Hi there,

Honey might save you a few bucks, but it’s stealing from creators while doing so. Ouch. 🍯 In this week’s video, I tackle this issue head-on by designing a less evil version of Honey: meet Kale. 🥬

Kale is a browser extension that’s transparent, open-source, and creator-friendly. It doesn’t override affiliate cookies, gives users control, and still applies sweet discount coupons.

But this video isn’t just about the what—it’s also about the how. I break down the full architecture, the design patterns, and even show you some of the code. If you’re into building ethical tech (or just want to see Honey’s bitter rival in action), you’ll love this one.

Let’s make tech that’s fair, transparent, and good for everyone!

Cheers,

Arjan

# News

After 3 Years, I Failed. Here's All My Startup's Code.

Startups often celebrate wins, but Dylan Huang’s blog, sheds light on the other side of the journey—the emotional and practical challenges of shutting down a business. 💔

Dylan’s reflections on resilience and turning setbacks into opportunities are invaluable for anyone navigating uncertainty or grappling with failure. 🌱

This topic hits close to home for me. Last week, I opened up about the struggles my channel faced last year and the lessons I’ve carried into the future. It’s a reminder that failure isn’t the end—it’s a chance to grow.

Dive into Dylan’s blog here and, if you’re curious about my mindset for the year ahead, check out my latest video here.

Iterators and Iterables in Python

If you’ve ever wanted to create robust APIs with Django, the Django REST Framework (DRF) is the way to go. But where do you start? 🤔

The team at Real Python has crafted a very useful guide. This hands-on tutorial walks you through building APIs step by step—from setting up your project to creating endpoints that serve real-world data.

Whether you’re new to Django or want to level up your skills, this resource is packed with practical insights to help you master API development. 🚀 Check it out here.

# Community

A community member recently shared a tricky challenge: building a super-fast trade monitoring dashboard using FastAPI WebSockets and Redis! 🧑‍💻 They aimed for near-instant updates (50-100ms!), but scaling to more clients brought some performance headaches.

The thread dives into key topics like Redis polling vs. keyspace notifications, handling tons of WebSocket connections, parallelizing broadcasts, and spotting bottlenecks before making big changes. 🛠️

This conversation is packed with insights for anyone working on real-time systems! Check out the full discussion on the server. 🎯

Do you enjoy my content on YouTube and would you like to dive in deeper? Check out my online courses below. They've helped thousands of developers take the next step in their careers.

🚀 The Mindset Online Course Series

The goal of this series is to help junior developers grow their skills to become senior developers faster.

The Software Designer Mindset - Solve complex software problems and write beautiful code.
The Software Architect Mindset - Learn the mindset that will allow you to effortlessly build and maintain scalable software systems. Become a software architect.

💥 Other Courses

Next Level Python: Become a Python Expert - Expand your knowledge of Python and take your coding skills to the next level, without breaking the bank.
The 30-Day Design Challenge - Get the practice you're missing. Learn to deal with a wide variety of software design problems.

💡 If you’re part of a development team at a company, I offer special packages for companies that give your team the tools to consistently write high-quality code and dramatically increase your team's productivity.

Watch this week's video