Bethany Crystal
Bethany Crystal avatar
Bethany Crystal
@bethanymarz
Teaching people how to build and making learning apps with Build First at buildfirst.ai.
Bethany Crystal avatar
I wrote a blog post about the pop-up app that I vibe coded for my block to help manage snowstorm support for our neighborhood. As it turns out, you don’t need enterprise-level infrastructure to build software that can make a difference. Not every app needs to scale to millions of users. They just need to work well en...
Read
4
Bethany Crystal avatar
We just filled our first request!! Amazing to see hyper-local pop-up communities have some real value in highly specialized settings. let's see how the week goes...
Cast image embed
anyone here interested in pop-up community marketplaces for emergency support? i vibe coded this VERY MVP mini-app for my block last night: https://stormlink.manhattan75.nyc/ I think it largely works but it's very MVP... if you have another community that you might benefit from using something like this during blizza
2
6
Bethany Crystal avatar
As a 1-person company who hasn't (yet) figured out how to get my AI's to work on my behalf while I'm OOO, I couldn't figure out how to *NOT* check email from Cancun. So I just left my laptop at home, deleted every app off my phone, and hoped for the best. Paying for it today in snowstorm mode... but i think it was fo...
1
1
4
Bethany Crystal avatar
anyone here interested in pop-up community marketplaces for emergency support? i vibe coded this VERY MVP mini-app for my block last night: stormlink.manhattan75.nyc I think it largely works but it's very MVP... if you have another community that you might benefit from using something like this during blizza...
M75 Storm Link
stormlink.manhattan75.nyc
M75 Storm Link
2
4
14
Bethany Crystal avatar
My current slate of books to take on a short family trip next week 🏝️
Cast image embed
2
Bethany Crystal avatar
Had a call today with a guy building "AI twins" for video calls. After telling me it only takes 2 minutes to make a twin of your voice, I look at the clock and realize we've been talking on recorded video for 20 mins. Womp, womp. I guess that's all, folks... lol Be on the lookout for Twin Bethany hehe (and let me kno...
4
Bethany Crystal avatar
ok you guys next week i'm *actually* taking a week off work posting for accountability, lol. YOU WILL NOT SEE ME HERE 👏 👏 👏
1
5
Bethany Crystal avatar
Ohhhh congrats team!!
2
Bethany Crystal avatar
BIG news on the block...tonight we elected our 7-person board of directors! Feeling pretty proud how we've been able to catalyze a community that's big enough to activate enough members on the street for a formal board in just 18 months. It's a pretty special thing to see. <3
1
10
Bethany Crystal avatar
Here's a new one... stuck on how to make a key decision? Try simulating a conversation with future you! 😵‍💫 This week I used Claude Code to get real advice from my simulated future self. Honestly? It really helped.
Read
4
Bethany Crystal avatar
ITAP of the frozen East River from Roosevelt Island in NYC
Cast image embed
6
21
Bethany Crystal avatar
This has been scheduled in NYC for March 4. It'll be a small-group thing to start (max 24 builders, vibe coding). The theme for the day will be personal operating systems. DM if you're interested!
if you are dying on the vine as a solo builder in NYC and need some collaborative vibe coding energy among fellow builders, hit me up. planning something for a couple dozen folks for early March and trying to get a sense of who's interested in this sort of thing...
2
Bethany Crystal avatar
Introducing Co-Builds by Build First -- small-batch software built alongside you
Read
1
2
Bethany Crystal avatar
Some of you may have seen this last week, but with all the changes going on in crypto right now, I thought i'd pull out this little snippet from an essay I wrote last week. Working among crypto-native teams for three years is how I learned to build. You taught me how to weather the storm and keep the drumbeat going, e...
Cast image embed
Read
1
1
4
Bethany Crystal avatar
My block association has decided to run The Longest Table this year! We are targeting a Saturday in June. It's a block-wide potluck where people bring their own food, we help supply tables. It's part community vibes, part fundraiser. If you're interested in running one yourself and need a little inspo of someone els...
The Longest Table
longesttablecommunity.org
The Longest Table
1
1
3