Will Little @wclittle Subscribe

Managing Director at Prota Ventures.
I'm a bioengineer-turned-software-developer and venture builder/investor. Learn more about me professionally on LinkedIn, personally here, and check out the podcast I host, Ventures.

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 Will Little

Dec 29, 2020
Software Development Ruby on Rails

How to upgrade Ruby on Rails using Visual Studio Code's source control interface

This post is designed for those following along our Technical Founder Training series. Rails has a fantastic guide for upgrading versions, so in this post we are going to walk through it using Visual Studio Code, our code editor of choice in this series. Specifically, we’re going to use an example of upgrading from Rails 6.0 to Rails 6.1, which had a large number of feature updates. When upgrading Rails, it’s generally a good idea to update gems and Javascript libraries at the same time, so we’ll discuss examples of doing that as well.

Will Little

Dec 29, 2020
Software Development Ruby on Rails Hotwire

Course Update :: Technical Founder Training :: Dec 29, 2020

Since writing up the first seven parts of this “Hello World” tutorial series within a series a few weeks ago, a few notable things have been released: Ruby 3.0, Rails 6.1, and Hotwire.
Will Little

Dec 23, 2020
Health Science Software Development Ruby on Rails Will's General Newsletter

Virtual identities, a primer on antigens and vaccines, and the New Magic is Turbo

In this newsletter I write about this week's podcast, a primer I wrote on viruses, antigens, antibodies, contagiousness, vaccines, and COVID-19 testing, and the release of Hotwire and Turbo in the Rails community.
Will Little

Dec 22, 2020
Blockchains Startups Ventures Podcast Design

Virtual Identities, Dream Thinking, and Human Flourishing in the Web 3.0 era :: with Joel Fariss

In this episode of Ventures, Joel Fariss (https://joelfariss.com; a design research and strategic futures associate at Gensler) and I continue our conversation from Episode 21 and explore the implications of self-defined virtual identities and data stores as it relates to innovation, human progress, Dream Thinking, and Web 3.0.

Will Little

Dec 22, 2020
Health Science COVID-19

A primer on viruses, antigens, antibodies, contagiousness, vaccines, and COVID-19 testing

Like millions of households around the world right now, my family and I recently caught a virus. Trillions of the little buggers invaded at least my sons (9 & 14 years old) while my wife and I - along with our 12-yr old daughter - wondered if we were all getting COVID-19. Our tests came back negative, but during the 70 hours we waited for results, we spent a lot of time researching immunology and discussing what to do.
Will Little

Dec 16, 2020
Startups Software Development Will's General Newsletter Design Kickstarter

Bird Buddy, code, the kid years, and creativity

In this newsletter I talk about (1) the recent Ventures episode on the Bird Buddy story, (2) updates to the learn to code series, and (3) correlation between the early ages of life and the expression of creativity.
Will Little

Dec 15, 2020
Startups Startup Fundraising Ventures Podcast Kickstarter

The Bird Buddy story, raising over $2m on Kickstarter, and growing an IoT company :: with Franci Zidar and Kyle Buzzard

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Franci Zidar (https://mybirdbuddy.com) and Kyle Buzzard (https://protaventures.com) discuss the Bird Buddy story from an idea to a successful Kickstarter campaign. Bird Buddy is a smart bird feeder that notifies users of visiting birds with a live stream and AI-assisted photo capturing features. We discuss many aspects of the story to date, including early validation work, design interactions, and the incorporation of feedback from interested customers. We also dive into practical advice for aspiring hardware/IoT entrepreneurs considering a Kickstarter campaign as part of their marketing strategy.

Will Little

Dec 13, 2020
Software Development Ruby on Rails JavaScript

Course update Dec 13, 2020: Learning to code (plus, office hours / class session **this Thursday** Dec 17)

A quick update about some questions and answers that I have been discussing recently with students.
Will Little

Dec 9, 2020
Software Development Will's General Newsletter

Web development, rockets, startups, and noninertial reference frames

In this newsletter I talk about my podcast episode on web development and thoughts on the analogy of startups as rockets.

Will Little

Dec 8, 2020
Software Development Redux Ruby on Rails React Ventures Podcast Stimulus.js

Web development for startups vs. enterprises, StimulusReflex vs. React, and New Magic with Ruby on Rails :: with Joe Clarke and David Parrott

In this episode of Ventures, my guests Joe Clarke (TaskBill.io) and David Parrott (ProtaVentures.com) and I dive deep into the world of web development. We discuss its history over the past few decades, languages and frameworks, tools for entrepreneurs, tips for those learning to code, and thoughts about the upcoming “New Magic” from the Rails and Basecamp communities.
Will Little

Dec 2, 2020
Software Development Will's General Newsletter

Design, the future of work, and learning to code over the holidays

Is this newsletter I talk about my podcast with Joel Fariss, and the 7 posts I published over the weekend helping students learn to code.
Will Little

Dec 1, 2020
Startups Ventures Podcast Future of Work Design

Design, innovation, work, and the future of humanity :: with Joel Fariss

In this episode, Joel Fariss - a design research and strategic futures associate at Gensler (https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelfariss/) - and I discuss the nuances of the word “design” in light of 2020 and the future of work and innovation. Based on his experience at Gensler and in the nonprofit world, we dive into the connection between design and value for humanity, the need for time and space for humans to innovate, and the role of grief to create a more equitable work environment.

Will Little

Nov 30, 2020
Software Development Redux Ruby on Rails

Redux, Rails, and ActionCable :: Full-stack web development "Hello World" tutorials for entrepreneurs: Part 7 of 10

This post is part 7 of a 10-part series within a series that is designed to teach full-stack web development for entrepreneurs. Here we’ll dive even further into Redux by wiring it up with ActionCable from Rails.
Will Little

Nov 30, 2020
Software Development Redux React

Sending form data with Redux and React :: Full-stack web development "Hello World" tutorials for entrepreneurs: Part 6 of 10

This post is part 6 of a 10-part series within a series that is designed to teach full-stack web development for entrepreneurs. Here we’ll dive even further into Redux and React, which we introduced in part 5.
Will Little

Nov 30, 2020
Software Development Redux React

Redux and React :: Full-stack web development "Hello World" tutorials for entrepreneurs: Part 5 of 10

This post is part 5 of a 10-part series within a series that is designed to teach full-stack web development for entrepreneurs. Here we’ll begin diving into Redux and React.