Definition
Technical debt
The future cost of shortcuts taken in code today.
From the episode “"The Agent Did It" Won't Hold Up in Court”Hear it on the podcast1 episode
Learn the language of AI-native founders
Every week: the new terms, tools, and workflows founders are using, straight from the podcast.
Related terms in Product & Engineering
Surprisingly DelightfulA Levelpath design principle where the platform proactively surfaces something useful the user did not think to ask for - such as a contract negotiation strategy auto-generated upon opening a document.System of recordThe authoritative database for a type of business data, such as a CRM for customers.Tamper-proof logAn activity record that can't be quietly altered after the fact.Tech Stack CreepThe overload of apps and tools added to a business that creates complexity and confusion.TEE (Trusted Execution Environment)A hardware-secured environment that keeps data sovereign while running models at the edge.The 70% WallThe failure point at which vibe-coded prototypes stall: a working UI is produced, but the last 30% of the application — business logic, data integrations, scalable architecture, authenticated flows, edge cases — requires architectural decisions that weren't made upfront. Getting past the wall typically requires rebuilding from scratch with proper requirements. A widely-reported pattern in the prompt-to-prototype category; the root cause is sequencing (code before requirements) rather than tool capability.The 80–90% Wall (Vibe Coding)The point in a vibe coding session where forward progress stalls on a specific unresolvable blocker. The UI is working, the demo looks good, but one thing — a database query, an integration, a specific feature — won't respond to any prompt variation. You've tried ChatGPT, Perplexity, YouTube tutorials, re-prompting 47 different ways. Energy leaves. Project dies. The diagnostic: if you've tried the same thing three or four different ways and you're still stuck, you've hit the wall and need a real human with domain-specific tool knowledge.The Buzzing Phone LoopA product design principle for non-desk workers: route every meaningful product event — new lead, new review, new booking — to a phone push notification rather than an email dashboard. For contractors who never check email and may not own a laptop, the phone buzz is the product's entire UX. It creates daily engagement and tangible perceived value from a tool the user might otherwise forget is running in the background.