October outlook: what's my plan for the month?

Before I start moving boxes today and go back and forth between my old and new home, I wanted to write down my October plans.

We're nearing the end of September, and most of the milestones I set for this month got done. The exception is Echo Room, which I've postponed until I'm finally settled into the new place.

Read also: Echo Room: I can't launch in September (probably)

So I started a list in Apple Notes of everything on my radar. It's more than I can chew. I still want to try. I am sitting between half-packed boxes, writing the plan down before it gets buried under tape and cardboard. Then we'll see how far I get in October.

Finalize Idea Bench #1: Random Facts

This one seems the most obvious. I built Random Facts this week. I first tried it on Netlify, then had to kill that idea and move it to Vercel.

I was looking for a Vercel alternative, but Netlify wasn't a good fit. The way it handles commits and pushes from GitHub doesn't work for me, and it eats credits like a mfer.

Read also: I tried Netlify. I am already out, I think

So the whole thing now lives on Vercel. I know that defeats the point of trying to reduce my single point of failure. But right now I'd rather have a bit of velocity than friction. I can always test alternatives with another low-risk project, and I plan to. Render and Cloudflare Pages are on my radar for that one.

What's left is half a day, a full day max, to come up with a proper domain, register it (yay, more costs), and fine-tune the details.

TWO Docs website

My MVP is ready. Or at least it should be, after a month of sweat and tears going through every freaking detail I could find.

But now that the app is where I want it, I realized the front website might need changes. I need at least two days to figure out what's missing, what's too much, and how the messaging should change.

Read also: SaaS MVP is finally ready for BETA. My goodness, what a ride

I might also have to narrow down my ICPs. Some of the best features I've built aren't even mentioned on the website. Going from an idea to converting it into a doc without clicking, for example. Nobody visiting the site would know it exists.

A website audit it is.

TWO Docs marketing plan

I think this will take most of my time.

I like slow growth. But I still haven't written a proper marketing plan. Sure, I'm also the guy who can just shoot at it and see what sticks. I'd rather go by the book and stay disciplined.

My content plan is in play, and so far so good. I'm mostly sticking to two blog posts a week, except this week because of the move.

Read also: My MVP is ready. I still don't have a marketing plan.

Now I need to think beyond the standard SEO and content marketing playbook. That probably means preparing Pinterest too. I said I'd start in January 2027, but I want my design templates ready before then, following the same system I use for this blog.

Pinterest can still wait. But if I can set myself up now, why not?

I prefer to think in quarters, not weeks.

Start rebuilding the Mac app for TWO

I tried vibe coding a Mac app for my flagship SaaS. Now that the entire web app has gone through an overhaul, I feel like I should scrap that version and maybe rebuild it from scratch.

Back then, I was completely ignorant of how it would work. I got cold feet the moment I realized a Mac app lives on someone's device.

I can't just fucking vibe code my way through that without being compliant and going through everything properly.

A website I can patch in five minutes. An app sitting on someone's machine is a different kind of responsibility. This deserves a lot of attention, and a detailed post of its own.

Read also: How do you vibe code a Mac app? Fuck I don’t know.

Also, back then I built it with Sonnet. Since the launch of Opus 5.5, it feels like a 10x improvement, and it thinks much better than any other model I've used. I finished my SaaS with Opus 5.5 and found it much better at reasoning. So maybe a change of model is part of the approach too.

Study Brew app MVP recalibration

I'm talking about both the app and the website. Just like TWO, it's split into two parts. I think I can leave the website as it is until I have an MVP of the note-taking app for language learners.

I feel more confident now than before. The fixes I made in TWO gave me the logic to build a better language learning app. Shipping one product properly made the second one feel less like guessing.

Still, this is my second major SaaS, and I don't expect a win overnight. It's another two- to three-month build.

The question is how much time I devote to it right now.

I think I should use the same approach as TWO Docs. First, a completely new audit of the app. Then list everything. Then plan development in blocks, with the help of Claude, of course, so I don't leave much room for error.

That deserves an entire series of blog posts on its own.

Echo Room design tweaks and intro episode

I've been postponing Echo Room, but I also realized the website needs fine-tuning. I made some adjustments last night after my Friday rundown post, then stopped. I should do this with a clear head.

The site is halfway finished, but I'm not happy with the fonts or the way it's presented.

I also need to decide whether to remove the shop page completely or find a meaningful reason to keep it. A shop page without a reason is just a stupid filler page that makes the site look like it's trying too hard.

All in all, I estimate a day to a day and a half of work to push this from zero to live.

Story Brew and Study Brew recording

This goes hand in hand with Study Brew, but Story Brew seems to be a real asset. Or it's becoming one.

This month I published one story after a long hiatus. I had planned to start recording again once I moved. But I purposely recorded one and published it to tell my existing and non-existing audience that I'm alive.

Read also: Rebranding Story Brew for Further Scalability

Turns out, it's alive and well. I'm up a few followers, with 168 plays and downloads in the last 30 days, including 25 plays on the latest recording.

That tells me recording was the right call. It's a long-term evergreen asset that feeds into the note-taking app for language learners.

I'm extremely pleased and can't wait to start recording again. The numbers aren't big. But they're enough validation that people like the authentic voice of a non-native English speaker over AI slop.

Story Valley recordings and website

I tested how long it takes me to go from recording to publishing on Spotify, and it's very sustainable.

My goal is 365 recordings in total, enough to cover an entire year. Right now, 12 are published or scheduled as a test. I think I'll do this in batches too and give myself months of a head start.

Read also: Story Valley went live on Spotify: what's my plan here?

The numbers are absolutely discouraging. Two listens since the channel started and one follower. One of those listens is me. The follower is also me.

I'll keep going anyway.

I still suspect my success here will come from YouTube, not Spotify. I guess that people in tier 2 and tier 3 countries use YouTube more and don't bother installing Spotify because of its subscription, even though there's a free tier.

I'm not judging anyone. It's an educated guess based on people I know in Southeast Asia, who use YouTube far more often than Spotify. Especially parents with their kids.

I don't know how to set October goals for Story Valley yet, but I'll dedicate time to it so it keeps moving. I'm scheduled up until October 5, 2026, so there's some room. If I record a few next week, I buy myself another week.

Finalize the year for Indie Hacker Blog

I'm set for content until October 30. The goal is two blog posts a month, so I only need four more to close off the year. Reasonable and doable. So why not fucking go for it and drag myself over the finish line?

I think I can write all four in two days and give myself a lot of peace of mind knowing it's done. Then in December I can start writing new content for 2027.

I honestly thought this would be a problem. But now that I've decluttered it and set simple, achievable publishing goals, it feels incredibly easy.

Finalize the year for my Life in Taiwan blog

This one might be optimistic, but I'll still try. The goal was one post a month, which means I need three more for the year.

It's borderline. Three isn't impossible. I have a few ideas drafted, but I struggle to find the words right now. So this goes on the nice-to-reach list. It doesn't affect my workflow, and I'll keep my frequency either way.

Solving an identity crisis: Ryoka Group and OnPoint VC

When I started this new chapter of my career, I launched Ryoka Group as the umbrella brand for everything I plan to do. Along the way, I founded OnPoint VC as the operating arm under Ryoka Group.

The problem right now? I'm having an identity crisis, and both sites need an overhaul.

On one hand, I want to scale big. SaaS, media, micro-PE. On the other hand, I want to stay self-funded as long as possible and be a VC firm without limitations or LPs to answer to.

The whole reason I set up both was for Ryoka Group to own everything while OnPoint VC is the face. Both sites need better messaging and design. Then I go all in on both, with a clear indication that OnPoint VC is the operating branch.

I'll think about it later. Just a note here.

What else?

To finish the list, I'm going to think about my approach to permanent sponsorships for the $168M challenge. Maybe cold email the companies I love and the platforms I use, and see how they respond.

I don't know yet.

I also think it's time to decide which half-baked projects to eliminate and which to keep.

And last but not least, once Random Facts is done, I need to pick the next absurd, fun project so I can keep expanding my portfolio.

Fuck, what a list

When I add up only the things I bothered to put a number on (Random Facts, Echo Room, the TWO Docs website, and the Indie Hacker Blog posts), I'm already at six or seven days of work.

The rest, like the marketing plan, the Mac app, the Study Brew audit, and the recordings, doesn't have a number because I don't know how big it is yet. And all of it starts from a home that's still half in boxes.

So no, I don't think I'll finish everything. Some of it will slide into November, and that's fine. Writing it down isn't about a perfect score. It's so that when something slips, I know it slipped, instead of it quietly disappearing between the move and everything else.

I'll check back at the end of October and see what's left.

For now, those stupid moving boxes.