About Matt Watson
This blog is dedicated to tech founders, engineering leaders, or those who aspire to be one. It covers various topics related to daily startup and CTO life. Including entrepreneurship, product, and software engineering topics.
I also post on Substack Notes, LinkedIn, Twitter, and some video content on TikTok. I post my favorite podcasts on Substack, but you can also check out the entire daily podcast Startup Hustle.
Why did I start this newsletter?
There are a lot of great content creators about entrepreneurship, startups, and software engineering. I feel like I bring a very unique perspective on all of them combined. My hobby is sharing that perspective.
I consider myself to be a thought leader when it comes to working in tech. I’ve been an entrepreneur and engineer for over 20 years. I have also hosted a podcast about entrepreneurship called Startup Hustle for 5 years. I have interviewed hundreds of outstanding entrepreneurs.
I draw my inspiration and knowledge from a wide array of experiences. I have a very unique perspective as both an entrepreneur and a software engineer. I love sharing it with my readers.
Who is Matt Watson?
I’m an entrepreneur and software engineer.
My entrepreneurial journey started when I was a little kid helping my dad at flea markets. I started doing computer programming when I was 13 to play dial-up BBS games while I was sleeping and at school.
I started my first tech company, VinSolutions, in 2003 at 22. We bootstrapped it to doing $30+ million in ARR and sold it to AutoTrader in 2011 for $150 million. VinSolutions is still the #1 CRM in the automotive industry.
After I left VinSolutions, I started a company called Stackify that did application monitoring for software developers. We exited in 2021 to Netreo.
I also started my offshore development company, Full Scale, in the Philippines to support my SaaS companies. It has grown to 300+ employees.
Here are some of my favorite editions to get you started!
My 20 Year Career is Technical Debt or Deprecated
Technical debt is easily the most used buzzword these days. People say, “We are moving fast on our MVP while minimizing technical debt!”. They mention technical debt in there to sound cool or something.
AI Is Replacing Engineering Tasks, Not Jobs
Every CTO I talk to has a version of the same conversation happening on their team right now. An engineer is scared. They’ve seen what Claude Code can do. They’re watching AI ship entire features. They’re wondering out loud whether their job has a runway.
Why I Avoided Offshore Development... Until I Accidentally Used It
Quick note: We have been making big changes to the Startup Hustle podcast. We now have a YouTube channel where you can watch the episodes! Here is a great one about capturing requirements.
