Tools are for solving problems

I am resistant to learning new tools.

People keep telling me about Notion, and yeah I want to try it out. Notion probably does allow me to manage my documents better. But I don’t really have a document management problem right now. I have an execution problem. I know how to get things done, but I’m not doing them.

Technology is for solving your problems, not appearing fashionable. You don’t need AWS Lambda. You don’t need to go try out Golang. You don’t need to break up your monolith into microservices.

You need to figure out what to build, and then go build it.

If that requires you to learn a new technology, then go for it. But you should always be asking yourself: what problem am I solving right now?

If Google Docs solves your problem, you should use Google Docs. If GitHub solves your problem, you should use GitHub. You wouldn’t go shopping for the coolest new hammers at the hardware store when the hammer that you own does a great job of driving in a nail.

You will move faster if you focus on solving problems rather than trying out solutions to problems that you don’t have.

I have been working on side projects since college.

With every project I start, I have the problem of finding the right collaborator at the right time. When I write music, I can’t find musicians to work on music with me. When I start a software company, I can’t find a cofounder who wants to start it with me.

So I mostly work alone.

Working by yourself has its advantages. You do get to work as fast as you want. You get to own everything, so there will never be confusion over whose idea the project was.

But in my experience, it’s better to work with collaborators. There is the classic phrase: if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. This is true, but is a false dichotomy. We can go fast and far.

Have you ever worked on a project with someone who you have amazing synergy with? Have you ever had the feeling of finishing each other’s sentences, but in a productive way rather than a romantic way? This is what it’s like to have a collaborator that you get along with on a project.

So if finding a collaborator is such an awesome feeling, why isn’t there a tool for doing that? I have been asking myself that question for the last eight years.

That’s why I started FindCollabs. FindCollabs is a place to collaborate on projects.

The problem of finding a collaborator turns out to be not unlike the problem of finding a boyfriend or girlfriend. You might have to go on a few bad dates in order to figure out what you like.

If you are looking to manage your documents better, we don’t have much to offer. But if you are looking for a collaborator, FindCollabs is the place to go.