“Time is the most valuable thing we have”

Keith Andrade, founder of The Morning Byte

“One of my passions is staying up to date on all the new stuff that's happening in the business and tech world,” starts Keith Andade who has worked in software as a service (SaaS) for seven years.

He attended Baruch College, a business school in Manhattan, and while he was there, he learned a lot about business to dovetail with his passion for technology. “The two are intertwined,” he discovered. “ The businesses of today have to depend on technology to be successful, to grow and scale. It was cool realizing how these things work together.”

After college he started working for a tech-based health insurance and payroll company. “Previously, it was all pens and paper and filing cabinets. The company was completely disrupting the industry,” he recalls.

Later he worked at monday.com and ones.com, selling project management software to businesses. “I loved it. But I realized in order to have good conversations with my clients, I needed to not just understand technology, not just understand how their business works, but also stay up-to-date on new trends.”

One of The Morning Byte stories and a screenshot of the product on a mobile phone

Keith would spend his spare time researching and collecting articles, and sending them to friends and family. “I thought, ‘I can't keep sending them articles every day on something I find interesting’. So I created this news text service to give a quick update of what's happening.” He built an automation with Zapier and ChatGPT to help find articles he likes, summarize them into concise bullets, and send it as a text message to subscribers,” Keith explains.

The problem with social media

“Our customers love social media. Everyone does – it's that instant gratification,” Keith continues. But the problem with social media is that it winds up taking up too much of your time. You may use TikTok to find some quick bites of the news, or you may use Instagram and follow your favorite influencer to see a carousel image post of what's happening, but the issue is that when you open up an app, you're exposed to other ideas and beliefs that pop up automatically in your newsfeed.”

Keith believes that the benefit of The Morning Byte is it removes any intrusion of other content competing for your attention. “It's a text message; you open it when you want. You have that freedom again,” he explains.

Some readers look at it first thing in the morning or some skim through it at lunchtime. “The idea is that you're in control of your attention. On social media, you have to cut through the noise to find what you want. Social media is a time sucker and it wastes your time. And time is the most valuable thing we have,” Keith adds.

He continues that social media has no incentive to improve our lives. “It's a great way to stay connected, but it's no longer just to stay connected, right?” he asks. “I go through my newsfeed and all it's advertisements or it's businesses paying to post their stuff.”

One of The Morning Byte stories featuring an artistic rendering

“I think social media is fun. I think it's good; I don't think it's great. And I don't think it's beneficial for our mental health. The Morning Byte is a place for people who actually want to better their lives.” He suggests that people wanting to leverage technology for success or wanting to become a business owner should have sources to stay ahead of the game “All I'm suggesting is that The Morning Byte might be your number one choice!” he smiles.

Crucially, Keith uses his own product every day. “I spend nights burning the midnight oil, looking for the most relevant stuff because sometimes things happen in the evening and I want people to be ready and informed when they start their day. I pick valuable sources like Reuters or the New York Times. Forbes can be great; The Verge is a great source.”

Keith notes that, even if you're a small business owner, if you have a reliable source of information that may be not available to a big media company, it’s certainly worthy of The Morning Byte’s attention. “If I find your article interesting, it's going out to our subscribers – as long as it's meaningful!” he adds.

Staying ahead of the game

As someone who's worked with many businesses, Keith was constantly thinking how to take something he liked and monetize it, all the while providing value to customers. Before he came up with the business model for the Morning Byte, he noticed another Memberful customer, The New Paper, was doing something really similar but in the world of political news. Keith saw an opportunity.

“I think there's a lot of value for people who work in tech. Professionals, such as realtors, want to understand how AI technology is impacting their daily lives.” Keith thought he could help them stay ahead of the game. “If you're a podcaster, it's like, ‘Do I need the newest microphone?’ Or ‘Is there a tool that can help me make my voice sound crisp?’ These are all things that people are asking themselves because there's a new AI tool being put out every single day.”

Another of The Morning Byte stories featuring an artistic rendering

I really wanted The Morning Byte for myself. That's when I had the ‘wow’ moment. I want to do more than just stay informed; I actually want to stay ahead of the game. I work in tech and I constantly have to win sales and win business.” While The New Paper focuses on politics, The Morning Byte focuses on financial tech, electric cars, artificial intelligence and machine learning.”

Understandably enough, Keith’s subscribers are tech professionals and business owners, with limited time. “It’s hard to keep up and there's misinformation. On my website, everything is factual. I have highlights from the articles. You don't have to read the whole article; you just get the bullets, to understand what's happening. If you want to see the original article, because it's important to know where your information comes from, the source link is there.

“The article is linked to the themorningbyte.co and the article has a cool artistic rendering using generative AI art to really tell a beautiful story, so it's intriguing. I'm giving people an opportunity to have a productive conversation, but also stay ahead and stay informed.”

It looks like Keith’s journey has come full circle, from a user needing information, to a consumer of his own product, to a founder of a company curating information for others. It’s one thing to keep up-to-date but, as Keith has realized, being ahead of the curve is a different ball game. But there are services out there to help you. Perhaps it’s time to take a Byte!

More information on The Morning Byte

For more information on Keith Andrade and The Morning Byte, go to themorningbyte.co. To follow Keith on social media, go to Instagram, Threads or Linkedin.

You can also hear him on the Uncharted Podcast or watch his Digimarcon interview here: