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TEMPLATES BY PAUL (RESOURCE)

Ex-CEO shares doc templates from growing Keeper Tax to 8-figure ARR.

SUPERCUT

Supercut lets you quickly record your screen, share it instantly, and present like a pro with AI-powered enhancements.

JOTFORM BOARDS

Jotform Boards auto-generates tasks from form responses and AI agent conversations, streamlining task management and team collaboration.

GROWTH-STAGE COMPANIES ACQUIRING SMALL TECHNICAL TEAMS

There has been a wave of growth-stage companies quietly acquiring small technical teams. It's a smart way to lock in top-tier talent, and for founders without PMF, often the cleanest soft landing.

BUILDING EXECUTIVE PRESENCE

Executive presence often gets overlooked as founders focus on product-market fit and operations. As your company grows, influencing senior stakeholders becomes crucial. To build this skill, focus on clarifying your message rather than showcasing expertise. Connect your work to broader company goals. Give executives the context they need without overwhelming details. Approach problems with potential solutions in hand. This skill develops through practice and ultimately determines how much support your initiatives receive.

THE APPLICATION LAYER

"There's an AI for that" will soon be how we talk about software across every industry. This pattern will repeat in healthcare, education, and law. Winners will create exceptional experiences that solve specific problems, not just deploy marginally better algorithms. Vertical AI apps succeed by fitting perfectly into workflows people already have, making tasks faster and easier. In the end, users don't care which AI scores better on technical benchmarks, they care which one actually makes their work better.

TECH CEO: 4-DAY WORK WEEK DIDN'T HURT OR HELP PRODUCTIVITY

Civo's shift to a four-day workweek hasn't changed productivity, but it is attracting and retaining talent.

FOR STARTUPS AND VCS, MARKET VOLATILITY IS A CONSTANT. ARE YOU PREPARED?

Market corrections open opportunities for resilient startups, with VC funds holding $308 billion in dry powder.

AI STARTUPS, TAKE NOTE: HOW TO PATENT YOUR TECH IN THE AGE OF ALICE

The Alice decision complicated patent eligibility for software and AI by deeming abstract ideas ineligible without clear definitions.

ASCENSION REVEALS PERSONAL DATA OF 437,329 PATIENTS EXPOSED IN CYBERATTACK

Ascension, the second-largest private healthcare system in the US, suffered a data breach that exposed the personal and health information of 437,329 patients through a former partner's compromise. In December 2024, the partner faced a security incident due to a vulnerability in third-party software, leading to the theft of sensitive data, including names, contact details, SSNs, and medical visit records. This marks Ascension's second major cybersecurity incident, following a Black Basta ransomware attack in May 2024, prompting the company to offer affected patients two years of free identity monitoring.

160,000 IMPACTED BY VALSOFT DATA BREACH

AllTrust (Valsoft Corporation) is notifying 160,000+ people of a February data breach at its subsidiary, Aspire USA. Unauthorized access occurred February 12-15, with security teams interrupting an in-progress file transfer. Potentially compromised data includes names, driver's licenses, Social Security numbers, and financial details. No misuse has been reported.

A TIMELINE OF SOUTH KOREAN TELCO GIANT SKT'S DATA BREACH

SK Telecom suffered a massive cyberattack in April 2025 that compromised the personal data of 23 million South Koreans. This article navigates the timeline, highlighting potential losses of $5 billion if cancellation fees are waived. The malware was found in SKT's home subscriber server.

TUTORIAL: SLIVER C2 WITH BALLISKIT MACROPACK AND SHELLCODEPACK

This tutorial shows how to use BallisKit tools (ShellcodePack and MacroPack Pro) to deploy Sliver C2 implants while evading security measures. It demonstrates how to set up a Sliver server on Linux, generate implant types, and weaponize them with ShellcodePack to bypass EDRs. It also explains how to create initial access payloads like LNK files and ClickOnce applications to deploy the obfuscated Sliver implants on target Windows machines.

BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER PART I: FUZZING COREAUDIO WITH MACH MESSAGES

This blog post explains how Google's Project Zero created a custom fuzzing harness to identify vulnerabilities in macOS's CoreAudio system by targeting Mach IPC messages, using a "knowledge-driven fuzzing" approach that merges automation with reverse engineering. Through iterative enhancements to the harness, including proper system initialization, API call chaining for stateful operations, mocking out problematic functionality, and refining message structures, the author identified a type confusion vulnerability (CVE-2024-54529) in the CoreAudio daemon. This vulnerability arose because several message handlers did not verify object types before function calls, allowing arbitrary code execution via crafted Mach messages sent from a sandboxed process.

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NOMADSCANNER

NomadScanner is a stealthy Windows port scanner designed for red teamers and penetration testers. It operates in-memory to avoid leaving disk artifacts and sends randomized HTTP probes for maximum stealth.

VALERIAN (PRODUCT LAUNCH)

Valarian's platform, ACRA, segments data and communications into tightly controlled “compartments” to enforce environment isolation.

VAPI

vAPI is a Vulnerable Adversely Programmed Interface, a Self-Hostable API that mimics the OWASP API's Top 10 scenarios through exercises.

BLUETOOTH 6.1 ENHANCES PRIVACY WITH RANDOMIZED RPA TIMING

The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has announced Bluetooth Core Specification 6.1, which includes key improvements to the wireless communication protocol. One new feature is increased device privacy through randomized Resolvable Private Addresses (RPA) updates. The SIG states that varying the timing of address changes significantly complicates third parties' ability to monitor or relate device activities over time.

OPERATION MOONLANDER DISMANTLED THE BOTNET BEHIND ANYPROXY AND 5SOCKS CYBERCRIMINALS SERVICES

Law enforcement dismantled a 20-year-old botnet behind Anyproxy and 5socks services, arresting four suspects, including three Russians. The U.S. Justice Department charged them with operating illegal proxy networks and exploiting infected routers for profit. The FBI warned about these malicious services targeting vulnerable end-of-life routers, urging users to replace compromised devices to prevent cyberattacks.

SENATORS MOVE TO QUASH THE USE OF CHINESE AI SYSTEM BY FEDERAL CONTRACTORS

A bipartisan Senate bill from Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) seeks to ban federal contractors from using DeepSeek, a Chinese-made language model whose hosted version transmits data to China. This legislation addresses national security fears about sensitive data access by the Chinese government while allowing case-by-case waivers for national security or research reasons. The bill contributes to a broader initiative to limit Chinese AI in government, complementing a House bill prohibiting DeepSeek on government devices and similar laws in Texas, New York, and Virginia.

GOOGLE WILL PAY A $1.375 BILLION SETTLEMENT TO TEXAS OVER PRIVACY VIOLATIONS

Google has agreed to pay Texas $1.375 billion to settle privacy violation claims related to geolocation tracking and data collection, reflecting a significant increase compared to earlier settlements.

MICROSOFT TEAMS WILL SOON BLOCK SCREEN CAPTURE DURING MEETINGS

Microsoft Teams is introducing a screen capture blocking feature for meetings, ensuring sensitive information is protected - users on unsupported platforms will be switched to audio-only mode.

FBI WARNS THAT END OF LIFE DEVICES ARE BEING ACTIVELY TARGETED BY THREAT ACTORS

Cybercriminals target old routers that no longer receive updates, exploiting vulnerabilities to install malware and create botnets.

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COMPANIES ARE TURNING TRUMP'S TARIFFS INTO A MARKETING OPPORTUNITY

Consumers are looking for pre-tariff deals. Brands are using looming tariffs as a sales trigger, launching “pre-tariff” deals and urgent promotions to drive purchases before potential price hikes. From cheeky discount codes to transparent pricing breakdowns, they're using humor and urgency to connect with anxious consumers. While some highlight American-made products, others rush to offload inventory or secure short-term revenue to prepare for supply chain disruptions.

INFLUENCER REVEALS 88% OF CREATORS STILL OPERATE AS SIDE HUSTLERS DESPITE INDUSTRY GROWTH

While 72% of creators are optimistic about their platforms, 88% still treat content creation as a side hustle. Only 25% of top-tier creators do it full-time. Tension with brands often stems from mismatched expectations around creativity, deadlines, and revisions. Although 58% of creators prefer having brand guidelines, many want more collaboration and clarity. Brands should share broader marketing objectives, not just campaign-specific goals. Creators care whether a brand is not just looking for story clicks, brand uplifts, or saves.

THE "EVIL GENIUS" WAY TO STEAL CUSTOMERS FROM COMPETITORS

Companies are using SEO to target people searching for competitor discounts by creating fake coupon pages or "how to pay less" pages. These pages rank for keywords like “[Competitor] discount” and redirect high-intent buyers to their own products. Brands like Speechify, BlueNotary, and Splashtop use this tactic to poach customers who are ready to buy. To defend against this, companies should create their own discount pages to rank higher than both competitors and coupon sites.

AD STRENGTH IN GOOGLE ADS: WHY AVERAGE IS BETTER THAN EXCELLENT

Ad strength in Google Ads is not a reliable performance metric and should not be blindly optimized for. While ads rated Excellent by Google can lead to a 12% increase in conversions, real-world data shows that both Poor and Excellent rated ads often perform worse than Average or Good ones. Completely unpinned headlines, which Google requires for Excellent ratings, tend to lower ad relevance and increase CPCs. Advertisers like Nike and Best Buy pin keyword-rich headlines to improve performance, even if it means settling for lower ad strength scores.

OPTIMIZELY: WHERE TODAY'S TEST DRIVES TOMORROW'S REVENUE (VIRTUAL EVENT)

Optimizely is hosting a free online event, Test + Learn, where experts will discuss how they turn experimentation into a revenue-driving function with AI and unified analytics as their co-pilots. The event takes place on May 21 at 10 am ET.

GOOGLE DISCOVER ON DESKTOP

Google is expanding Google Discover to desktop. It's offering businesses new ways to reach users with curated, interest-based content without requiring search queries. Discover currently drives 25.7% of referral traffic, up from 22.8%. Its users spend 8 seconds more on content compared to traditional search. News publishers dominate the platform with 99% of clicks, while ecommerce and B2C brands also see strong results through product pages and visual content. B2B brands have struggled so far, earning only 1% of traffic, but the desktop rollout could help.

EVENT AMBUSHING: HOW SMART BRANDS WIN BIG WITHOUT SPONSORSHIPS

Event ambushing allows brands to insert themselves into major cultural moments without paying for official sponsorship. Puma paid Pele $120K to tie his shoes on camera at the 1970 World Cup, Nike outfitted 400 athletes and launched a parallel campaign during the 2012 Olympics, and Rihanna promoted Fenty Beauty during her 2023 Super Bowl performance. These moments worked because they felt natural, aligned with the brand, and captured massive attention. While not for every brand, it's a bold way to gain visibility without the sponsorship price tag.

SEO LEADERS ARE PRODUCT MANAGERS

SEO performance is often restricted by organizational structure, especially when it reports through traditional marketing channels with no direct access to technical resources. Treating SEO as a product function gives it ownership over planning, engineering alignment, and long-term investment. By shifting the SEO manager role into product management, companies can integrate SEO into the core of the digital strategy roadmap.

8 THINGS TO ADD TO YOUR WELCOME SERIES

A before-and-after showing 8 key improvements to Smyle's welcome email.

PERSONALIZATION VS. SEGMENTATION

A look into how Loblaw Digital builds its campaigns for one person at a time in real time.

A DAY IN THE LIFE AS A MARKETER IN 2025

Today's marketer focuses less on manual tasks and more on building AI-driven systems and scalable workflows.

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HOW CURSOR INDEXES CODEBASES FAST

Cursor, an AI IDE, uses Merkle trees to efficiently index codebases. The process involves chunking code into semantic pieces, creating a Merkle tree of hashes, and synchronizing it with Cursor's server to generate and store embeddings in a vector database. Merkle trees allow Cursor to quickly identify and update only the changed files, reducing bandwidth and processing time.

HYPER-TYPING

Hyper-typing in TypeScript is where libraries strive for perfect type safety but create overly complex and difficult-to-understand types. This approach can lead to cryptic error messages, unsafe workarounds, and a frustrating developer experience. Simpler types, even if less precise, or type generation, often are a better developer experience.

FOUR YEARS OF RUNNING A SAAS IN A COMPETITIVE MARKET

OnlineOrNot is a self-funded SaaS in a competitive market. Unwavering principles like dedicating two hours daily and solving customer pain through iterative development helped the creator, Max Rozen, stay consistent in growing the company. He prioritized problem-solving over subscriptions and focused on existing traffic rather than solely pursuing new users.

LEAVING GOOGLE

After 19 years at Google, Ian Lance Taylor, a Google engineer from the Go team, is leaving. In this post, Taylor reflects on Go's unexpected success and his role in its development, including compiler contributions, build system integration, and the addition of generics.

IN 2025, VENTURE CAPITAL CAN'T PRETEND EVERYTHING IS FINE ANYMORE

Venture capital is struggling in 2025, with most investments outside of AI performing poorly due to factors like Trump's tariffs and the end of zero-interest rates. The industry is heavily reliant on AI, particularly OpenAI, hoping for lottery-level returns to compensate for the lack of traditional business success. Many startups are failing, and cashing out is difficult.

REACT THREE ECOSYSTEM

React Three provides a collection of tools and libraries for building 3D experiences using React and Three.js. It has components for rendering, physics, UI, post-processing, XR, state management, and more.

CODESYS

Codesys is a Python SDK for interacting with the Claude CLI tool. It makes tasks like code exploration, planning, and execution easier with customizable options for tool access, streaming output, and output formatting.

ABERDEENJS

Aberdeen is a lightweight (around 5KB) TypeScript/JavaScript library for building reactive UIs without a virtual DOM. It uses small, anonymous functions to emit DOM elements and automatically reruns them when proxied data changes.

CAR COMPANIES ARE IN A BILLION-DOLLAR SOFTWARE WAR, AND EVERYONE'S LOSING

Legacy automakers are struggling to develop software-defined vehicles (SDVs) despite investing billions and poaching talent. Tesla pioneered the SDV with over-the-air updates and centralized computing, but legacy companies are finding it difficult to shift from their traditional hardware-focused approach. These companies face challenges in merging safety-first mindsets with the speed and creativity needed for software development, plus they need to support both EVs and internal combustion engines.