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The Toptal Blog is the top hub for developers, designers, finance experts, executives, and entrepreneurs, featuring key technology updates, tutorials, freelancer resources, and management insights.

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Toptal core team members share their experience, expertise, and perspectives on the Toptal Edge Blog

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Timing Is Everything: Choosing the Right Product Launch Strategy

Release fast but flawed, or wait and strive for perfection? Get the timing of your next product launch right with these expert tips.

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Elena Grigoras

Elena Grigoras

Elena is a product management expert and strategy consultant with more than a decade of experience. She has led large cross-functional teams in the development of cutting-edge SaaS platforms for international companies including Mondia Technologies and Laerdal Medical.

Designing VR Games Worth Playing: 6 Key Considerations

Despite decades of hype, virtual reality gaming has failed to be widely adopted. Better design can reduce player frustration, increase comfort, and make games more immersive.

10 minute readContinue Reading
Edward Moore

Edward Moore

Edward is a veteran UX designer with a résumé of award-winning projects for Google, Sony, Electronic Arts, and Sega. He’s worked on iconic gaming franchises like Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Sonic. In 2014, he launched a company to contribute strategic gamification and UX services to nongaming companies seeking to leverage AR/VR technology.

Keeping Sight of the Forest: Risk Management and Creativity in an Agile Ecosystem

Agile has a reputation for delivering results in uncertain times and high-risk industries. But when risk management turns into a culture of total risk aversion, you may find that it comes at the cost of innovation.

7 minute readContinue Reading
Scott Lee

Scott Lee

Scott is a product manager and consultant with more than eight years of experience working in global markets for companies like LVMH, Kering, and Richemont, as well as startups at all stages of development, from pre-seed to scaling.

Tough Times Don’t Have to Mean Tough Terms: Leveraging Financial and Cap Table Modeling in VC Negotiations

When capital is scarce, VCs may tighten their terms to reduce their risk. Here’s how to think through three of the most common preferred terms to ensure you don’t give away too much of your company.

12 minute readContinue Reading
Erik Stettler

Erik Stettler

Erik is co-founder of a global venture capital fund that has invested in 50 startups—which have raised more than $500 million—and has realized six exits. He serves as Toptal’s Chief Economist.

The Secret Behind Steady App Performance: Asynchronous JavaScript

JavaScript’s default synchronous methods can freeze an application, scaring off end users. Here’s how you can leverage asynchronous JavaScript techniques to increase control over front-end responsiveness.

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Muhammad Ammar Ilyas

Muhammad Ammar Ilyas

Muhammad is a full-stack developer with 10 years of experience delivering web and mobile applications for Resulta and other large marketing firms. He has JavaScript expertise ranging across Node.js, Next.js, React, React Native, and headless WordPress solutions.

Shopping for Apparel in an Online World: UI/UX Design for Virtual Clothing Try-on

How is technology changing the way people shop for clothes? Designers explain how to use AR and VR to drive conversions and minimize returns.

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Laurence Brothers

Laurence Brothers

Laurence is Toptal’s Senior Writer for Technology and Software. A former analyst at Google and ITA Software and researcher at Bell Communications Research and Verizon Laboratories, he now writes about the intersection of technology, business, and design. Laurence has five patents for AI and internet applications and a master’s degree in computer science from Columbia University.

Defining Who, What, and Why: How to Write a User Story

A good user story can drive efficient planning, on-time delivery, team engagement, and customer satisfaction. Here’s a guide to creating one.

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Abhishek Choudhary

Abhishek Choudhary

Abhishek is a senior product manager with a background in software engineering. He is a former B2C product manager at Amazon, where he identified and implemented numerous improvements to user experience.

How C++ Competitive Programming Can Help Hiring Managers and Developers Alike

Programmers gain valuable real-world skills from algorithm competitions that can boost their job prospects—and contest ratings make it easier for hiring managers to find top talent. Explore competitive C++ with a programmer whose scores got them recruited by Google.

9 minute readContinue Reading
Anitet Wheeler-Rose

Anitet Wheeler-Rose

Anitet is a full-stack engineer and CTO with expertise in C++, JavaScript, and DevOps. A former site reliability and software engineer at Google, Anitet was recruited after achieving an 85th to 90th percentile ranking at algorithm programming competition events.

CapEx 101: Resolving the Agile vs. Waterfall Conflict With Hybrid Methodology

What do Agile, Waterfall, and the former energy corporation Enron have in common? A strange shared history that may shed light on one of the most well-known conflicts in software development.

8 minute readContinue Reading
Adam Zachary Wasserman

Adam Zachary Wasserman

Adam is a project manager and IT professional with 30 years of experience in all aspects of software, from development to operations, and from enterprise to startup. He has worked for companies like Lincoln Financial Group, OpenText, and Bell Canada, and is the author of The Chaos Factory, a book on methods for improving and scaling enterprise app development.

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