Looking back at 2023 and forward to 2024

This is our yearly recap episode!

Personal updates from 2023

TylerGoals from last year🆗 Take more vacation and make up with with extra work off-hours work🆗 Renovate the houseOther updatesFound a band I like: Caligula's HorseFirst time as an adult I feel good about my exercise routineRickGoals from last year❌ Get weight below 200lbs❌ Write a newsletter most Sundays (27 total)Other updatesBuilt a new house and moved inHad another baby (daughter)

Personal goals for 2024

TylerMaintain exercise routine: 9k steps/day + 2 rucks/week + 200 pushups/weekFinish house remodelRickRebuild daily exercise and writing habitBe more present with family when I’m with themRegular dates with Sable (2 per month minimum)4 vacations, with at least the next one scheduled at all times to look forward to

Professional updates from 2023

Themes of the podcastYou can't optimize nothing (mostly applies to Rick)Back to the basics (mostly applies to Tyler)TylerGoals from last year❌ Get back to decent growth: $36k ARR/ $3k MRR per month✅ Sense of urgency on the dev team. No more 2-week projects that end up taking six months.🆗 End the year with three major product winsOther updates Announced the price increase for legacy customers  ~3 new devs sort of. Dev team is feeling way better than ever before. Improved money management Coded a lotJoined LegUp Health as a side projectRickGoals from last year✅ Retain JD full-time for another year🆗 Double the client base again (~200 clients) - 160 clients❌ Build V1 of LegUp Benefits and generate $1K per month in MRR from it (3-4 customers)Other updatesTyler joined LegUp Health as a partner Expanded services to group health insurance, and started figuring that out Made it to $100K annual revenue run rate + profitability in December

Professional goals for 2024

TylerDon't worry about growth unless something unexpected happensFocus on customer delight: If you ask a typical customer whether LACRM improved in 2024, their answer should be "hell yeah"Maintain stability related to the team, culture, etc.Protect coding time. Should be averaging >1 full day of coding per weekRickGet LegUp Health to $200K ARRApply Profit First Framework / Pay partner distributions, even if smallGet JD to his target compensationPrioritize better at Windfall / leverage over optimization

Biggest worry

Tyler: Our execution on the product side won't be enough to close the gap with competitorsRick:  I won’t figure out how to prioritize and manage my personal health as I build a family 

What we want to learn

Tyler: How to code like it's 2024. Should be able to do everything the other LACRM devs can do with no blind spotsRick: Nothing specific. 2024 is about execution