I built a tool that turns blog posts into videos. It’s called Multi. It runs from the command line: post in, video out. The output is rough. Captions drift. Stock footage misses.
The core pipeline file is called skateboard.mjs.
The name wasn’t random. It’s the philosophy.
“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked.”
John Gall wrote this in 1975. Most people ignore it. They try to build the spaceship first:
- The “perfect” system
- The “complete” feature set
- The “final” architecture
Then they launch. And it doesn’t work.
The skateboard works because it has one job: move you forward.
It isn’t polished. But it works. And once something works, you can iterate.
Henrik Kniberg drew the original five: skateboard, scooter, bicycle, motorcycle and car. I kept building past the car and needed four more.
| Level | Vehicle | What It Is | Who It Serves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 🛹 Skateboard | End-to-end. Manual. Proof of concept. | You |
| 1 | 🛴 Scooter | One step scripted. Rest is manual. | You + early testers |
| 2 | 🚲 Bicycle | Pipeline. Simple input, complete output. | You + first users |
| 3 | 🏍️ Motorcycle | Self-serve. Landing page. Billing. | Early external users |
| 4 | 🚗 Car | Outbound. Prospecting. Cold outreach. | Market |
| 5 | 🚁 Helicopter | Referrals. Content. SEO. Inbound. | Growing user base |
| 6 | ✈️ Jet | A/B testing. Funnels. Optimize everything. | Scaling user base |
| 7 | 🚀 Spaceship | API. White-label. Others build with it. | Ecosystem |
| 8 | 🛰️ Space Station | Marketplace. Community. Others build on top. | Everyone |
The skateboard is a tool. The space station is a platform.
The mistake is trying to build the space station when you don’t have a skateboard.
Multi is at Level 1. It’s a scooter. skateboard.mjs taught me what to automate first: captions and scene timing. The rest is still ugly and manual. And it works end to end.
Gall’s Law is undefeated. The skateboard is what teaches you what to build next.
🛹
What’s the skateboard version of your biggest idea?
