Intuitive Opportunity

Most of these thoughts are raw and intuitive, based on experience and the ongoing process of building. We're in the middle of accumulating this knowledge as we haven't yet created a sustainable company, but we feel like we're on the way. Currently we're living the reality of work that we wish to share with many people, as there's an opportunity in the present moment to build a future where work provides security, independence, and meaning.

Cadence started as a continuation of previous threads, like most things in life. The individual reality we're living now accumulated in the past, creating this very moment.

It was through a sheer luck the life brought us together and our collective paths intersected at just the right time to form a team. The reason we were able to achieve that is because we had collective knowledge of organizational tools that allowed us to structure the process and move forward collectively. We had both the conceptual understanding of how to take a big messy tasks and break them into a manageable, actionable structure, and the practical technical understanding of the tools to organize daily operations.

Most modern enterprises are converging on the same structure and tool stack that makes collective operations organized, so teams can achieve a state of flow and function as cohesive units. Most of these modern tools and methods come from the tech industry, but the principles are applicable across pretty much all human endeavors. The principles are simple:

Create a rhythm of weekly cycles Break down big pieces of work into small manageable units Execute sequentially

As always effective communication becomes central. To achieve clarity, things need to be written down as much as possible. Only a trail of clearly articulated, captured thoughts allows a team to achieve cohesion.

Product Requirement Documents are a key category of documents. A well-articulated collection of PRDs enables the team to break down and align on all the different aspects of the product and the product can be anything in this context. It's clear that PRDs should be in Google Docs, since that tool allows teams to collaborate in the comments and achieve maximum alignment.

Day-to-day communication usually takes place in Discord. It's free to use and really is a wonderful product that enables capturing all the different conversations pertaining to operations in the form of channels. The beauty of these tools is their flexibility and the structure of a specific organization reveals itself intuitively as the company grows and the work happens. The channels provide context and create an interesting situation where the mind adjusts to the subject of conversation as it moves across different channels.

Figma provides a canvas for sketching. In our case we have one project for design with three different pages: one for references, one for sketches, and one for the finished result. We also have one file for development where we capture all the diagrams that describe our system, and one narrative file that contains bits and pieces of information that are easy to move around and assemble in whatever structure necessary.

The issue tracking system is the cornerstone of any successful enterprise, and Linear has created the most wonderful system for that. It's intuitive and beautiful, well structured, and combines all the latest tools while continuing to evolve into the most advanced product in the space. The issue tracking system is basically a giant to-do list that has different organizational constructs to break down work in a unique way. It has a hierarchy of teams, projects, states, and labels to name the major ones, and enables the team to effectively manage all that needs to be done.

GitHub is of course there for code as a versioning system, but it's relevant only for the digital world, so let's skip the details in this context. One thing to mention however: using issue names for GitHub branches is super helpful as it creates a clear link between the description of work and the output.

When we started Cadence, we felt that a robust and humane time tracker was missing from the stack. We tried many products but nothing really worked for us, so we built Cadence to complete this stack.

At the end of the day, to build a successful company one needs to find and allocate time clearly and consistently. In a way, that becomes the start of any operations.

Our current view on building companies:

Initially allocate a small amount of time each weekly cycle toward building a company and the product

Watch the pattern emerge with the organic action in the small amounts of time, watch the distribution of time, and the effort is naturally happening

Do that for about a month using all the mentioned tools

Then start designing the time blocks intentionally finding the consistency in the weekly cycles

In about two months, the structure will start emerging, which will pull the individual and the team into a successful future

The future is bright and the moment is bright. There are truly unique opportunities all around us we just need to organize ourselves and seize the moment.