When building internal tools with AI, the temptation is to build a monolith that does everything.
I prefer a stack of purpose-built tools, each powers one process in my business.
Me (manager)
+ My agents (workers)
+ Our app (shared UI)
= ✅
What are we building today?
Shape first. Then plan.
Brain dump → customer context → map what's broken → ask AI to push back → capture the PRD.
Skip the shaping and you'll build the wrong thing fast.
"Where do I start with AI if I have zero coding experience?"
Honest answer: forget the tools for now. Start with a real problem you need solved. Let AI guide you through building the solution. Your first project teaches you more than any tutorial ever will.
I'm hiring a Video Editor & Producer to work with me at Builder Methods. Know someone? You?
Looking for a creative partner to take this to the next level — storytelling, custom visuals, motion graphics. I value taste and creator chops above tactics.
buildermethods.com/jobs/video-e...
Yes. I architect products to my highly specific vision and need. Much more than just a push of a button. And I moved my business forward in an hour, all before my day began.
Sorry if that's not exciting to you, but it is to me.
Just built and shipped 4 new features in an app I'm building.
Good, now time to get out of bed and start my day.
Excited to be speaking at @brightonruby.com this June! Looks like quite a lineup for Ruby/Rails builders.
I'll also be hosting a workshop the day before on AI adoption with your team.
Ruby friends — who's going?
Live sessions all Spring for members of Builder Methods Pro.
- Project Q&A's: share your project, get live feedback.
- Team Talks: AI adoption, what's working, challenges.
- New Builds: What are you launching?
RSVP or catch a recording. Members only!
buildermethods.com/sessions
I do work with a small team still. A video editor and 1 dev/support person.
Exploring possibility of hiring a producer soon.
My series on multi-agent teams with OpenClaw 🦞 has shipped for Builder Methods Pro members.
- Ready-to-build spec to build your custom task scheduling app.
- Technical setup cheat sheets
- 15 deep-dive videos.
Hundreds of builders are in. Join us! buildermethods.com/pro/openclaw...
There's so much I want to do with this business. If only I didn't have so much to do in this business.
I only do casual.
Favorite brand for every-day walkin around sneakers?
Claude Code is slow for codebase changes. But crazy fast for back-and-forths only in the session, no file reading or writing. Great for shaping content ideas, and faster turnarounds than Claude ai & Cowork.
Claude Code is the worst of their 3 UI's for that type of work though.
This is what 'working on the business' looks like now.
Maybe! Not big on live demos (of anything) though... Prefer to just share a few big ideas.
At one of them I'm doing an additional private workshop with more hands-on stuff.
Booked to speak at 2 conferences this year. Both in Europe! Topic: AI (obviously).
Wish me luck writing talks that aren't out-dated by the time I'm on stage 3 and 6 months from now 😬
Browsers always auto-fill a different one of my many email addresses from over the years and never my current one.
A custom-built UI, designed for you and your own agents to use, will outperform an "AI-powered" SaaS feature every time.
Your agents bring your preferred model, memories, skills and history. Your UI fits the way you think and work.
Product. Market (you). Fit.
Oh I know. They've been telling me for 10 years.
Claude .ai has been defaulting to creating .docx artifacts instead of markdown artifacts and it's really annoying to remind it I never want that.
I love it. So much more flexible and tangible.
I think agent-to-agent is growing a lot too. But there will still need to be orchestration, processes, high-level systems. All forms of this are markdown heavy (json too).
Can't believe I spent so many years not using Raycast's paste history and snippets.
Seems like markdown's surface area is growing. All Skills and agents are based on it, and all AI tools are standardizing on those formats.
Syncing all those markdown files across machines, platforms, and teams is very clunky tho. I expect that to get a lot easier.
Similar thing here. gmail runs my work life.
I also tend to start projects that drag into the next day(s) and F up my week.
