use the default gastby head. Instead of configuring the blog pages with code using the Gatsby Node APIs I could use the File System Route. In addition I managed to finally achieve 100% type-safety with the help of Gatsby GraphQL Type Generation.

Updating the projects section

I refreshed the list of projects, removing some projects that grew insignificant over the years and adding Merged a podcast I am very proud for producing this year.

Cafés

Sat, 10 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT

I love drinking coffee but it gotta be good (for the snobs: I like my coffee with low acidity, full body and usually dark roasted). Fortunately, there are plenty of specialty coffee places I like. This list includes the ones I like the most.

Tel Aviv
Jerusalem
Be'er Sheva
Rome
Lisbon
Zürich
Rethymno

Tel Aviv

Mae Café

My favourite coffee roasters. You can visit either the roasting shop (technically it's part of Ramat Gan's Diamond Exchange but everyone counts it as part of the city) or one of their beautiful store. My personal favourite is their flagship store placed in the historical centre of Tel Aviv.

The roasting shop: Tuval St. 15, Ramat Gan
The flagship store in the historical centre: Montefiore St. 3, Tel Aviv-Yafo
The store in the city centre: Shlomo Ibn Gabirol St. 98, Tel Aviv-Yafo

WayCup Coffee

A strong competition for Mae, WayCup is also roasting their coffee inside the city in an open store. Though, their main store is even more delightful to sit: for the lovely people that sit there and converse with each other. From bohemians, to techies. Babysitters to elders. All enjoying excellent coffee and (mostly) sunny days.

The main store: Yohanan HaSandlar St. 23, Tel Aviv-Yafo
The roasting shop (near the historical centre): Mikve Israel St. 17, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Mela

Self described as: fresh local vegetarian deli with great coffee. Couldn't describe it better. Equipped with excellent coffee from Ruth Coffee, fresh food and unbelievable pastries (various vegan and gluten free options as well) Mela is THE place to go for coffee if you'd like to take a sandwich / a pastry next to it.

Bazel square store (the old north): Ashtori HaFarhi St. 20, Tel Aviv-Yafo
Mikve Israel store (near the historical centre): Mikve Israel St. 23, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Timothy

Another great coffee roasters. Timothy have stated with a small store just on the brink of the Yarkun river. Later, they expanded the store to also include a dedicated quiet office space and opened another branch in the Levinski market downtown.

The main store: Shlomo Ibn Gabirol St. 187, Tel Aviv-Yafo
The Levinksi market store: Zevulun St. 9, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Nahat Coffee

Nahat Coffee is a micro-roastery ran by two coffee experts. In addition to their supreme coffee, I love their graphic design and story-telling about coffee.

The main store: Dizengoff Square 1, Tel Aviv-Yafo
The Herzliya store: Wingate St. 168, Herzliya

Cafetish

Hidden inside the Montefiore neighborhood (not to be confused with Montefiore street), Caffetish is an excellent coffee micro-roastery that serves the locales, techies working nearby it (recently the neighborhood got connected with the tech park that resides on the other end of the Ayalon river). The coffee place is quiet, minimalist, and down to earth. A well kept secret in plain sight.

Store: Sderot Yehudit St. 21, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Edmund Coffee

Edmund is the poster hipster coffee of Tel Aviv. Ran by 4 incredible men, who I got to befriend during the year I lived above it Edmund is a place that will make you feel at home and chic at the same time. Other than excellent coffee that they source from Nahat, they have Thema's matcha (a business I got to hear dreams about from the owner before she even started it, but nonetheless excellent matcha) and delicious pastries and food!

The main store: Yehuda Halevi St. 33, Tel Aviv
The Bavli store (more residential and for parents): Toledano St. 6, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Origem

Origem (Portuguese for origin) is a coffee place stated by a Brazilian whose daughter moved to Israel and they moved with her. Though they don't have many vegan options for sides to the coffee I like to occasionally go there for a good Brazilian coffee. When I went to Lisbon in 2022 the Brazilian owned coffee places there reminded me of this intimate coffee place in the old north.

