I haven’t been writing a lot lately but I want to get back to it, badly. Writing is a lovely way to share thougths with the world, letting it all out, with a chance of gaining a broader worldview. This is a short one to start.

A few months ago, after talking to some folks in the business, I had an idea that competitor tracking is still an underserved and lucrative niche, with money to be made and customers to be gained. With the goal in sight, I went ahead and prototyped Asteroidiq.com. After all, who doesn’t want to know how their competitors are doing?

Customers came, and we talked, and we added some features. Fast-forward a few months, I started to hate the project. No, I didn’t just not care for it, but passionately disliked it.

Between medical startups and massive web properties, there are definitely companies who want to know if they are doing better than their peers. They want screenshot tracking, SEO, keywords, app downloads… you name it. There is a business for custom dashboards, it’s just not my business.

Look, there’s only so much time in the day and so many things to spend it on.

If I got run over by a bus tomorrow, I want to know that today was spent doing something that matters. I want my family and my kids to be proud of it. Competitive analytics was certainly not it.

Luckily, I’ve found a thing that was truly curious to me, made me happy, and added value to our family life. I’ve got some users, some great feedback, and I am constantly making it better.

This is just a reminder that every day is a chance to make an impact. If you don’t pick what you want to work on, someone else will do it for you. It feels a lot better to make your every day count.