DROdio - B2B CEO | Father

How I use AI as CEO to gain confidence in approving Eng codebase changes

Storytell has a world-class engineering team. As a "Vibe CEO" who does everything just well enough to motivate others to do it better, I'm definitely not qualified to be on that team. But I often want to support them – especially when it comes to increasing our

AI/ML

When 5-Year-Olds Can Build Apps: Change is Coming

If you don't yet understand what's coming, watch this video of my five year old son Dilán vibe coding a computer game with Cursor. And not just him in our household – all three of my kids (5, 8 and 11) are doing it. Dilán doesn'

AI/ML

Vibe CEO-ing

Using AI to vibe with the entire organization AI Is Transforming Executive Connection Gone are the days of detached leadership. AI trends like vibe coding (not just for code, as we'll see below!) are empowering executives to bridge the gap between strategy and operations. Tools are emerging that

Health

Surrendering to Ozempic

It's not easy to admit defeat, but with the acknowledgment comes an opportunity to find an alternate path forward. I've tried many strategies to feel like I'm in control of my body and achieve a target weight, from rowing 1,000,000 meters in

investors

Using AI to analyze (and buy) Artificial Intelligence stocks

This is most definitely not investment advice! If you are AI Curious or AI Enthusiast and you have at least $30 [1] of your hard-earned dollars that you want to invest in an AI future, here's an easy, super accessible way to make a bet on artificial intelligence

Why we keep missing due dates and deadlines -- and how to fix it.

This is a post about deadlines, due dates, why we keep missing them, and a way fix that for yourself, your team, and your company by differentiating between two very distinct modes that we often conflate as one with consistently deleterious effects: Operating vs. Inventing. But we'll get

AI/ML

Part 1: How I use AI day-to-day as the CEO of an AI startup (and you can, too)

This is the first of a multi-part post about using AI as an executive knowledge worker and covers determining how "AI Curious" you are. As the CEO of Storytell.ai, an enterprise collaborative intelligence platform, I'm always leaning into ways I can personally be using AI

vanlife

Build the right thing fast, instead of the wrong thing right.

At Storytell, we do a lot of user-driven rapid prototyping and learning in public. That process can be vulnerable and messy, because inevitably, we learn from our users who teach us that what we thought was the right answer to their problem was actually just a starting point. Aaron, our

Startups

Actions vs. Outcomes: Distinguishing between the two

It's really easy in startups to end up doing work ultimately doesn't matter – and it's really hard to tell in the moment which is which. Many Founders fool themselves into thinking they're doing important, impactful work when in reality they're

vanlife

Converting Starlink to a 12V "always on" system (Updated!)

Update: Sept 2024: I originally used the StarMount system to convert my dish from 110v to 12v. That did not go well, as I outline in this video update: I've since switched to this Trio Flatmount and a Gen3 dish, which seems to be a much better design.

Product Led Growth

Freemium vs. Free Trial: Doing Neither Well

It's always interesting to see how two competitors approach their GTMs differently. For example, I was recently testing out Leadfeeder vs. Snitcher. Both product had a free trial period, which expired. But after the trial ended, the experience vastly differed. Here's Leadfeeder – still sending data, but

Airbnb

How I'm using AI as an Airbnb host to generate in-depth 5 star reviews from guests

I'm the CEO of Storytell.ai, an AI startup based in the SF Bay area. I'm also the owner & host of the Lagoon Retreat, a corporate/executive retreat property. I'm using my startup Storytell to create really effective draft reviews for my guests

Startups

Aligning our Humans: 🚀 Storytell's "Operation 50,000"

When Jing, Erika and I founded Storytell.ai late last year, we knew we had a special opportunity to define a big Vision, a strong Mission, and a winning Strategy to leverage AI in ways that makes us more effective and satisfied with how we each live, how we work,

Product Led Growth

The "Rocks vs. Ripples" Approach to Product-Led Growth

I find Product-Led Growth to be comprised of defining future priorities (qualitative) while measuring past results (quantitative). It's like throwing a rock into water and then reacting to the ripples. Throwing the Rocks: As Mike Maples says, Founders are time travelers. We've seen a future, and

fasting

Fasting 165 Days in 2023: Back In The Driver's Seat

I've written a lot about fasting, ketosis and health. Yet I still feel like I'm just learning about fasting, how it affects my health, and what it means for my ability to be in the driver's seat of my body. When I'm

vanlife

What’s Coming: The Intersection of 4 Megatrends by 2025

This is a post about four megatrends converging in the next three years that I don’t hear many people talking about: Effectively limitless energy + globally accessible high-speed, low latency bandwidth + the sharing economy + the gig economy. > I believe that these four trends will converge by 2025 in a

Parenting

Being an Adventure Dad

I do my best to be an "Adventure Dad" to my kids. It's so fulfilling that I wanted to try to fully describe what that term means to me. In a nutshell, adventure dads start from "yes". One of my personal philosophies as a

Health

Join My Challenge: Rowing 2,022,000 Meters in 2022

Back in 2015, I rowed 1 million meters in eight months. Now I'm at it again – except this time I'm going to row 2.022 million meters in 2022. Anyone want to join me in this challenge? > I'll be using using the #2.

Going All-In on an Off Grid Workspace

I recently wrote about creating a WFH workspace for under $5k [https://drodio.com/creating-your-own-remote-workspace-for-under-5k/] using a Costco shed. In that post I shared how I could boost the internet connection's speed & reliability. I've not only done that, but I also went all-in on a

vanlife

Inc. Magazine #Vanlife

When we passed through NYC on our summer work+play roadtrip [https://drodio.com/finding-dispersed-campsites/], one of Armory's clients put me in touch with an editor at Inc. Magazine, which turned into this story [https://www.inc.com/eric-hagerman/drodio-daniel-r-odio-armory-van.html]. Here's the video: Here'

Why I Sign Emails with #Velocity

I sign off in my emails with #velocity instead of Regards Here's why: 🏎️ Speed is a Skill As Patrick Collins of Stripe points out, Speed is a Skill. It can be improved with focused effort over time. As I write in this post titled "Turning Speed into

Welcoming Armory's Next CEO

I'd like to welcome Jim Douglas as Armory's next CEO as I transition to Chairman of the Board on September 1st. When we started Armory in my garage and went through Y Combinator almost exactly five years ago, I knew we were building a very special

Create Your Own WFH Workspace for Under $5k

There's something absolutely magical about walking out of your house, across your lawn, and into a dedicated workspace. I've written in the past about doing the best work of your career in remote locations [https://drodio.com/working-remote-first-do-the-best-work-of-your-career/]. The flip side is figuring out how to

Finding Dispersed Campsites To Work (and Play!) From

I just had someone named Robert email me: I've followed your blog for a while and got inspired to start incorporating elements of van life into my day to day. Haven't took the full plunge yet, but I bought a portable power station/solar panel/hotspot

Do an Energy Audit

One thing Anu taught me in the Y Combinator growth program is the importance of doing an "energy audit" on oneself. Founders and CEOs are pulled in many directions and often need to focus in areas that may reduce vs. increase their energy. Much of this analysis lies