Store: Dizengoff St. 203, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Coffee Shop 51

In the middle of one of the streets with the most beautiful buildings in Tel Aviv resides a café with a large garden filled with hipsters drinking freshly roasted coffee. This place is Coffee 51 and it's located in Ahad Ha'am St. Aside from the excellent coffee, take some time to stroll around the beautiful buildings built in the unique eclectic Tel Avivi style. It is my favourite place for Shabbat noon coffee as most of the stores are closed on Saturday.

Store: Ahad Ha'am St. 51, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Chacho's Cafe

A "hole-in-the-wall" kind of cafe where you sit outside in the street (but a very cosy quiet street with breeze in the summer). Chacho's is a small coffee place with excellent coffee giving a good fight to the other specialty coffee places while staying grounded and humble. You would still find the hipster specialty coffee types here but the atmosphere is very home-y. My favourite for a cup coffee just before the city starts to prepare for Shabbat dinners with my friends. Also if you want an alternative source for caffeine, they have a good matcha

Store: Ge'ula St. 51, Tel Aviv-Yafo

Jerusalem

Roasters

In the middle of Machne Yehuda market in Jerusalem there's a small shop roasting fresh coffee every day and a small group of customers sitting on a bar and the next room enjoying world-class coffee in the heart of Jerusalem. Roasters is the poster third-generation coffee place and in every visit to the capital I visit it for a good cup of joe. But, do not come on busy market days! It gets really cramped around it. On regular weekdays it's great to go through the market, maybe get something to eat and sit down for a cup of coffee. Recently they opened a few other branches through Israel that I didn't get to visit yet.

The main store: HaAfarsek St 20, Jerusalem
The Jerusalem city center store: Betsal'el St 2, Jerusalem
The Be'er Sheva store: Ya'akov Cohen St 12, Be'er Sheva
The Modiin store: Dam HaMacbim St 55, Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut

You Need Coffee

Just after Machne Yehuda in the Davidka square there's a small modest looking shop entrance that has some small signs saying "You need good coffee". Inside you will find a roasting machine that fill half of the space and in drawers a dozen of different coffee beans ready to be ground on the spot. There is one table inside and a few outside. The coffee is supreme, and you can also have it with chocolate (usually I'm not that impressed but this one I can highly recommend). Really recommended and a true secret Jerusalem gem.

Roasting House: Jaffa St 78, Jerusalem (the one I described)
Shop: Jaffa St 30, Jerusalem

Power Coffeeworks

Another excellent coffee roasters outside of the Machne Yehuda, a small shop with a steam-punk theme started by a couple who immigrated from South Africa, the café has a unique vibe to it. I like going through it to grab a quick coffee after visiting the market, but it also nice to sit inside.

Shop Agripas St 111, Jerusalem

Be'er Sheva

Trés Jolie

Be'er Sheva has a special residence and business area called "The Block". Inside of it reside the excellent restaurant and cafe of the same owner: Oh La La and Trés Jolie. There, you will find menus that would be as fitting as if they were in the centre of Tel Aviv. The coffee is a special mix made for the café and served in handmade ceramic cups. The cafe is self-titled a patisserie for a good reason: featuring french style pastries (unfortunately since I become vegan before the opening I can only testify for the vegan brownie - which was good!). The playlist of classic chansons definitely adds to the Parisian vibe.

Roasters

Lisbon

I visited Lisbon with my mom in 2022 and fell in love with the city, and it's local coffee scene which is both unpretentious yet rich

Simpli Coffee

The first specialty coffee place I got to visit in the city is Simpli. I adore the illustrated cards they give with each serving detailing the notes to look for as with wine. Service was good and fast in all of their branches that I got to visit and the vibe was very cosy and chill.

Braamcamp - R. Braamcamp 64, 1250-096, Lisboa
Picoas - Av. Fontes Pereira de Melo nº41 loja C, 1050-119, Lisboa
Rosa Araújo - Rua Rosa Araújo 17 1250-194, Lisboa
Chiado - Largo de São Carlos, 5, 1200-410, Lisboa

Bettina Corallo

Even though this place specialises in chocolate (they treat cacao beans as specialty coffee places treat coffee beans) this cute small store has excellent coffee from Brazil. The store is a family business ran by a family that used to live in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Lisbon and brought with them special knowledge about cacao. The passion for excellent coffee and cacao is felt from the moment you enter the store.

Store: R. da Escola Politécnica 4, 1250-096 Lisboa

Numa Café

This chic coffee place is always hosting the local matcha girls, hipsters, but also regular people that just look for quality coffee and food. With minimalist design celebrating the sunshine and natural wood you can enjoy a good cup of coffee in Numa with a pastry (the menu changes daily, so there's something fresh every day!). The menu is GF and vegan friendly (for reals).

Store: R. da Escola Politécnica 94, 1250-100 Lisboa

Rome

I visited Rome with my mom in 2019 and was amazed to discover espresso costs exactly 1€, yet excellent coffee is sold everywhere (in small local stores as well as specialty ones)

Tazza D'oro

The first coffee store I had to get to in Rome was Tazza D'oro. Growing up, they used to have a single branch outside of Italy in Tel Aviv and I used to go there with my mom every week to listen to the Jazz elite of Israel play and eat delicious granitas (a dessert composed of crushed iced espresso and whipped creme, maybe there my coffee obsession started?). The store is running since 1944 and its design stayed in the early last century style - including staff's clothes. My top recommendation for anyone visiting Rome.

Store: Via degli Orfani, 84, 00186 Roma RM, Italy

Zürich

I visited Zürich for two days in 2022 and was very happy to discover a thriving coffee scene

MAME

First of all Mame's slogan is the whole vibe of this list: "the best coffee is the coffee you like".

Mame is an elegant café, with quiet but strong energy. Their coffee was balanced, to the point and generally excellent. Also, I had an amazing vegan crumble cake there.

Roastery: Uetlibergstrasse 65/67, 8045 Zürich, Switzerland
Seefeldstrasse Store: Seefeldstrasse 19, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
Josefstrasse Store: Josefstrasse 160, 8005 Zürich, Switzerland

Café Miyuko

Miyuko is a beautiful cozy 2000s japanese culture inspired wonderland with french style pastries. Although I haven't tasted their coffee, their matcha was good!

Store: Bärengasse 20, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland

Boréal

Boréal is a cozy, spacious café. They have a good coffee and you can sit for hours with your laptop or have a lengthy conversation with a friend. Their coffee was great.

Store: Talacker 41, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland

Bean Bank Coffee & CO

Although a bit snobby, Bean Bank has excellent coffee from around the world and really are the experts for good coffee. Expect a suprising coffe, don't expect them to be nice! (and don't ask for a dark roast they don't like that term).

Main Store: Lagerstrasse 18c, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
Bärengasse Store: Bärengasse 29, 8001 Zürich, Switzerland

Miró Manufactura de Café

A delicate suprise in the train station! Miró has a tiny coffee place in the central train station in Zürich. If you go through there on your way I highly recommend it.

Main Store: Brauerstrasse 58, 8004 Zürich, Switzerland
Miró Central (central train station): Haupthalle, Bahnhofpl., 8001 Zürich, Switzerland

Rethymno

I went through Rethymno for a day and and a half in 2023 as part of a wedding of one of my closest friends

Brew Your Mind

Located in the middle of the city it is easy to stumble upon Brew Your Mind even by accident (or by simply doing a little research on coffee places in Rethymno). I was suprised by the excellence and quality of the coffee shop. The coffee is roasted and ground on premises. Only non-acidic roasts were offered (I wish other speacitly cafés would follow suite) and iced drinks were made in Greek freddo fashion (the coffee and or the milk are shook to make a more foam like texture).

Store: Arkadiou 251, Rethymno 741 00, Greece

Reflecting on my first year at FlyCode

Fri, 07 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT

Recently, it's been a year since I joined FlyCode as a founding engineer. Coincidentally, I got a quieter weekend so I decided to reflect a bit on my first year at the startup.

But first, how did I get there: a year and a half ago I left a startup a friend of mine started and left. The departure of one of the co-founders was dramatic and eventually, I decided it was not the right place for me as I came to work with that friend. So, heartbroken I decided to take a summer break (which was delayed to help my friends at MagicYard get started but that's a story for another time).

During vacation time, I couldn't help myself and started researching what would be my next move. I invited entrepreneurs that inspire me to meet for coffee and asked them for a piece of advice. I asked: "what should I do to get ready to start a startup?" and they gave me various answers: from "Just do it" to "Try to work in the enterprise".

A bit later I also asked one of my friends who are well connected in the Tel Aviv startup scene if she knows about interesting opportunities. She connected me with her brother, who is the CTO of FlyCode. Around that time I realized the right thing for me would be to be one of the first employees in an early-stage startup and experience firsthand the initial steps of building a company and working with talented founders that I can learn from. FlyCode seemed like a good fit, we moved forward and I started working last October.

When I got to FlyCode, they had already secured some money, interviewed some companies, worked through an initial ideation process, and started to build a POC of a system for managing texts in web apps. They were not yet certain who is the buyer or what is the business model but that text is an interesting enough aspect of applications that PMs and other non-coding teammates want to edit and that wanted to validate the assumption that people are willing for a bot to send PRs to their code.

My first job was to build an integration with GitHub and extract texts from language files (used in internationalization systems). Building the integration with GitHub was not easy. As not a lot of companies are doing it (I mean there are but it's still a niche) there is not a lot of written material about this (but I'm ultimately grateful for the GitHub docs for apps). I would say from speaking with other people examining the space of code-based applications they usually underestimate the edge cases and difficulties of integrating with GitHub.

After we had a working pipeline of connecting to GitHub and reading texts I also had to build a bot that would be able to create PRs with the changes people make to texts in FlyCode. Surprisingly, editing data files wasn't easy either! Specifically, editing JSON in place was not a simple task.

By that time we started to pitch companies a system for managing texts (also hardcoded in files as we were optimistic it could be done shortly) and got a landing page with the general vision of the company with a narrative focused on the collaboration of non-coding teammates with developers.

We all reached out to as many people as possible and got our first design partners. I remember my excitement at talking for the first time with engineers from companies like Kong. It's one thing to build a product, but sharing it with customers and seeing their excitement about your vision is a whole other thing. With them, we started to fine-tune the MVP. First, for a company that needed to manage JSON language files and a bit later for hardcoded texts in Angular template files, React JSX, and Vue Single File Components. My experience with ASTs came in handy there.

It was cool to create a workflow for non-technical people to update texts that are hardcoded in frontend code they can't access and/or understand themselves. Also, nailing the right DX for our GitHub bot was a cool UX challenge. As an engineer by training with a background in design, I felt like I had a lot to contribute.

In February my good friend Gal joined FlyCode. It's always fun to work with friends, especially with those I collaborated with in the past (Gal was with me in the two former places). I also appreciated the team that agreed to bring him over. Doing startups without him would be much less fun.

Around March we streamlined our pitch for developers and tested it out in different forums to get feedback. We iterated on our message for developers trying to convert as many people as possible from a landing page to the product. Once it was good enough we started preparing for submitting it to Hacker News.

At the end of April, we submitted our developer page to Hacker News as Show HN. Since I am the most active member of the Hacker News team, I led this effort. It worked well, we reached the top page quickly, stayed there for about 6 hours, and gained 185 points. We got some interesting feedback and many installations. Overall it was definitely worth the effort.

A little bit after the Show HN we got contacted by YCombinator and we joined the summer batch (S22) of the program. It was very exciting for me as the last time I participated in YC I wasn't as involved as I wanted to be. I felt like we could benefit a lot from working in a startup that participates in the program.

