Designer and engineer, shipping products in realtime.
I build software for startups, from idea to production. A decade of design and engineering in one person, now focused on AI-native products and agent-driven development from Charlotte.
Restraint is a feature.
- Most software is louder than it needs to be. I cut until only the useful parts remain.
- Every element earns its spot. If it does not serve the person using it, it goes.
- Quiet interfaces age better than clever ones.
Three steps, tightly held.
- 01 / Step
Research
I start by listening. User interviews, a close read of the category, and a clear map of what the product actually has to do before a single pixel moves.
- 02 / Step
Design
I prototype in the medium it will ship in: real components, real data, real states. Feedback loops are short so the interface gets sharper with each pass.
- 03 / Step
Build
I ship the thing I designed. Typed end to end, tested where it matters, and handed off in a state the next person can actually work with.
Always more than the job description.
Grew up in Seattle, moved to Charlotte in my twenties. