Sign in

John Rudolph Drexler

@johnrudolphdrexler.com
3.7K followers 424 following 1.2K posts

Laravel and Product Management: Thunk.dev I also make games: Catacombian.com NYC (by way of St. Louis, Chattanooga, Jakarta, & Oakland)

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by John Rudolph Drexler
Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 05/08/2026
My first Gen Con was like the opposite of doom scrolling catacombian.com/blog/gen-con...
011
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 05/08/2026
Honored 🙏
110
Reposted by John Rudolph Drexler
Mostly Technical Podcast @mostlytechnical.com · 23/06/2026
This week @aaronfrancis.com is joined by @johnrudolphdrexler.com & @coulb.com 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.
111
Reposted by John Rudolph Drexler
Catacombian Games @catacombian.com · 29/04/2026
I've spent so much time in the software world, it took me a while to wrap my head around how much physics matters in board game distribution. Here's what I learned. catacombian.com/blog/how-boa...
catacombian.com
How Board Game Distribution Actually Works - Catacombian Games
I had no idea how board game distribution worked until I started calling retailers and distributors. Here's what I learned about margins, street dates, and consolidators.
022
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 22/04/2026
I moved my game design content to a separate account. I'll be forever grateful for a follow ❤️❤️❤️
030
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 18/04/2026
My effective tax rate is like 40%. The richest Americans and biggest corporations pay 0-10%. If that doesn’t piss you off, you might be a bootlicker.
1130
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 18/04/2026
That album was crazy. Listened to it straight thru and immediately started it over. Like watching a movie
010
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 17/04/2026
Had an idea that might be brilliant and might be stupid. Stay tuned to find out whether we are brilliant or stupid. podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/91-...
podcast.thunk.dev
Talking Businessly | 91: The agency's agency
We have an idea to do Thunk marketing and Tidy marketing at the same time. And it feels like a breakthrough.
010
Reposted by John Rudolph Drexler
Mostly Technical Podcast @mostlytechnical.com · 15/04/2026
In the era of AI development, how do you create a moat around your product? @johnrudolphdrexler.com thinks there's no moat, @coulb.com thinks taste is the moat, but @ianlandsman.com says no, it's actually their schtick that's the moat for their new app Tidy.
072
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 15/04/2026
getting cyberbullied by your own mom <<<<
060
Reposted by John Rudolph Drexler
Mostly Technical Podcast @mostlytechnical.com · 14/04/2026
This week @ianlandsman.com is joined by @johnrudolphdrexler.com & @coulb.com of Thunk to talk about their new app Tidy, what constitutes a moat in the age of AI, why phone spam is the absolute worst, and so much more.
2103
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 13/04/2026
If I was king of NYC for a day: 1. Introduce a $10k/yr car tax 2. Every two lane road gets a dedicated bus lane 3. 10x the number of bus routes
040
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 01/04/2026
And those decisions are being made by guys who fundamentally don’t understand the tech
010
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 01/04/2026
Real conversation a Wall Street guy just relayed to me. Partner: Claude is so good at analysis, we should get rid of our analysts Quant: no, I’ll show you how easily hallucinations happen Partner: pshh I have an easy workaround. *types “Claude, don’t hallucinate this time.”*
141
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 28/03/2026
Willy Wonka is a prescient parable about the main 4 types of overconsumption. Mike Teevee: screen time Augustus Gloop: gluttony Veruca Salt: greed Violet Beauregard: likes gum too much (??)
040
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 27/03/2026
Running and agency or being a freelancer is risky in 2026. But you can eliminate a lot of that risk by keeping your operations tidy. Tidy is launching soon. Join the mailing list to get early access or to support us as we approach launch day. tidyup.agency
tidyup.agency
Tidy — Agency Time Tracking, Invoicing & Client Management
Replace Harvest and Bonsai with Tidy. All-in-one agency management with time tracking, invoicing, scheduling, e-signatures, and a client portal.
061
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 24/03/2026
This is awesome. And our new landing page is already looking way sharper. tidyup.agency
tidyup.agency
Tidy — Agency Time Tracking, Invoicing & Client Management
Replace Harvest and Bonsai with Tidy. All-in-one agency management with time tracking, invoicing, scheduling, e-signatures, and a client portal.
220
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 20/03/2026
It was unbelievably helpful
020
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 20/03/2026
As we start marketing Tidy, @justinjackson.ca swings by to drop like 100 gems on us from building @transistor.fm. He explains how marketing actually works in the age of LLMs. There is so much genius in this one. Get ready to take notes. podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/89-...
podcast.thunk.dev
Talking Businessly | 89: The zero risk agency (empaneling Justin Jackson)
After hemming and hawing for 20 minutes, we are joined by the inimitable Justin Jackson. He gives us an absolute treasure trove of good advice for launching and marketing Tidy.
162
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 25/02/2026
it’s called building suspense.
110
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 25/02/2026
This isn’t the marketing blitz chris!!
100
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 24/02/2026
🤫 we quietly launched our client management app. Invoices, agreements, scheduling, time sheets, and a whole lot more. More features and a full marketing blitz coming soon. But here’s the skinny: podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/87-...
podcast.thunk.dev
Talking Businessly | 87: tidyup.agency
We have quietly launched our client management app. It has invoices, agreements, schedules, time sheets, reports, and more. We'll be doing a full marketing blitz soon. Daniel has been cooking up an...
250
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 13/02/2026
I'm making a game that takes place in the past and the present. I'm giddy. notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/19-...
260
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 10/02/2026
Thank you!
010
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 10/02/2026
thanks you 🥲
000
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 10/02/2026
New brand, new site. You should hire us. But don't take our word for it: the new site is chock full of testimonials from our amazing clients. thunk.dev
3283
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 05/02/2026
Thanks for sharing. Super interesting.
000
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 04/02/2026
There's a big vibe shift happening in the agency world. Here's our hypothesis of where we fit into the future. podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/85-...
podcast.thunk.dev
Talking Businessly | 85: Our billion dollar theory of the future
It feels like there's a dark cloud over web development right now. So where does Thunk fit into the future, and how do we win? We lay it all out here.
130
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 02/02/2026
longer than we care to admit
020
Reposted by John Rudolph Drexler
Chris Morrell @cmorrell.com · 14/12/2024
The cool thing about being at 80% is that you only have 80% to go. The cool thing about being at 90% is knowing you only have 80% to go. The cool thing about being at 99% is that you only have 80% to go.
1313
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 23/01/2026
I prototyped a LOT of new games last year, and haven't talked about most of them. Now it's time to pick one to finish. www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRGR...
youtube.com
18: Every prototype I made in 2025
YouTube video by Catacombian Games
000
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 22/01/2026
Aaron Swartz downloads academic articles from JSTOR. Arguably, he broke no laws. He faces 35 years in prison. Nvidia uses a pirated database of books to train LLMs. They spawn a new generation of billion dollar companies built on plagiarism. They're hit with a meager civil suit.
0162
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 21/01/2026
Wonderful essay. "The important details you haven’t noticed are invisible to you, and the details you have noticed seem completely obvious and you see right through them... If you wish to not get stuck, seek to perceive what you have not yet perceived." johnsalvatier.org/blog/2017/re...
johnsalvatier.org
Reality has a surprising amount of detail
020
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 20/01/2026
Writing code is so easy, even Claude can do it. But an extremely low percentage of products actually find market fit. People who are good at executing, and reaching / understanding / listening to humans still have an unfair advantage.
0111
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 17/01/2026
Fascism indicator. At a game convention in suburban Pennsylvania. Lots of Star Wars cosplay. But literally all of them are cosplaying as the Empire. Zero Resistance cosplayers.
1100
Reposted by John Rudolph Drexler
Merlin Mann @hotdogsladies.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
I always thought this was funny. So many great details. www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEyF...
youtube.com
Prague's Kafka International Named Most Alienating Airport
YouTube video by The Onion
2102
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 13/01/2026
Producing code is easier than ever. But being responsible for a real software product is still very hard.
0141
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 12/01/2026
Why my basketball board game didn't work. Full episode here: notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/17-...
010
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 06/01/2026
My theme for 2026 is "do a good job." podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/83-...
podcast.thunk.dev
Talking Businessly | 83: Do a good job ™
Our goal for 2026 is to do a good job. John wants to start doing some serious, long term business development.
030
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 23/12/2025
recession indicator: all the spam I receive is for fake job postings
060
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 12/12/2025
Desire paths are fascinating. When players try to play my game over and over in a way I didn't intend, I can either fight them, or accommodate them. I recently pivoted to the latter and the results were awesome. www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxvB...
youtube.com
15: Paying attention to "desire paths"
YouTube video by Catacombian Games
030
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 09/12/2025
We established pay bands at Thunk. Also, we discuss what makes a for a terrible AI-driven pull request. podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/81-...
podcast.thunk.dev
Talking Businessly | 81: We set up pay bands
We hired someone. We set up standardized pay bands. We discuss how we use AI, and what makes a bad AI-driven pull request. We like Three Body Problem. John sang in choir.
040
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 09/12/2025
honored!!
010
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 20/11/2025
My card game Colossi is also on sale! catacombian.com/colossi
000
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 20/11/2025
Our new social game Hot Takes has you create tier lists, and asks your friends to guess how you rated things. It is fast, funny, and guaranteed to start fights. Use the offer code BLACKFRIDAY2025 for half off. thesocialgame.gg/marketing-page
thesocialgame.gg
The Social Game
Play The Social Game.
100
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 20/11/2025
All my games are 50% off until Dec 1! Argue about something fun over Thanksgiving with our new social game Hot Takes, or play card game Colossi. Links below
100
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 14/11/2025
Most games simulate some real life scenario. So how do you decide which parts of the real world to represent in game mechanisms? This is where the real artistry of game design comes into play. notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/13-...
notesonplay.transistor.fm
Notes on Play | 13: Less is more in simulation games
Most games simulate some real world scenario. So how do you decide which parts of the real world to represent in game mechanisms? This is where the real artistry of game design comes to light.
020
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 12/11/2025
Our pal @calebporzio.bsky.social stopped by to do a retrospective on what went well, and what we'll do differently next time at Wire:live. Lots of lulz podcast.thunk.dev/episodes/79-...
podcast.thunk.dev
Talking Businessly | 79: The wire:live retro (empaneling Caleb Porzio)
Our dear friend Caleb Porzio drops by for some laughs, and a retrospective on Wire:live. We discuss what went well, what could improve, and what we'll do differently next time.
080
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 07/11/2025
After each play test of my games, I have dozens of half baked notes on what to fix next. But which changes do I actually make before the next test? As always, the answer is to break it down into problem statements. notesonplay.transistor.fm/episodes/12-...
notesonplay.transistor.fm
Notes on Play | 12: Problem-centered design
Between each iteration of my game, I'll have dozens of ideas. But which do I actually implement? I find it extremely helpful to break my ideas down into problem statements, and then focus on just s...
030
John Rudolph Drexler @johnrudolphdrexler.com · 06/11/2025
They paid more than they needed to. I do not like to kick off high trust relationships with bets where one of us loses. And all of my incentives are to structure a bet where they pay more than they needed to, and that feels bad to me.
100