Apr 12, 2026
I built a skill that makes Claude get a second opinion on every plan
The Codex skill routes Claude Code plans to OpenAI's Codex CLI for automatic review before you approve anything. Here's why I built it and how it works.
Cathryn Lavery · Founder-Operator · Est. 2013
I build, sell, and rebuild companies.
Then I write it down.
First-person essays on business, money, productivity, and what it actually costs to build the life you said you wanted. No hype, no hustle porn — just what's working, what broke, and what I'm still figuring out.
My best stuff is in my email.
Essays, free resources, and practical tips I don’t share publicly.
144 essays · 13 years · No spam, unsubscribe in one click
Writing since
2013
13 years of annual reviews, wins, and wrong turns.
Essays in the archive
144
From first principles to private-equity war stories.
Day job
BestSelf Co
Built, sold, bought back from private equity, still running it.
Featured on
The latest
How I Rebuilt My AI Agent Team After Anthropic Cut Off OpenClaw
How I rebuilt my AI agent team after Anthropic cut off OpenClaw. OpenClaw as the runtime, Codex as the coding brain, Paperclip as the work layer, and local Claw adapter agents to keep Claude in the loop.
Start here
The signature essay
I Sold My Company, Then Bought It Back
How I walked away from my own company — and why I couldn't stay gone.
An employee stole $230k from my company
What you learn about people — and yourself — when the money disappears.
Why 50/50 partnerships are lazy
The math problem nobody solves before they sign.
How I built my wife a personal AI assistant
The tech took a day. Understanding how she'd actually use it took a week.
First 100 days: buying my business back from private equity
What I fixed, what they broke, and what 100 days of rebuilding taught me.
Recent Writing
Full archive →Apr 12, 2026
Give Claude eyes on your app and stop testing everything yourself
How to connect Claude Code to your iOS simulator using the ios-simulator MCP server. Set up in 15 minutes and let Claude run your bug and UX checks before you ever open the simulator yourself.
Apr 12, 2026
What Is g-brain? Garry Tan's gbrain, Explained
g-brain (gbrain) is Garry Tan's open-source knowledge layer for AI agents. A founder's plain-English breakdown of how it works with OpenClaw and gstack.
Apr 5, 2026
The Garry Tan Stack: A Definitive Guide to gstack
Garry Tan open-sourced gstack — now a fast-moving workflow stack that spans Claude Code, OpenClaw, and other agents. Here's what it is in April 2026.
Apr 4, 2026
The Codex Cheat Sheet
Every Codex CLI command, safety setting, model pick, and prompting pattern I actually use now that GPT-5.4 is here.
Apr 3, 2026
OpenClaw Review: Is It Worth It for Founders in 2026?
After running OpenClaw since January 2026 in a real business, here's an honest review, what it does well, what's frustrating, and who it's actually for.
Apr 2, 2026
AI Agent Use Cases for Founders: 12 Real Examples
Not theoretical. These are 12 things I actually use AI agents for in my business, what they do, how they're configured, and what they save.
Apr 2, 2026
Claude Code Skills: Custom Reusable Workflows Explained
Claude Code skills let you package reusable instructions that the agent loads on demand. Here's how they work and what to put in them.
Apr 2, 2026
Claude Code vs Cursor: Which One Actually Works for Non-Developers?
I've used both Claude Code and Cursor for months running a real business. Here's an honest comparison of what each is actually good for.
$ start ai-native
Free 7-day challenge
Make AI work
the way you work.
You're using AI. It's giving generic answers because it doesn't know who you are. Seven emails fix that — a context file, a skill, and four terminal commands. I went from never opening a terminal to 9,896 GitHub commits. This is the starting line.
No fluff. Each email has one thing to do. See what's inside →
- 01 A year ago I'd never opened a terminal
- 02 What does ChatGPT actually think of you?
- 03 The one file that changes every AI conversation
- 04 I fired our Shopify agency and built my wife an AI assistant
- 05 Open the terminal. I'll tell you exactly what to type.
- 06 The things I didn't expect AI to change
- 07 Tell me what you built
Topics
All tags →-
Business
26Building, selling, and rebuilding companies.
-
AI & Engineering
28Vibe coding, AI agents, and building with the tools that are changing everything.
-
Productivity
21Systems that actually last a year.
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Life Lessons
23Things I had to learn the expensive way.
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Writing
110On working in public and writing as thinking.
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Annual Reviews
11A decade of yearly reckonings.
