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For years I’ve been interested in what was called the “quantified self” space and so I’ve been using apps to track simple bio markers. I even managed the migration of a 13TB database and application migration to the cloud for the AI Vitality Hong Kong tracking app. Wanted to make a list of what I have tried and what I’m using for reference:

Tried but didn’t stick

Currently Using

  • Oura – Been using this app and the ring for like 7 years and really love the design. Check it for my sleep daily and sometimes remember to record my meals here.
  • Withings – Using this to take my blood pressure and weigh myself on their scale every day.
  • SleepCycle – Monitoring my snoring with this app.
  • Fud AI – Open-source calorie tracker written in Swift and Kotlin, just installed and will play around because it lets you bring your own AI key.

Heard about but Haven’t tried

Just heard about these but haven’t tried them noting them in case I would like to come back to them.

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The other day I met a young lad who just graduated high school. He had just inherited his father’s business because his father passed away. He was asking for advice on what he should do, including if he should go to college. His mom was currently running the business, but the business was going down a bit.

I want to jot down the advice I gave him:

Should he go to college?

College of course, depends on his goals and if he is driven and can build in public and show his value some other way. Maybe college is not necessary, and he can find a job by just showing off his skills. It is easier than ever to learn some subjects. There might be opportunities in the AI era to go to college and get some domain expertise that would help, such as in the fields of biology, etc. When I found out he had the family business to help run, that seemed to be a pretty clear path.

Talk to the customers

He should talk to them to understand their needs and pain points. Set up a coffee with them and don’t try to sell to them; just show you are trying to learn the business and what their business needs are. Be curious about them and ask if they have any memories of his dad to be vulnerable and make a connection.

Finding new Customers vs Current Customers

It’s cheaper to keep and serve current customers than to find new customers, and the type of business does not make it easy to find customers with digital marketing.

Learn the product

He was confused about what he should prioritize, and he thought he needed to learn the ins and outs of the products first. I told him to just learn the basics, take the product catalog, and put it into AI and just tell the AI to give you the basic understanding of each product. Later, he can go in-depth to learn each product but can probably prioritize that after talking to each customer to understand what are the most important products his company sells.

I forgot to say…

What I forgot to say was that in general, growing an existing business is much easier than founding a new business. I also know people that have recently bought businesses and have taken over optimizing operations with them using AI to extremely good effect with tools like Claude Code. There is probably a huge opportunity to use AI for optimizing the business.

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People are buying expensive streaming boxes from China that are compromising their network. The entity behind it even has a network of people that could be in your neighborhood who are resellers. Even though they give you free streaming, they can be listening on your network to capture your passwords and other information. Listen to the podcast to protect yourself.