🗞 What's New: 8 myths about software development

What are the most common myths you've heard about software development?

• From the number of developers needed to build, to the programming languages they should use, we're debunking common dev myths.
• Website structure is crucial for SEO. Optimize your site's structure by creating a clear hierarchy and ensuring responsive design.
• TikTok's first engineer. Owen Chen left TikTok and built an open source company. He's since raised $3M, and is currently at $5K MRR.

Eli Electric Vehicles is fueling the untapped $470B micro-EV market with eco-friendly vehicles. Participate in its latest private raise here.

by Martin Baun

Today, we're debunking some common myths about software development!

Myth one: The more software developers, the better

One of the biggest myths is that one person cannot develop software. Many believe that hiring multiple developers will enhance workflow.

This is false. Adding more people may make sharing ideas and addressing stalemates easier, but it’s also time-consuming, and can be detrimental to proper communication.

Myth two: There's always a magic formula

There is no magic formula for developing software. Each project will always have its unique requirements and processes to be carried out.

The development path is rarely linear.

Myth three: In-house developers are better than outsourcing

A popular software engineering myth is that in-house developers are better than remote developers. This is far from the truth. Outsourcing makes it easy to access a skill unavailable with in-house developers.

Developers working remotely can improve the results of your in-house team. I use a mixed approach: I have an in-house core team, then add remote consultants or developers when needed.

Myth four: Developers must have a computer science degree

According to the Stack Overflow Developer Survey, 62% of developers have a degree in computer science.

This shows that a developer doesn’t need to have a computer science degree; anyone can learn and master the various programming methodologies. You can build things and showcase your skills by sharing your projects. In software development, experience matters.

Myth five: Real programmers use C and C++

There is no doubt that C and C++ are among the most popular programming languages, but programming languages are just tools. Ask yourself what you want, then work towards that specific goal by designing good software.

Myth six: A project is over once the software is released

Software requires upgrades and updates to ensure that it is effective and efficient.

Developers often use many abstraction layers, such as libraries or frameworks, requiring more updates.

Myth seven: Quality assurance is not essential

Quality assurance is crucial to the software development process. It's vital to test software to ensure it is working as expected.

There’s no substitute for good UI, and quality assurance helps provide this. Here's how QA helps us get more done.

Myth eight: You can resolve every bug before the product's release

Every product has its lifecycle. Dynamics constantly change. It’s almost impossible to fix every bug in one swoop.

Fix every bug as it appears; don’t overwhelm yourself with a daunting task at the end of development.

For more, check out my blog!

Discuss this story.

This issue is sponsored by Eli Electric Vehicles

Eli Electric Vehicles is fueling the untapped $470B micro-EV market with compact, eco-friendly, affordable vehicles specifically designed for urban settings.

By 2050, nearly 70% of the world’s population is expected to live in cities, making traffic a major issue. Eli is rethinking urban mobility, with the most energy efficient, practical, stylish, cost-effective EVs imaginable. The flagship Eli ZERO vehicle is disruptive in many ways:

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Eli Electric Vehicles will launch in the US this year. Europe and the US combined represent a staggering 150X market potential, and Eli is poised to dominate, boasting a scalable 4K+ in annual production, and glowing press coverage.

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by Tuiddy

Website structure is a crucial factor in SEO. A well-organized website enhances user experience, and makes it easier for search engines to crawl and index your content.

How exactly does website structure affect SEO, and how can you optimize it effectively?

How website structure impacts SEO

1. Improves crawl efficiency: A well-structured site allows search engine crawlers to navigate your pages more efficiently, ensuring that important content gets indexed.

2. Enhances user experience: Clear navigation and structure makes it easier for users to find the information they need, reducing bounce rates and increasing time spent on the site. This positively impacts SEO.

3. Distributes page authority: Through a thoughtful internal linking strategy, you can distribute page authority more effectively, helping important pages rank higher in search results.

4. Prevents duplicate content: A good structure minimizes the risk of duplicate content issues, which can lead to SEO penalties.

How to optimize your website structure

1. Create a clear, logical hierarchy: This is typically structured as Home -> Category Pages -> Subcategory Pages -> Detailed Content Pages.

2. Use simple, descriptive URLs: Employ short, descriptive URLs that are rich in keywords, making it easier for both users and search engines to understand the page content.

3. Optimize internal linking: Use internal links to connect related content, helping search engines understand the relationships among, and importance of, different pages.

4. Implement breadcrumb navigation: Add breadcrumb navigation to help users and search engines understand the page's location within the site's structure.

5. Ensure responsive design: Make sure your website is responsive and displays well on all devices, especially on mobile.

6. Create sitemaps: Develop XML and HTML sitemaps to help search engines quickly discover and index all of your site's content.

7. Leverage SEO AI: Utilize SEO AI to analyze and evaluate your website's structure. These tools can automatically identify potential structural issues, and provide optimization recommendations to ensure that your site adheres to SEO best practices.

Optimizing your website structure is a key step in boosting your SEO performance. By designing a logical structure, you can improve crawl efficiency, enhance user experience, and achieve better search rankings, ultimately driving more traffic to your site!

Discuss this story.

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by James Fleischmann

Owen Chen was the first engineer at TikTok. He quit because the company was blowing up, and he missed the good old days of going from zero to one.

So, he built an open source product, brought in significant capital at a stellar valuation, and got to work. Now, he's at $5K MRR.

Building TikTok

Owen joined TikTok as its first engineer right after he finished university, and was tasked with creating the first version of the app. His role involved a lot of localization work, as it was essentially a rebuild of a Chinese app called Douyin.

But the reason he joined TikTok was also the reason he later quit: He wanted the excitement of being in an early-stage business, and seeing the impact of his work. As TikTok got bigger, he felt that his personal abilities were overshadowed by the company itself. He was doing tedious work instead of innovating, and he says his growth curve flattened.

So, he quit to start his own company. (And, no, he didn't leave with any shares.)

Open source

After leaving his job, Owen freelanced to keep the lights on. While doing that, he realized that, while large companies had sufficient R&D resources to create internal portals for themselves, startups did not. Also, the products that were available on the market were cost prohibitive for early-stage founders.

So, he built ILLA, an open source, low-code website and app builder that is monetized as ILLA Cloud. He got his first round of funding in 2021, and started working on ILLA full time. Now, he's received $3M in total, in exchange for 26% of the company.

That means his business is valued at ~$12M. He says this high valuation was due to the fact that his investors believed in him personally, because he approached funders he knew.

But, perhaps, Owen got investment a little too early. He says it is more effective to find investors to scale the product after it has achieved product-market fit.

Owen's goal with ILLA is for it to be fully accessible to early-stage founders, so he currently only charges for team management features. It's $20 per month per seat for teams, and $50 per month per seat for enterprise accounts.

Spending

Owen keeps costs down by using technology stacks and products that are already available, instead of building them out.

He spends about $500 per month on tools, and his largest expense is his team. He's currently spending roughly $4K per person, per month, and he has a team of seven people. That's about $28K per month.

A significant portion of his expenditures also come from travel. Owen thinks travel is incredibly important, not just for him, but for his company.

He says it's impossible to create a truly global company if you don't experience other cultures. Needs are discovered, not imagined!

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Special thanks to Jay Avery for editing this issue, to Gabriella Federico for the illustrations, and to Martin Baun, Darko, Tuiddy, and James Fleischmann for contributing posts. —Channing