About
I’m Dylan — 10 years engineering at a large financial-services firm, now helping local businesses get systems that fit how they actually work.
I’m a generalist on purpose. Local businesses rarely need a narrow specialist. They need someone who can see the whole problem, build something maintainable, ship it, and hand off ownership without drama.
When AI helps — searching your documents, triaging intake, drafting routine messages — I wire it in carefully, with clear boundaries and human review where it matters. When it doesn’t help, we skip it.
What I optimize for
- Systems a non-technical owner can administer
- Tools that are well understood and cheap to keep running
- Handoff where you hold the accounts and the keys
Where I can help
- Web apps and internal tools for small teams
- Mobile apps for field and on-the-go work
- Databases, reporting, and cleaning up spreadsheet sprawl
- Practical AI features inside real products
- Rescue work on stuck or half-finished systems
Outside client work
Recent personal builds include a field-support mobile app for farms and a church management platform. Those show up in Work. Games and hobby experiments stay in the background — fun for craft, not the pitch for a business owner.
FAQ
- How much does a project cost?
- It depends on scope, but custom software is a real investment — not a few hundred dollars. Focused tools and automations often land in the $5,000–$15,000 range. Most custom web apps for a local business land around $15,000–$40,000. Larger builds (mobile, many integrations, complex workflows) go higher. I price most work as a fixed project fee after a short discovery call so you know the number upfront. Small, open-ended fixes can be hourly. Ongoing help is usually a light monthly retainer after launch. If your budget is under about $5,000, we’re probably looking at a very small automation or a phased first slice — not a full custom system.
- Why choose me instead of an agency?
- You get a senior engineer on your problem — not a sales layer, junior bench, and project managers billing around the work. That means leaner cost, faster decisions, and a tighter feedback loop: we ship in visible increments, adjust early, and skip the corporate overhead that pads agency quotes. You’re not paying for an office, a brand deck, or three handoffs before code gets written. The tradeoff is capacity — I’m one person — so we scope honestly and keep the build focused on what your business actually needs.
- Do I need to understand the technology?
- No. You should understand what the system does for your business, who can administer it, and what you own. I handle the technical choices and explain them in plain language when they affect cost, risk, or handoff.
- What do you typically build with?
- I pick tools that are widely understood and easy to keep running without a dedicated IT team. That often means modern web apps with a solid database, mobile apps when field work matters, and Microsoft-friendly setups when your organization already lives there. Project pages list the specifics when they are relevant.
- Will I be locked into you forever?
- No. Hosting, accounts, and source code go in your name. You get a runbook and admin access. You can keep me on a light retainer, hire someone else later, or run things yourself.
- Can you add AI to something we already have?
- Often yes — when it solves a concrete problem like searching your documents, triaging intake, or drafting routine messages. AI stays a feature inside a clear workflow, with human review where it matters.
Prefer the technical details? Each project page lists what was used under the hood — only if you want to look.