On building software and the business around it.
Original thinking for people using AI to build serious client software, deliver it well, and own what compounds.
- Going Solo9 min read
Say The Sentence *"I own a software dev agency" does half the selling for you.*
The hardest part of landing your first client is not the client. It is admitting, out loud, in a normal voice, at a normal volume, to a normal person, that you run a software agency. Once you say it, the market bends toward you in a way that is almost embarrassing. People interrupt you. People hand you their phone number. People apologize for not knowing you sooner. The sentence does the selling. You just have to stop being weird about saying it.
Volume 3 / Issue 02 · #first-client #agency-ops #networkingRead essay → - Market Economics9 min read
Two Clients Beat a Job why the math on an AI-native agency has quietly flipped
The software labor market broke in 2024 and nobody sent a memo. Junior engineers are sending 800 applications for 12 interviews. Meanwhile, the dentist down the street is paying $4,200 a month for a scheduling tool that doesn't do half of what she needs. The arbitrage between those two facts is the entire opportunity. You don't need a job. You need two clients.
Volume 3 / Issue 02 · #retainers #agency-ops #smb-softwareRead essay → - Market Economics11 min read
The Retainer Agency Is the Best Business You Can Start in 2026 and the math is almost embarrassing
Two clients at $5,000 a month beats a junior dev job at most companies in America. Three clients at $8,000 a month beats almost any senior role. The SMB software market is starving for engineers who answer the phone, and Claude has collapsed the time it takes to deliver. This is the cleanest setup the small-business economy has produced in twenty years, and most new coders are still looking for a W-2 that doesn't want them.
Volume 3 / Issue 1 · #retainers #agency-ops #smb-softwareRead essay →