Toptal Blog

The Toptal Blog is the top hub for developers, designers, management consultants, 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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The Financial Implications of Technical Debt

Technical debt, which relates to suboptimal technology infrastructure in an organization, can actually be a huge financial burden on a business. However, like traditional financial debt, there are steps and processes that can be taken to manage and mitigate the risk. In this article, we elaborate on how CFOs can tackle their technical debt burden.

13-minute readContinue Reading
Erik Frederick

Erik Frederick

Erik is a seasoned CFO and expert in profitability management, financial modelling and FP&A. He was CFO of a $1.8Bn unit of Staples.

The Comprehensive Guide to JavaScript Design Patterns

As a good JavaScript developer, you strive to write clean, healthy, and maintainable code. While you solve interesting and unique challenges, you’ve likely found that you’re often writing code that looks similar to the code for an entirely different problem you’ve handled before. You may not know it, but you’ve used a design pattern.

22-minute readContinue Reading
Marko Mišura

Marko Mišura

Having worked as a full stack software engineer, Marko is an expert at design, implementation and maintenance of web systems.

Waking Up a Sleeping Industry: Mattress Industry Disruption

Once crammed into stuffy showrooms with eager salespeople and a dizzying plethora of models, mattress purchases used to be notoriously complicated. However, a upstarts have recently revitalized the industry with innovations in marketing, delivery, and a direct-to-consumer model.

It’s true that the mattress industry is experiencing an upheaval, but rather than the typical narrative of newer operations completely displacing older ones, perhaps there’s room for both collaboration and innovation. There are lessons for investors, entrepreneurs, and corporate moguls alike.

19-minute readContinue Reading
Melissa Lin

Melissa Lin

Melissa has worked in ECM, tech startups, and management consulting, advising Fortune 500 companies across multiple sectors.

Professional Sports Franchise Valuation

Professional sports franchises continue to see record sale prices. But what drives a team like the Dallas Cowboys, who haven’t won a Super Bowl in over 20 years, to top the list of the most valuable sports franchises in the United States?

In this article, Toptal Management Consultant David Turney provides an overview of professional sports economics, unique valuation considerations, and a team valuation example.

23-minute readContinue Reading
David Turney

David Turney

David specializes in managing complex/unique projects for C-Suite executives at Fortune 500 companies. He has managed transactions > $1.5Bn.

Never Call Yourself a UI Designer: UI is UX

UI and UX are two design terms that often get used in the wrong context. Designers who call themselves “UI designers,” or design for trends rather than users, could be harming their reputation.

7-minute readContinue Reading
Daniel Schwarz

Daniel Schwarz

Daniel is a designer and developer by background, but also a 3x author, a collaborator with Adobe and InVision, and a design blog editor.

Integration and End-to-End Tests Made Easy With Node.js and MongoDB

Interacting with a real database during integration and end-to-end testing can pose distinct challenges. An effective workaround is to use an in-memory database that integrates seamlessly with your testing framework and provides APIs for manipulating state directly from your test code.

In this article, Toptal Software Engineer Mikhail Angelov demonstrates how to do just that—and how to write straightforward integration and end-to-end tests for Node.js and MongoDB applications without the need for complicated setup/teardown code.

7-minute readContinue Reading
Mikhail Angelov

Mikhail Angelov

Mikhail is a full-stack engineer specializing in JavaScript, React, Node.js, Flux, and Redux. His industry experience spans firmware, mobile, and web development in areas including finance, insurance, and transportation technology. He also holds a master’s degree in physics.

The Fundamentals of Website Redesign – A Case Study

Polished design wireframes are great but don’t reveal the work that goes into research and content organization. See how a thorough approach to early project planning leads to successful website redesign.

12-minute readContinue Reading
Alex Gurevich

Alex Gurevich

Alex has led a design agency that provided UX/UI design, branding, marketing, and development services for clients in various industries.

Driving Down Costs in a Digital Oil and Gas Future

In an era of subdued prices and with usage expected to plateau within the next 30 years, the focus for oil and gas companies must turn to cost control. Applying technological innovations such as blockchains, wearables, and advanced analytics to the supply chain can keep costs in check and maintain profitability.

13-minute readContinue Reading
Alberto Bazzana

Alberto Bazzana

Albert is a seasoned PE executive with over $1Bn in trasactions. Prior to this he led consulting engagements across nine countries.

UX Testing for the Masses: Keep It Simple and Cost-effective

UX testing is a crucial step in the design process but is often overlooked for tight budgets or deadlines. You do not need a formal lab to do quality research—just the right tools and a clear plan.

11-minute readContinue Reading
Ruaridh Currie

Ruaridh Currie

Ruaridh is an award-winning UX/UI designer and creative director with 14 years of experience designing for a variety of well-known brands.

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