The slides are available here.

1. You Do Not Need to Wait Until You Have “Skill X” to Start

One of the most common questions I get is: “Do I need to work at a startup for years before I can start my own?”The short answer is no. You do not need to wait until you have mastered sales, fundraising, or any other skill before starting. The truth is that no matter how much experience you have, there will always be something you have never done before. Every startup is unique, and you will face challenges you could not have prepared for in advance.The most important thing is to start. If you have an idea you cannot stop thinking about, a problem you are obsessed with solving, that is your signal. You will learn the rest along the way.

2. Love the Problem Because It Is a Long and Hard Journey

Startups are exciting, but they are also hard. Hard. There will be moments when things are not working, when customers say no, when funding is uncertain, and when you question whether you made the right choice. What will keep you going is not the technology or the hype, but your love for the problem you are solving. If you are deeply connected to the problem, if it is something you have experienced yourself or something you care about fixing for others, you will have the resilience to push through the tough days. Passion for the problem is the fuel that keeps you moving forward.

3. Leverage Communities and Do Not Be Afraid to Ask for Help

When I started Okteto, I did not know many founders. What made the difference for me was finding online and in-person communities where I could learn from others, get feedback, and find support. Communities like 3 Percent Club are invaluable because they connect you with people who understand your challenges, can share their own experiences, and can open doors you did not even know existed. And here is the thing. Most founders are willing to help. We have all been there. The key is to make it easy for people to help you. Be specific in your ask, and do not hesitate to reach out. You will be surprised how many people will say yes.

Why I Support 3 Percent Club

Maria and the team at 3 Percent Club are doing important work by creating a space where underrepresented talent can access education, mentorship, and a network of peers and supporters. I believe the more diverse our founder community is, the more innovative and impactful our solutions will be. That is why I was honored to speak with their members and encourage anyone reading this to learn more about their mission and get involved, whether as a participant, mentor, or supporter.

Final Thoughts

Do not wait for the perfect moment if you have been thinking about starting something. There is no such thing. Start small, focus on a problem you love, and surround yourself with a community that will help you grow. And if you are looking for that community, the 3percentclub is a great place to start.

Transcript is available here.

Starting an open-source project can seem deceptively simple for many engineers. Create a repository, write some code, and voila - you've launched a project and are witnessing a growing user base. But when does this escalating interest signal that it's time to transition from a side project to a full-fledged company?

This talk is designed to arm attendees with critical indicators to determine seriously whether it's time to seriously consider launching a company based on its open-source project. Drawing from the experience of four different founders in starting a cloud-native company anchored on an open-source product, this panel session will delve into essential metrics and considerations, including:

1. The alignment of the project's goals with feasible business strategies

2. Understanding that user engagement doesn't always equate to market fit

3. The sustainability and long-term viability of the project's development model

4. Assessing the market potential and crafting a unique value proposition

We talked about why is important to involve more people on the feedback cycle (diverse points of view and early feedback helps us build better software!), what preview environments are, and why Kubernetes is the perfect platform for that.

The demo app is available on GitHub.

The demo I showed during the talk is available at https://github.com/rberrelleza/tacoshop

Arsh and I gave a talk together at KubeDay Israel. We talked about the importance of having development and production enviroments be as close as possible, and how Okteto and Crossplane can help you there.

https://softwareengineeringdaily.com/2023/04/26/pre-configured-development/

Scale is the biggest independent Linux conference in the US. It was cool to get a chance to attend finally. I got a bag of stickers of the OG open-source toolkit (ntp, emacs, linux); it was amazing!

If you've been thinking about joining Mastodon, you should. It's not as hard as it was a couple of years ago, especially now that there are a lot of public instances and even companies that will host it for you. This guide is great to get started.

I don't have a strong recommendation just yet, but I've see friends recommend these instances:

• Masto.host if you want to host your Mastodon instance.
• mastodon.social is a great general-use instance.
• hachyderm.io is the instance I joined, run by Nóva and other fine folk from the FOSS ecosystem.
• cloud-native.social is an instance maintained by my friend at Civo.

The important thing to remember is that it doesn't matter which one you join since you'll be able to follow and talk with people on any other Mastodon instance. It's kinda like email. Once you create your account, reach out to me!