207 - Kenneth Cassel

Kenneth Cassel is the founder of Diode.

Diode is a YC-backed company that makes it easy for people build, program, and simulate hardware projects in the browser.

He also built vim.so, the easiest way to learn Vim.

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Items:

• M1 Macbook Pro 14-inch, 2021. 32 GB Memory
• Apple Magic Trackpad
• Pok3r Mechanical Keyboard
• Rode NT-USB Mini
• LG 32" UltraFine Display Ergo 32UN-880-B
• Canon Eos Rebel T7
• Henge Stone II Dock
• Handmade Resin Flower Coaster (my wife made this!)
• Yeti Cup
• Autonomous DIY Standing Desk Frame
• Ikea Butcher Block Counter top (I sanded this down and re-stained it a different color)
• Ikea Alex Drawers
• Flowers on the wall are from our wedding! My wife is drying them out to preserve in resin

Tools:

• VS Code (w/ vim extension of course)
• Github
• Figma
• Superhuman
• Discord

What do you find the most challenging aspect of remote work to be?

Remote work is amazing, I'm able to spend a lot more time with my wife and 3 kids than if I had to commute (my last job I was commuting 1.5 hours each way). There are some challenges though. My youngest is 3yo and loves to hop into the home office and say hi during meetings (which is why I built the wall in front of my desk and installed a sliding door). I like to leave the house and work from a coffee shop once or twice a week to get a change of scenery or else I go stir-crazy

How do you spark creativity?

Number one hack I've found for myself is to work on a problem I'm genuinely excited about. Creativity seems to flow naturally from there.

How do you manage work-life balance?

A massive benefit of being a founder is being able to build a company you want to work at. For me that means lots of async work, few meetings, and working with incredibly smart folks. I think about the business and work a ton, but it's easy to fit it around my family time since we're async-first. I'll often work a few hours late into the night when my family is asleep but for me that's fun. My wife stays at home and is absolutely amazing at supporting me and the business, I couldn't do it without her.