I'm a self-taught developer who knows React and Next.js, and lately, I've been feeling pretty anxious about my career.

AI is moving so fast that I sometimes question where I should invest my time. It can build UIs, write backend code, connect APIs, and even help build entire applications. I'm worried that simply knowing how to build web applications won't be enough to get a good job in the coming years.

I'd love to hear from people who run businesses, build startups, or hire developers.

If you were hiring a developer for your startup today, what would you actually look for?

Would you want someone with strong React/Next.js and full-stack skills who can take a product from idea to launch? Or would you prioritize someone who also knows AI engineering, RAG, AI agents, LLM integrations, and automation?

I'm trying to figure out whether I should spend the next 6 months becoming a much stronger full-stack developer or divide my time between web development and AI engineering.

As a self-taught developer, I don't want to spend another year learning things that won't help me become more valuable in the job market. I want to build products that solve real problems and develop skills that a business would actually pay for.

If you were in my position, what would you focus on, and what would make you confident enough to hire someone like me?

I'd genuinely appreciate an honest perspective from a founder or business owner. I could really use some direction right now.

Hi, I’m from Belgium. I have a podcast on books that is working pretty well and I am developing a podcast on movies. Not a review-podcast but a community podcast where 3 people talk about a topic on books/movies and the conversation unfolds. We try to have as much interaction with the audience as possible.

Now I’m feeling that there’s more to this concept, business-wise. What else can I do with this community? I’m thinking something like Letterboxed or Goodreads, where people can make lists and recommendations, maybe also buy some books or movie tickets and merch? Idk how far can I take this? Maybe some live events? Book fairs? Movie festival? Are there any other ways to generate some extra income?

FYI I’m not the host, I’m the owner of the (small) production company behind it.

I will not promote, no link.

I built something that gives you 3 topic suggestions a day and turns any topic into a short interactive lesson. People who try it like it. One person pays.

Two comments I got this week keep bugging me:

- "Random learning without a goal won't sell. Attach it to an exam or a job."

- "It's not the price. I just don't know what I get after week one."

My gut says both are right, and it's the same problem. "Learn something new every day" is a nice habit, but nobody has a budget for nice habits.

Options I see:

a) Pick one goal (exam prep, interview prep, onboarding at work) and rebuild around it.

b) Keep it general but sell an outcome per week ("by Sunday you can explain X").

c) Keep it as is and find people who already pay for this kind of thing.

For those of you who sold something in learning or edtech: did going narrow actually fix conversion, or did it just shrink the market?

After seeing the message about Marc Lou launched a beehiiv vibe-coded alternative, I realized that all of us, even with possibility to vibe-code anything, will fail. Because we still need to market, promote, and sell what we've vibe-coded which is hard and requires a lot of effort, time, and money.

The only people who don't need all of it are those who already have a huge audience. They don't need to promote or sell anything: they just create something, post on their feed, and voila - they have hordes of users. And they may set the prices as low as possible: even making 1c from each sale will bring them tons of money.

I'm writing it because I see clearly that we are all cooked - every single product can be and will be implemented soon and sold by those with audience. The only hope I have is that somehow, some of us can make a little better products than them but this hope is very weak.

i am starting a freelancing marketplace platform where i am the middle man between the freelancer and the client

while the freelancers are easy to get because the fact that people now are looking for jobs more than ever

clients are the hardest ones to look for

how can i get people to my platform?