Giant Robots Smashing Into Other Giant Robots
A podcast about the design, development, and business of great software. Each week thoughtbot is joined by the people who build and nurture the products we love.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 38 minutes
- Episodes
- 602
- Years Active
- 2012 - 2025
242: Too Dressed Up For The Internet (Kim Goulbourne)
Chad is joined by thoughtbot designer Kim Goulbourne to discuss inspiration, side projects, and winning a Webby Award!
241: I Don’t Like Talking to Computers (Nick Charlton)
Chad is joined by Nick Charlton, thoughtbot developer and co-host of the Build Phase podcast, to give their impressions on all the news out of the WWDC17 Keynote & Platforms State of the Union.
240: Handing Over the Reins
Ben outlines his next steps, reflects on his time at thoughtbot, and hands the proverbial podcast reins over to Chad.
239: Change is in the Air
Ben bids adieu to thoughtbot, and outlines his plans, hopes, and fears for the future.
237: Steve Jobs Used Slides
Ben and Derrick recount their experiences and lessons learned speaking at MicroConf.
Thank you to our sponsor this week, FreshBooks
236: Care For Customer Support (Spencer Fry)
Ben is joined this week by Spencer Fry, founder of TypeFrag, Carbonmade, Uncover, and Coach, to discuss carryover lessons of successful startups.
235: Meta Talk Process
As we prepare for MicroConf, Ben takes a new tact on his talk after giving an early demo, and Derrick recounts a positive pair-programming experience.
Thank you to our …
234: Secret Features
On FormKeep, Ben implements custom redirects on form submissions and starts a test to remove up-front credit card collection, as well as discusses evaluation of feature requests. On Drip, Derrick wal…
233: Insert Mode is the Worst Mode
Derrick welcomes new Javascript and Rails developers to Drip. Ben prepares a content deal and interviews a Content Manager for Upcase, discusses the benefits and methodology to Vim proficiency, works…
232: Don't Be Boring
As Ben and Derrick prepare their talks for MicroConf, Ben shares his tips and habits for talk preparation and public speaking.
T…
231: Who Likes Using Ugly Software?
Ben & Derrick reflect on the S3 outage and how it affected their services, and muse on managing user perceptions. Derrick submits a talk to MicroConf on what it means to be "customer driven", and beg…
229: We Need More Counters
On FormKeep, Ben runs an A/B test on trial length and adds a short onboarding survey, meanwhile wrapping up team signups and working on a content licensing deal for Upcase. Derrick reports back from …
228: Start in Beginner Mode
Derrick travels to Portland to visit fellow bootstrapper friends, Ben recounts his recent conference travel, and a discussion of their most pivotal hires as well as account rescue techniques.
227: We Don't Do Fractional Pennies
Derrick celebrates a great shipping week, completing both 'live segments' and a Drip certification course. Ben recounts the rollout & results of the Upcase + Tapas promotion, and reflects on its succ…
226: There Are So Many Edge-Cases
Ben presses to meet the Upcase & Tapas launch deadline, and shares some lessons learned from its preparation, promotion, and launch. On Drip, Derrick rolls out more UI updates, is looking to hire Jav…
225: Abuse the Sunk-Cost Fallacy
Ben halts the search for a marketer to instead hire a sales consultant and focus on growth himself, and announces a collaboration with Ruby Tapas. Derrick enrolls in a machine learning class, and con…
224: Sharpen Your Saw
Derrick takes a solo retreat to reflect on new goals for Drip, and draws up preliminary plans for scaling team size / structure, as well as speeding up velocity through parallelism. Ben shares his ex…
223: Work Deterrent System
Ben & Derrick discuss music in the workplace, optimizing Redis, reaching larger markets beyond early adopters, and standing out in job application e-mails.