Sylvia Ng

I just published Running a cross-agency Temporal workshop: what we learned medium.com/p/running-a-cr…

#GopherConSG is back for 2026! Our next conference will take place on 20–22 May, and our #CFP is open right now! 💥 If you have #golang ideas to share, we're looking forward to hearing all about them! 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️ papercall.io/gopherconsg-20…

We can all agree subscriptions are great for consistent, repeatable revenue. But they’re not a one-size-fits-all. They don't always meet users across the demand curve: 🪜 Power users hit limits → they’d pay more, but can’t 🎢 Casual users won’t commit → they churn, or never convert What’s the solution? @thomasbcn explains 🧵

I just published 42 Participants, Zero Slides: A Workshop Experiment in Tokyo medium.com/p/42-participa…

Your job isn’t to carry the whole business. It’s to empower people who can carry it with you.

high IQ is a poverty trap. let me explain. recently talked to a guy with 172 IQ. reads philosophy. understands complex systems better than most MBAs. completely broke. spends every day researching. perfecting ideas. waiting for the "right moment" to execute. scanning "best saas ideas" blogs. been "building in stealth" for 3 years. where it gets uncomfortable. couple months ago i took one of his half-finished concepts he mentioned in passing. packaged it with maximum conviction. sold it as an info product to women wanting to build careers in real estate. $12k/month in 90 days. product was average. idea wasn't revolutionary. i moved fast and marketed ugly. he's still perfecting version 1.0 while i'm cashing deposits from version 0.3 i built in a weekend. the psychology is brutal: intelligence creates options. options create paralysis. paralysis creates poverty. smart people see 47 ways something could fail. so they "research more." average people see one path forward and sprint. a gorgeous idea in the hands of someone who overthinks becomes a mental prison. a mid idea in the hands of someone who executes becomes a money printer. ideas without execution are expensive hobbies for smart people scared to look stupid. that's the trap. smart people protect their reputation for being smart. shipping something imperfect threatens that identity. so they delay forever. operators ship garbage. learn from the market. iterate. get paid while perfecting. you need speed and conviction, not perfect. confidence sells better than competence. always has. my genius friend will stay broke theorizing about businesses he never starts. operators with half his IQ are cashing out because they understood the assignment. speed of execution is the entire game.

Apple JUST quietly announced something that’s a lot BIGGER than it looks: "the Mini Apps Partner Program" Apple is admitting that the future of software is embedded, lightweight, vertical mini-apps distributed inside bigger app For founders who want to make $$ building apps: 1. Apple just legitimized the “superapp” model for the West. China has WeChat mini-programs. India has PhonePe Switch. The West has… nothing. Apple just opened the door. You can now run HTML/JS mini-apps inside a native host and earn 85% on qualifying purchases. That’s Apple-sanctioned platform piggybacking. 2. Distribution arbitrage becomes real again. You don’t need to convince users to download your app. Just partner with a host app and drop in a mini-app. This is a cheat code for early traction. Think: travel apps hosting niche tools, fitness apps hosting mini workouts, marketplaces hosting micro-utilities. 3. Apple is creating a new economy layer: “embedded SaaS.” Imagine: CRM mini-apps inside vertical tools. Math solver mini-apps inside education apps. Calendar mini-apps inside productivity apps. The TAM for tools that don’t need standalone installs just went vertical. 4. Developers get an 85% revenue share. This is Apple basically saying: “We want this ecosystem to grow, and we’re willing to cut our take rate.” When Apple lowers its cut, I pay attention because they see a platform shift coming. 5. AI makes this 10× more important. LLM-powered micro-apps (calculators, planners, agents, coaches, niche utilities) are tiny by design. They’re perfect mini-apps. Apple just created infrastructure for AI-native micro utilities to live inside bigger apps with built-in commerce. 6. Host apps become new “distribution landlords.” If you own an app with traffic, you become a platform. You can host mini-apps, take a cut, and build a developer ecosystem around you. It’s a new monetization model for existing apps with audiences. 7. This unlocks a wave of second-order opportunities. - Agencies helping apps become mini-app hosts - Mini-app dev shops - “Shopify for mini-apps” toolkits - Mini-app marketplaces - Analytics for mini-app performance - Discovery engines for mini-apps - I'll be dropping mini app ideas on @ideabrowser and @startupideaspod TLDR; Apple just turned every high-traffic app into a potential superapp and every indie developer into a potential platform partner. The App Store is becoming modular, composable, and layered. The next decade of consumer apps will look less like standalone products and more like ecosystems stitched together with mini-apps. This is quietly one of the biggest distribution unlocks in years.

Most people think sales is about “closing,” but it’s not. It’s about planting seeds until people are ready.

It’s not “quitting” if you’re walking away from a place that stopped seeing your value.

I think China's second DeepSeek moment is here. This AI agent called 'Manus' is going crazy viral in China right now. Probably only a matter of time until it hits the US. It's like Deep Research + Operator + Claude Computer combined, and it's REALLY good.

The most disciplined people aren't super-human. They just write everything down.

Check out my latest article: Unlocking Efficiency and Precision (Part One): Why Consider a Rule Engine linkedin.com/pulse/unlockin… via @LinkedIn

Got my awesome @github badge for @githubuniverse and started hacking on it. Anyone have any fun ideas?

"Probably the most actionable, relatable, and interesting Lenny's Newsletter post I've so far read." That's how a reader described today's incredible guest post by Newsletter Fellow @tarstarr. Learn five tactical tips for communicating tradeoffs so leaders will listen: 1. Repetition doesn’t spoil the prayer 2. “Steelman the request” to find your blind spots 3. Company first, team second 4. Predict the future, just a little bit 5. Always communicate an opinionated decision Also, a very cool template to communicate your priorities, the three most common tradeoff traps, examples, and more. Don't miss this one 👇 lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-to-commu…

Want to see Mona Lisa do something new? AI can make it happen! 🖼️✨#MonaLisa Transform the classics and bring art to life with AI. Ready for more creative possibilities? Follow for amazing AI-generated content! @Kling_ai #KlingAI #Kling #DreamMachine #LumaDreamMachine #Gen3

Don't get sidetracked by people who aren't even on track.

Either you manage me or I manage you. Which would you prefer?

I just completed the Product Strategy course! reforge.com/course-snapsho…

@danmartell SCORECARD