During YC, we were focused on selling our MVP to as many people as possible. I've taken an active part in the effort and done a lot of lead generation, cold-emailing, starting conversations with people coming into the product, and anything that could help with selling the product while maintaining production stability and fixing bugs. The founders shared with me interesting lessons from the partners and workshops they attended (as much as they could) and overall I felt like the program helped us focus and improve our skills of selling and measuring success.

In July, we prepared and launched FlyCode on Product Hunt and got to 2nd product of the day with 594 up-votes! It created some really interesting conversations and leads and I had the privilege of being at the centre of that effort (with me narrating the walkthrough video). Aside from that, I had an interview on the Prisma live stream about my role in FlyCode. It was a pleasure to work with the Prisma team again.

Also, during that time with the encouragement of the founders, I started a new podcast called Merged (which is sponsored by FlyCode). In it, I got to talk with some of the most interesting people in the product development world. It was cool I could reach out to people on social media and they graciously agreed to be interviewed. I'm very proud of the result.

The program ended in September and as the holiday season was about to start in October in Israel (it's a bit different every year) we took the time to reassess and plan our next moves.

All in all, I feel like I've grown a lot in the past year. I learned a lot about defining and building the MVP of a startup, sales, go-to-market, marketing and generally being a helpful contributor in an early-stage environment. My goal wasn't to become a better engineer. However, as I was working with a very experienced CTO I obviously learned a lot from him. I also got to work with the two other founders and touch almost every aspect of the business. This made me feel a little bit more ready to start my own business.

For people that are looking to be entrepreneurs, I think a situation like in FlyCode in which I came to help the founders with everything (not just code) and got exposed to most of the business operations is a stepping stone toward entrepreneurship. It is not easy to be one of the first employees in a startup. In many cases, you will have to work harder, earn less, and maybe get some nice options. They are a very risky asset for common people, and you have to navigate through all the ups and downs of starting a business with the founders (with differing levels of involvement). But with startups with founders like me, I feel like it can be worth it. If they share enough, and you get to be involved with (almost) everything I think it's a great growth opportunity.

As for the product, I'm very proud of what we built. We have created a bridge between code and non-technical creators, and I can't wait until more and more people take action with shaping their products, but for now, I have to keep our plans for the future to myself.

Why do I work on Amplication

Sat, 03 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT

I love to teach, teaching allows me to reassert the lessons I’ve learned and discovered logical leaps I’ve made. Another thing is through the lenses of fresh eyes I discover unsolved problems in the onboarding of a person to a new subject. Programming is a great example of that. Syntax, source control, naming conventions, code sharing, and testing are a few problems that I find beginners struggle with again and again. Those skills are important for writing quality code but what if you don’t want to write code? Maybe you have little background in programming, have experience with a completely different coding environment, or just need to get a thing done ASAP.

Any coding environment has a learning curve, but what if we could flatten the curve? This is the general mission of the Low Code movement: making coding more accessible by simplifying the workflow of developers.

The thing is simplifying solutions has a price tag: it makes them less flexible so it can actually become harder to create solutions with Low Code that fit the needs of the developer.

It doesn’t help that most low code platforms are proprietary. In this decade developers got used to the fact that most of their tools are open source: libraries. programming languages, infrastructure even their IDEs. With open-source, if I miss a feature I can just fork the code and make the changes I need or at least have an open discussion with the maintainer and the community. In contrast, today’s Low Code systems are closed source and are managed by enterprises that require you to send them a support request when you miss something and have complete control over what is getting into the product and whatnot. In other domains, history proved this system for developer tools is wrong.

With Amplication we are looking to disrupt the Low Code scene with an open-source product. By going open source we are letting developers own their tool and also giving solutions for common problems with making low code tools that we hope will help advance the low code movement as a whole.

I hope that in the near future with Amplication developers will be able to deliver data services without knowing git, a programming language syntax, types an API framework, Admin UI framework, ORM, SQL, Docker, cloud deployment, or how to implement RBAC while still own software that includes all of them so if they do know those they will be able to modify the code

I believe that to get there we need a strong community that can help us include in the platform everything developers need to create such systems so users of the platform won’t need to code those solutions.