Mostly Technical

Hosted by Ian Landsman and Aaron Francis

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Episodes

151

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the show

Hosted by Ian Landsman and Aaron Francis, Mostly Technical is a lively discussion on Laravel, business, and an eclectic mix of related topics.

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60 recent

August 19, 2026Episode 1521 hr 49 min

Sweet Hang #5: My Psychosis Moment w/ Jesse Hanley

Ian is joined by Jesse Hanley, founder of Bento, to discuss everything from Grok Bot to finding your ideal customer to the future of knowledge work and so much more. Sponsored by Bento , DropInBlog , Valorin Security , and Svix . Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more. (00:00) - Settle All Family Business (02:04) - Grok's Bot (12:43) - AI & Knowledge Work (35:17) - How much can one person automate? (46:42) - Will normies use bots? (59:29) - Jesse's videos (01:12:17) - Growing Revenue (01:20:11) - Finding your ideal customer (01:33:56) - Cameras (01:41:51) - Life in Japan Links: Jesse Hanley / @jessethanley — founder-in-the-park videos live here Grok "bot" agent app (xAI) OpenClaw Hermes Agent (Nous Research) Less Annoying CRM Ben Orenstein Laravel Live Japan Tatami Max MRR article Hidden Multipliers (book/audiobook) Find Your Carol workshop A Smart Bear blog Jason Cohen Sony FX30 Sony a6000 (body) Tamron 17-70mm f/2.8 (Sony E) Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM II Sony 300mm f/2.8 GM OSS (Ian's) Kase Filters Patrick McKenzie

August 18, 2026Episode 1511 hr 10 min

145: Marketing As Engineering

Ian & Aaron discuss what's coming to Solo, how Aaron's running marketing at Laravel, why Ian swears by a cabana, and so much more. Sponsored by Bento , DropInBlog , Valorin Security , and Svix . Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more. (00:00) - Cabana Life (12:44) - Using Linear for Marketing (22:57) - Who's agent should you use? (33:02) - Marketing = Engineering? (45:37) - Aaron's hit tweet (56:42) - Solo Updates (01:04:27) - Laravel Live Denmark Links: Sandpearl Resort, Clearwater Beach Martha's Vineyard Surf Style Jason Cohen has the DropInBlog founder on the show Jason Cohen's new book, Hidden Multipliers Laracon US photos Sam Sappenfield's tweet "We built laracon.us/photos. We're not developers." Aaron's codebase-audit tweet Soloterm Laravel Live Denmark Aaron's DSA audit prompt gist

August 11, 2026Episode 1501 hr 22 min

144: First Week as VP

Ian and Aaron discuss Aaron's first week as VP of Marketing & Community at Laravel, why he's writing manifestos in Notion, Ian's huge week with AI coding, and an update on Nachogate. Plus Ian's live from a cabana, ending Token Town (RIP to a real one), and so much more. Sponsored by Bento , DropInBlog , Valorin Security , and Svix . Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more. (00:00) - Live from a cabana (03:26) - The End of Token Town (10:39) - Aaron's First Week (28:03) - A few manifestos (44:24) - 1:1's (53:40) - Ian's Mega AI Coding Week (01:10:21) - Nachogate Update (01:12:43) - Aaron's Studio Update (01:18:25) - The next Illustrated Classics Links: Aaron's Notion setup Taylor's tweet about Trello Rands In Repose: The Update, The Vent, and The Disaster John O'Nolan's tweet indicating some discrepancies with the nacho story Great Illustrated Classics

August 5, 2026Episode 1491 hr 6 min

143: Rice On Your Nachos

Ian and Aaron are back for a second episode this week to talk about more LaraProm & Laracon follow up, why Ian will never ship Outro (kidding), and.....adding rice to your nachos? Sponsored by Bento , DropInBlog , Valorin Security , and Svix . Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more. (00:00) - Aaron's First Real Day (04:38) - LaraProm -> Laracon (23:05) - Never Ship (37:33) - Nachos With Rice (47:06) - First Class Is Better (53:29) - Aaron's Sewing Machine (01:02:47) - Shower Wine Follow Up Links: Laracon US Day 1 Stream Laracon US Day 2 Stream Hannah Gzehoviak on Twitter Ho use of Blanks

August 4, 2026Episode 1481 hr 23 min

142: Aaron's a VP at Laravel?!

Ian and Aaron are back after Laracon US to talk about....Aaron's new job as VP of Marketing & Community at Laravel?! Plus a recap of LaraProm, something called "shower wine", and more. Sponsored by Bento , DropInBlog , Valorin Security , and Svix . Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more. (00:00) - We're back, baby (01:26) - VP of Marketing & Community (14:15) - What prepared Aaron for this position? (27:31) - Grand Unifying Theory of Laravel Marketing (50:21) - What's next for Try Hard? (55:28) - Shower wine (?) (01:04:06) - The future of MT (01:16:11) - LaraProm Links: Laracon US Laravel Live UK Aaron's tweet announcing his new job Chris Fidao on Twitter Solo Ian's LaraProm Photos

July 21, 2026Episode 1471 hr 17 min

141: The Era of Sol

Ian and Aaron discuss letting Sol Ultra rip for over 2 days straight, Aaron's new side project, problems with macOS, trying to price AI usage in apps, and more. Sponsored by Bento & DropInBlog . Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more. Going to Laracon? Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party ! (00:00) - Tim Cook's Office (06:00) - Introducing cfmpeg (12:27) - Ian & ElevenLabs (15:04) - Subscriptions In Outro (18:45) - World Cup (24:06) - Sol Ultra (28:07) - An Update on HelpSpot AI Pricing (52:04) - Aaron’s Custom Model (01:07:40) - Next Week: Laracon US! (01:10:23) - Great Illustrated Classics Links: cfmpeg ElevenLabs GPT-5.6 Sol Ian on Notes on Work HelpSpot AI Token Town Episode 008 BigSkyDevConf Laracon US Great Illustrated Classics

July 14, 2026Episode 1461 hr 10 min

140: Eating The Burst

Ian and Aaron talk about pricing AI usage in apps, what's coming next for HelpSpot, a Jay-Z concert in NYC, and so much more. Sponsored by Bento & DropInBlog . Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more. Going to Laracon? Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party ! (00:00) - Aaron got a ticket (06:45) - Jay-Z Concert (11:47) - World Cup Update (22:36) - Blogging & SEO (29:19) - Pricing AI Usage In Apps (43:43) - HelpSpot & AI (59:54) - GPT Sol & Fable Links: Jay-Z at Yankee Stadium Clock Radio Speakers Patreon 19th.com GPT Sol 5.6 Token Town Episode 007

July 7, 2026Episode 1451 hr 3 min

139: High On Fable

Ian and Aaron talk about saving a kid's life (!), Solo's big update, and an emerging controversy - do you still need to read the code? Sponsored by Bento & DropInBlog . Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more. Going to Laracon? Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party ! (00:00) - Aaron Saved A Life (05:18) - No Good Comes From A Bounce House (11:40) - 4th of July Parades (15:20) - Workspaces In Solo (24:33) - Should You Still Read The Code? (40:05) - Aaron's Breakout Tweet (51:05) - Outro Update Links: Big Tex is Destroyed By Fire Solo Aaron's tweet about Louis CK Nate Bargatze Jim Gaffigan Filament

July 1, 2026Episode 1441 hr 13 min

138: Back In The Game

Ian and Aaron discuss Ian's misadventures with poker, a huge update for Solo (Windows!), why Aaron thinks languages don't matter but frameworks & ecosystems do, and so much more. Sponsored by Laracon AU , Honeybadger , Bento , Vask , and DropInBlog . Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more. Going to Laracon? Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party ! (00:00) - Mostly Poker (10:55) - Poker Town? (13:34) - Outro Update (20:46) - Solo for Windows (!) (30:50) - Pricing Advice (33:52) - Laravel Live UK (42:58) - Languages Don't Matter (56:09) - LaraProm Update (01:04:46) - World Cup Links: World Series of Poker Resorts World Las Vegas Outro Solo

June 23, 2026Episode 1431 hr 28 min

137: You Do Have To Care w/ John Drexler & Daniel Coulbourne

Aaron is joined by John & Daniel of Thunk to talk about why you should think like a PM, what they want to see from Solo, trash cans in New York, "footy", and a whole lot more. Sponsored by Laracon AU , Honeybadger , Bento , Vask , and DropInBlog . Interested in sponsoring Mostly Technical? Head to https://mostlytechnical.com/sponsor to learn more. Going to Laracon? Sign up for the Mostly Technical Pre-Party ! (00:00) - Introduction to the Thunk Boys (04:13) - Working on Laravel Forge (09:22) - What does Daniel do? (14:30) - Big week for New York (22:34) - World Cup Social Media (29:13) - Laravel Live (36:33) - AI Code Responsibilities (41:52) - Think Like A PM (51:08) - Do Old Best Practices Still Apply? (58:12) - Daniel's Solo Gripes & Asks (01:20:34) - Tidy (01:24:02) - Where Is Ian? Links: Thunk Talking Businessly Tighten Laravel Forge Laravel Live UK Laravel Live Japan Laravel Live Denmark Solo Tidy