Rails Business

Scott Werner Returns 28.05.2026 1h 1min

Scott Werner (Sublayer) returns to discuss how rapidly AI and agentic coding have is changing. The hosts and Scott dig into why niche tools are increasingly getting replicated by developers and hobbyists with "good enough" custom solutions — while complex enterprise platforms may actually have more staying power. Scott shares what he's seeing at the Artificial Ruby meetups. They also cover Stripe's "forward deployed" AI role, the reality of AI consulting, growing trust in AI-written cod...

Is Data the Moat for Your Business? 14.05.2026 43min

The hosts explore whether “data is the new moat” in SaaS and argues that data alone—especially customer data—is rarely defensible as extraction and migration get easier. Instead, moats increasingly come from clear product vision, differentiated approaches, integrated systems, and how well apps enable AI and humans to interact with structured data. They contrast niche SaaS with broad platforms like HubSpot and Salesforce, discuss pricing model changes driven by AI costs (moving beyond per-seat...

Do Pull Request Reviews Still Matter in the Age of AI? 30.04.2026 39min

The hosts once again discuss the recurring theme of AI’s impact on development workflows. They discuss various topics, including: Increased PR volume from AI-assisted coding and whether traditional pull request reviews are still necessary. Should AI be used earlier for pre-PR review and stronger CI guardrails for performance and security. What is the role of automated testing, and are they even more important as code generation accelerates?01:05 PR Reviews Under AI Load ...

Building with an AI Orchestrator Workflow 16.04.2026 29min

In this episode, the hosts discuss building a “universal scraper” for event calendars and a new AI-assisted workflow using a long-running orchestrator.md thread. 00:12 Why Change AI Workflow 01:29 Orchestrator File Setup 04:36 How Memory Persists 07:33 Platform Constraints WSL 08:45 Git Worktrees and Isolation 12:07 Scraper Build Approach 18:26 Incremental TDD Development 20:17 Making It Truly Universal 22:39 Universal Scraper Explained 26:03 Wrap Up and Next Steps LINKS - Ryan's Website - Br...

AI Coding at Scale: Managing PR Overload, Using Claude to Stay Organized and Rethinking SaaS for an AI-First World 02.04.2026 41min

The hosts discuss how AI-assisted coding has massively increased their output, creating a new bottleneck: cognitive load, PR review, testing, and getting work shipped. Ryan discusses splitting time between finishing near-complete work, advancing a few large architectural initiatives, and handling ongoing support. Brendan talks about his productivity system using Claude to manage his time using local markdown files to help stay on top of things. They also cover risks of AI automation, pe...

Scaling AI-Assisted Development 19.03.2026 50min

Today we discuss lessons from our previous episode with John Nunemaker, focusing on the Conductor tool and how multi-workspace, multi-agent workflows can speed up coding and bug fixing. Brendan shares his experimenting with parallelizing six Rollbar error fixes at once by generating prompts and running them in separate Conductor workspaces. They compare this with a one-agent-at-a-time workflow and debate whether closed-loop setups (ports, databases, dependencies) could make parallel work trus...

John Nunemaker on AI Development 05.03.2026 58min

John Nunemaker returns to discuss how fast AI tooling has changed and argues tech leaders should adopt Claude Max (defaulting to Opus), set up agent-friendly local environments, and roll that out to their teams. He shares how his company built an internal “brain” using LibreChat as a self-hosted interface, enabling non-engineers to query company data and generate insights like weekly support summaries from various sources. The conversation also covers worktrees and Conductor for parallel, iso...

Kyle Keesling 19.02.2026 47min

In this episode, Kyle Keesling, co-owner of PASS Testing and long-time solo Rails developer, shares how PASS grew from a college web design side project into a niche software and training business for the Underground Storage Tank (UST) industry. The conversation covers why they kept the products as two apps connected by a read-only private API, what makes compliance software hard, and how they modeled flexible equipment and inspection data—evolving from STI to Rails delegated types. Kyle also...

Reflecting on Our First Year of the Podcast 05.02.2026 30min

In this episode, the hosts reconnect after a holiday break to reflect on their podcast journey over the last year. They discuss important milestones like their one-year recording anniversary, the various episodes from the past year, and sharing their favorite moments. 00:00 Introduction and New Year Greetings 00:34 Reflecting on the First Year of Podcasting 01:57 Memorable Moments and Guest Highlights 03:51 Popular Episodes and Themes 06:38 Looking Forward: Future Topics and Guests 07:42 Bala...

Striving for Ideal Code 22.01.2026 34min

In this episode, the hosts discuss reflect on the high-quality, maintainable code found in various videos and books and their own aspirations to emulate such coding standards. The conversation covers the challenges of maintaining good coding practices over time and under business pressures. They explore the concept of 'good enough' code based on the maturity stage of a business, and debate how AI impacts coding quality. The hosts consider how AI can assist in writing tests, potential pitfalls...

Mateus Pereira 08.01.2026 57min

In this episode, we chat with Mateus Pereira from Ombu Labs about the nuances of Rails upgrades and how AI is revolutionizing the process. From tackling gem dependencies to client collaboration, Mateus shares valuable insights and tips for executing seamless upgrades. Perfect for developers looking to streamline their Rails projects and leverage AI tools effectively. 00:00 Introduction and Casual Chat 00:25 Meet Mateus: Senior Rails Engineer 01:29 Mateus' Journey into Programming 02:17 Joini...

Nate Berkopec 04.12.2025 53min

In this episode, Nate Berkopec, the proprietor of Speedshop, a Ruby on Rails performance consultancy, author of several books including the Complete Guide to Rails Performance, and a maintainer of Puma, joins the podcast. Nate discusses his journey into Rails performance optimization, starting from his early career at startups and his breakthrough talk at the Gotham Ruby Conference. He outlines his 'Three S' framework—Speed, Scalability, and Stability—for tackling performance issues. The disc...

Communicating Project Requirements 21.11.2025 32min

In this episode, we tackle the nuances of communicating project requirements within development teams. From managing user stories and acceptance criteria to balancing control and flexibility, we explore best practices for ensuring clarity and efficiency. We share real-world experiences, including the effectiveness of detailed videos and spikes in guiding team members. 01:24 Communicating with Different Levels of Expertise 06:06 The Role of Videos in Communication 14:45 Challenges in Est...

Stephen Anderson 06.11.2025 47min

In this episode, we welcome Stephen Anderson, founder and owner of Bendyworks, a Madison, Wisconsin based Ruby on Rails consultancy. Stephen shares his journey from corporate Java consulting to building a values-driven software shop, discussing his philosophy of constantly seeking 10x productivity improvements and the pivotal moments that led him to entrepreneurship. LINKS - Bendyworks - Ryan's Website - Brendan's X/Twitter - Brendan's Bluesky Questions or comments, email us at ra...

Scott Werner 23.10.2025 41min

In this episode, we welcome Scott Werner, CEO of Sublayer, to discuss the future of software development and how AI is transforming the industry. Scott shares his experiences and insights on how AI is changing the way startups build and maintain software products, including Sublayer’s AI-driven tools like APM, Augmentations, and Artificial Ruby. They explore practical applications of AI in software engineering, the concept of MCP, and the fast-evolving landscape of AI technology, offering val...

Chris Gaffney 09.10.2025 40min

This week, Chris Gaffney, owner of Dead Man's Snitch, a niche monitoring service for CRON jobs and service heartbeats joined us. Discover the origins of the company, its growth journey, and the challenges faced in achieving uptime and scalability. Chris also shares insights on the tech stack used, the role of Rails in their development, and the impact of market strategies like Heroku integration. 00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome 00:21 Overview of Dead Man's Snitch 03:03 Challenges and Ac...

Leveraging AI to Enhance User Productivity 25.09.2025 32min

In this episode, we explore how AI can be leveraged to build engaging features in our applications. We discuss the development of a 'guided blogging' feature using AI, its benefits for users, and the challenges faced in implementing conversational interfaces. We also discuss a bit about the future of AI in SaaS, the role of AI in content curation, and how to balance automation with human oversight. 00:00 Introduction and Catching Up 00:41 Discussing AI feature Ryan is building 02:35 Technica...

Challenges of Performance Monitoring in Rails 12.09.2025 31min

In this episode, we dive into the complexities of performance monitoring in Rails applications. Our discussion revolves around popular tools like Honey Badger, New Relic, Skylight, and App Signal, and the challenges of effectively using them. We explore specific pain points such as queue times, slow endpoints, and memory usage, and contemplate whether rolling your own solution is viable. Listen in for insights, tips, and relatable struggles in maintaining and optimizing Rails apps, especially...

Chris Oliver 28.08.2025 59min

In this episode, the hosts welcome Chris Oliver, a prominent figure in the Rails community, known for his work on numerous projects including GoRails, Hatchbox, and Jumpstart Pro to name a few. Chris shares his programming origin story, his academic journey and numerous early projects, explaining how he transitioned from Python to Rails. He recounts his experiences starting GoRails, managing multiple projects, and the challenges faced with Hatchbox. Chris elaborates on the impact of AI on the...

Irina Nazarova 14.08.2025 43min

In this episode, Irina Nazarova, CEO of Evil Martians, shares her unconventional journey from earning a degree in computer science and working in finance to eventually becoming a leader in the Rails community. She discusses her entry into web development via WordPress and WooCommerce, her unfavorable experiences with PHP, and eventual discovery of Ruby on Rails. Irina provides insights into the company's culture, the advantages of using Rails for startups, and the importance of open-source co...