Essays on operating, deciding, and the unglamorous work of building things that last — by Mara Quinn.http://localhost:4321/en-ushttp://localhost:4321/post/the-meeting-that-should-have-been-three-emailshttp://localhost:4321/post/the-meeting-that-should-have-been-three-emailsWe optimized for synchronous discussion long after the discussion stopped being useful. A small audit of the calendar, and what fell out of it.Tue, 21 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttp://localhost:4321/post/the-meeting-that-should-have-been-three-emails#commentshttp://localhost:4321/post/okokhttp://localhost:4321/post/okokokokTue, 14 Apr 2026 09:18:00 GMThttp://localhost:4321/post/okok#commentshttp://localhost:4321/post/hello-worldhttp://localhost:4321/post/hello-worlddwadMon, 13 Apr 2026 09:18:00 GMThttp://localhost:4321/post/hello-world#commentshttp://localhost:4321/post/i-was-wrong-about-senior-hireshttp://localhost:4321/post/i-was-wrong-about-senior-hiresFor two years I optimized our hiring loop for pedigree. The people who moved the company forward were almost never the ones I was looking for.Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMThttp://localhost:4321/post/i-was-wrong-about-senior-hires#commentshttp://localhost:4321/post/operating-rhythm-as-a-producthttp://localhost:4321/post/operating-rhythm-as-a-productWeekly reviews, monthly planning, quarterly bets — the cadence itself is the artifact. Treat it the way you'd treat a release.Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttp://localhost:4321/post/operating-rhythm-as-a-product#commentshttp://localhost:4321/post/in-defense-of-boring-infrastructurehttp://localhost:4321/post/in-defense-of-boring-infrastructurePostgres, cron, a single Rails monolith, and 12 months of runway saved. On choosing tools you won't have to write a postmortem about.Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttp://localhost:4321/post/in-defense-of-boring-infrastructure#commentshttp://localhost:4321/post/the-second-year-of-a-startuphttp://localhost:4321/post/the-second-year-of-a-startupYear one rewards founder energy. Year two punishes its absence. Notes from the year nobody warns you about, and the few things that helped.Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttp://localhost:4321/post/the-second-year-of-a-startup#comments