San Francisco

Nemath Ahmed

I’m a co-founder of Shifu Health. I’ve written on and off for a few years, and I’m trying to return to it because writing usually helps me understand what I actually think.

There isn’t a bigger plan for the writing. I want to keep track of what I’m learning and maybe help one or two people going through something similar see another perspective.

previous research and technical work

writing

  1. Shifu: the last year and what's ahead
  2. Graduating Georgia Tech
  3. What’s a data platform, anyway?
  4. The art of reading a research paper
  5. How AI-based fitness trackers work
all writing

working notes

Small things I’m trying to remember. They aren’t universal rules.

Keep it simple.

Keep things as simple as possible: the backend architecture, the product design, and the features.

Numbers and progress.

Having numbers associated with every aspect of what I do is the best way for me to track daily and weekly progress. I keep one monitor dedicated to user numbers and leave it on throughout the day. I derive a lot of energy from that.

Recovery.

Just like my Muay Thai sessions, my work needs a short recovery period. It could be a few hours or a day. When my recovery is not in the green, my first step is to get back there.

Change the scenery.

Before moving into an office, I made sure to work outdoors on Fridays and Sundays. The change in setting noticeably improved how I performed. I do not know the science behind it, but it works. If things are going off, I work from a coffee shop near home or simply move.

No right way.

At least in startups, there is no single right way to build. Some founders spend months talking to people before writing code; others learn by shipping immediately. Some raise early; others stay small. There are successful examples in every direction, so someone else’s path is evidence, not a rule.

Elsewhere: films, photographs, and music.