Coffee and Coding Podcast

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: Noah Labhart shares how he went from corporate .NET development to founding TouchTap, learning entrepreneurship through early mistakes, scaling a remote mobile agency via networking, and later becoming CTO/co-founder of Variable. He also explains how his podcast Code Story emerged from a desire for a tech-focused How I Built This-style show that explores the human side of building products.

Main Topics: Life outside tech and personal background (Priority: 4/5): Noah describes his family, faith, outdoor hobbies, music background, and how these shape his identity beyond software. Career path from developer to entrepreneur (Priority: 5/5): He traces his journey from college and .NET consulting, to Alcon, to side projects, and finally launching TouchTap after building confidence and business skills. Networking as a growth engine (Priority: 5/5): Noah repeatedly emphasizes networking as the main driver of his side-project traction, contract work, hiring, and long-term business opportunities. Lessons from building and scaling TouchTap (Priority: 5/5): He explains the failed first client project, then how he rebuilt around what he knew, gradually expanding from solo contractor to a 13-14 person remote contractor network. What being a CTO really involves (Priority: 5/5): Noah distinguishes CTO work from day-to-day coding, stressing roadmap ownership, strategic direction, team culture, and servant leadership over hands-on implementation. Building Variable and choosing MVP trade-offs (Priority: 5/5): He describes how Variable was founded from a domain problem identified by Mike Kinder, and how early product decisions intentionally accepted technical debt to launch quickly. Code Story as a hobby and networking platform (Priority: 4/5): Noah explains that Code Story is both a creative hobby and a relationship-building tool that lets him interview tech founders about the human story behind their products.

Key Arguments: Networking is essential for developers and entrepreneurs, even if it feels uncomfortable; many of Noah’s opportunities came through relationships rather than cold outreach. Early startup mistakes are part of the process; Noah’s first major TouchTap project failed, but that failure taught him how to scope, bid, and lead better. Remote teams work well when trust and culture are established; without trust, managers tend to fear remote work, but with it, output can increase. A CTO is less about writing code and more about setting strategy, building culture, and enabling others to own the product. Choosing deliberate technical debt can be the right move for MVPs when speed and validation matter more than perfect architecture. The best developers contribute beyond code by communicating well, thinking strategically, and translating business needs into technical execution.

Data Points: Marriage length: 11 years - Noah says he has been married to his wife Erin for 11 years. Children: 3 kids - He has three children ages 9, 6, and 4. Kids' ages: 9, 6, 4 - Used to illustrate his full house and family life. Podcast experience: 50+ episodes - He says Code Story had produced 50-plus episodes after about a year. TouchTap launch date: April 2015 - Noah left Alcon and started TouchTap in April 2015. Alcon tenure: 8 years - He worked at Alcon Laboratories for eight years. First corporate project duration before failure: About 1 project cycle / early months - He recounts the first remote client project going south soon after launch. Team size at TouchTap peak: 13-14 contractors - TouchTap eventually grew to a large distributed contractor team. Code Story launch: June 2019 - Noah says the first episode was released in June 2019. Code Story seasons mentioned: 3 seasons - The intro notes Code Story had three seasons at the time. Interview length: 2 hours - The first Code Story interview ran two hours before being edited down. Edited episode length: ~40 minutes - The first episode was shortened to roughly 40 minutes. Remote team geography: US, Canada, UK, New Zealand - TouchTap’s team was distributed across multiple countries.

Pivotal Quotes: "If you can't find something, you just create it." — Noah Labhart: He explains why he started Code Story after not finding the podcast he wanted. "I know how to write software. So that's what I'm going to go do." — Noah Labhart: He describes refocusing after the failed first TouchTap project. "Tech debt by choice." — Rob Jay: Rob coins the phrase while discussing Noah’s approach to MVP trade-offs and intentional technical debt.

Implications: The episode shows that sustainable technical leadership depends on relationships, communication, and intentional trade-offs—not just coding skill. For founders and developers, it reinforces that early failures, networking, and culture shape long-term success.