Most software is built with large teams. Cumbersome plans. Bastardized processes. So much stuff on top of stuff that isn't the software. The stuff that sours a developer's soul.
For the past 15 years, I've worked on the same software product I originally created called DoneDone. I've learned how to build a complex system in a different way, largely designing and developing it with a tiny team (and often solo), with little of the extra stuff.
There was a time where you did everything you could to hide such leanness, remember? You'd say "We" instead of "I". Plaster stock photos of important-looking people off Getty Images on your company website. Create a Jobs page for positions you were never going to hire for. Complexity for complexity's sake.
Because small felt vulnerable. Small felt wrong.
Those days are behind us. And many of us are coming around to the idea that small is not only better, but getting down to the smallest of the small—solo software—is the optimal way. The path to work fulfillment we no longer have to hide behind. A way to truly do what you love. An escape from the cargo cults of traditional software development.
After selling DoneDone in September 2024, I'm now diving fully into this idea that certain kinds of software can be fully dreamed, created, and maintained by just one. Especially with the tools available today. Yes that includes you too, AI.
My goal is to create a few sustainable software products solo. Software that is enjoyable to make. The kind of work
that can fit my life as a 40-something dad with limited no free-time but still craves that kind of independence,
youthful imagination, and passion to make beautiful things I was full of twenty years ago.
Here's an evolving list of the kinds of software products that fit my tastes:
Here's the kind of work life I'm trying to create:
Doing the above should help me sustain the joy in making and sharing things.
My first product is currently well underway. DnsDigest is an app that helps domain owners better explain and organize their DNS records, and detect potential issues with things like DMARC and SPF policies.
I'm hoping to release this by the end of 2024. Stay tuned!