Jonathan BraxOperator Notes
Things I'm building, testing, buying, breaking, fixing, and figuring out while running the businesses.
I've Been Buying and Selling Tech Since 2008. I'm Going to Start Opening Up the Playbook.
Most of what I picked up since 2008 stayed inside the businesses. I am going to start sharing more of it, beginning with reseller lots built out of inventory we already have.
Read this firstLatest Operator Notes
- Apple8 min
Why a Mac Can Pass Apple Diagnostics and Still Be Broken
ADP000 means the test didn't find anything it was looking for. It doesn't mean nothing is wrong. Here's what it misses and how we check for it.
- Building10 min
The Idea Isn’t the Hard Part. Knowing What to Do With It Is.
Ideas are common. The real advantage is knowing which ones deserve your attention, how to challenge them, and how to move them into the real world quickly enough to learn whether you were right.
- Apple7 min
How to Run Apple Diagnostics on a Mac and What the Results Actually Mean
How to run the Apple Diagnostics test on Apple silicon and Intel Macs, what it checks, and why a passing result doesn't mean the Mac is problem-free.
- AI14 min
I Used to Spend $100,000 a Year Turning Ideas Into Products. AI Changed the Equation.
For most of my career, ideas were abundant and execution was expensive. AI is changing that scarcity, and I think it will reshape entrepreneurship far beyond cheaper software.
- Lessons
I Left My First Company. Then I Bought SellMac Back.
I sold my stake in the company I helped build. TechGator later closed. About two years after I left, I bought one of its domains back for around five thousand dollars. What that stretch taught me about the difference between a good deal and a business that lasts.
- Operations
A Profitable Flip Is Not a Business
One good resale decision proves almost nothing. What changes when the same decision repeats across hundreds or thousands of units, why inventory is cash sitting on a shelf, and what starts to matter more than margin.
- SellMac
How We Decide What a Used Mac Is Worth
A used Mac doesn't have one price. Here's how we actually think about a machine at SellMac before we put a number on it.
- Operations
How to Buy Used MacBooks in Bulk Without Getting Burned
Buying used MacBooks in bulk is a different decision than buying one. What I want to know about a lot before money moves, and why a cheap per unit price is the least useful number on the page.
- Operations
Why I'm Rebuilding the System Behind Our Inventory
Our inventory system still creates too much repeated work. I'm rebuilding parts of it, mostly through smaller changes that remove questions before somebody has to ask them.
Watch
A few of the videos worth starting with.
- Watch on YouTube
How to Run Apple Diagnostics
A practical walkthrough for checking a Mac with Apple Diagnostics. This is the start of an evergreen how-to series.
YouTube
- Watch on TikTok
Right to Repair in the Real World
A real-world look at repairability, device longevity, and why keeping useful technology repairable matters.
TikTok
- Watch on TikTok
MacBook Staingate
Why the anti-reflective coating on some MacBook displays failed, what it looks like, and what owners should know.
TikTok
Follow Brax
I post the short version on social. Techable Labs is where the YouTube work lives. The deeper notes live here.
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