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Insights, updates, and stories from the Char team

Founders' notes

We Fired Everyone and Became More Productive

At Char, we hired five people total. Then we let them all go. We started shipping faster. Coordination cost was the real problem.

John JeongJohn Jeong·
Hyprnote Is Now Char
Product

Hyprnote Is Now Char

John JeongJohn Jeong·
Is Devin AI Worth It? We Spent $5,000 to Find Out
Engineering

Is Devin AI Worth It? We Spent $5,000 to Find Out

Yujong LeeYujong Lee·
AI Didn't Lower the Bar — It Exposed Who Never Had One
Founders' notes

AI Didn't Lower the Bar — It Exposed Who Never Had One

John JeongJohn Jeong·

All

Char Weekly: February 22, 2026
Char WeeklyJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Top 5 Software to Make Your Meetings Productive
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
The Best Markdown Note-Taking Apps in 2026
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
What We Deliberately Do Without AI
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Slack Is the Best IDE I've Used in Years
EngineeringJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Why You Don't Need a CFO Anymore
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Char Weekly: February 15, 2026
Char WeeklyJohn JeongJohn Jeong
We Fired Everyone and Became More Productive
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Hyprnote Is Now Char
ProductJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Why Founders Must Be Technical
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
AI Is Collapsing Job Titles
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Is Devin AI Worth It? We Spent $5,000 to Find Out
EngineeringYujong LeeYujong Lee
9 Best Mac Productivity Apps for 2026
GuidesJohn Jeong
When Unsure What to Do, Ask: Will This Help Us Grow?
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
7 Best AI Notetakers for Google Meet in 2026
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Otter AI Review: Is It Worth It in 2026?
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
Vibe Coding Is Going to Make Me Ripped
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
How We Turn Slack Threads Into Shared Understanding
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Char Weekly: February 8, 2026
Char WeeklyJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Char Weekly: February 1, 2026
Char WeeklyJohn JeongJohn Jeong
AI Didn't Lower the Bar — It Exposed Who Never Had One
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Building an Editorial Workflow with GitHub and Slack
EngineeringJohn JeongJohn Jeong
What Are the Best AI Note-Taker Apps in 2026?
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Best Meeting Minutes Software in 2026
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
The Filesystem Is the Cortex
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Why We're Publishing Our Company Handbook
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Business Is Not a Perfect Game: Lessons for Aspiring Founders
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
How We Built Char's Publishing Stack
EngineeringJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Docs Edition: What to Use for Developer Documentation
EngineeringJohn JeongJohn Jeong
How We Build With AI at Char — And Why AI-First Teams Win
EngineeringJohn JeongJohn Jeong
The Codebase Is No Longer a Moat
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Don't Use a CMS Until You Absolutely Need One
EngineeringJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Choosing a CMS in 2025: A Guide for Technical Teams
EngineeringJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Why Our CMS Is GitHub
EngineeringJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Why We Write Our Blog in an IDE (Not a WYSIWYG Editor)
EngineeringJohn JeongJohn Jeong
The Post-YC Slump
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
How to Have Productive One-on-One Meetings: A Guide for Managers
GuidesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Why We Burned It Down - John's POV (the chaos)
Founders' notesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
How to Participate in Meetings Effectively?
GuidesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
How to See Your Zoom Meeting History (And Actually Make It Useful)
GuidesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Meeting Preparation Checklist: 7 Steps to Run More Productive Meetings
GuidesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
How to Reduce Meeting Fatigue When Meetings Are Your Job
GuidesJohn JeongJohn Jeong
6 Plaud AI Alternatives Worth Considering in 2025
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
The Reliable AI Note-Taker Checklist
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Open Source Alternatives to Otter AI and Fireflies
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
Which AI Tools Automate Sales Meeting Notes?
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
I Tested tl;dv So You Don't Have To [2025 Review]
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
5 Best Fathom AI Alternatives in 2025
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Best Free Transcription Software in 2025
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
Best Transcription Software for Mac in 2025
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Best AI Meeting Summary Tools in 2025
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
AI Notetaking Tools for Enterprises: 5 Solutions Compared
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
How to Use ChatGPT for Meeting Notes?
GuidesHarshikaHarshika
I Tested Google Gemini Meeting Notes So You Don't Have To
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
9 Best Fireflies.ai Alternatives in 2025
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
Is Fireflies AI Safe? The No BS Truth
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Zoom AI Companion Review: Is It Worth It in 2025?
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
How to Transcribe Zoom Calls Automatically?
GuidesHarshikaHarshika
7 Best AI Notetakers for Microsoft Teams in 2025
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Best AI Notetaker for Zoom: Top 10 Options
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
7 Best AI Notetakers for In-person Meetings
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
2025's Best Bot-Free AI Meeting Assistants
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
Is AI note-taking legal? Everything You Need to Know
GuidesHarshikaHarshika
Can You Transcribe Meetings Without Sending Data to the Cloud?
GuidesHarshikaHarshika
Is Otter AI Safe: What You Need to Know
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
6 Best Granola AI Alternatives in 2025
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
14 Best Otter.ai Alternatives & Competitors in 2025
ComparisonsJohn JeongJohn Jeong
9 Best Free AI Notetakers with Forever-Free Plans in 2025
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
7 Best AI Meeting Assistants for Taking Notes in 2025
ComparisonsHarshikaHarshika
The Rise of Local AI: How the Next Wave of Privacy Tools Will Be Built
EngineeringJohn JeongJohn Jeong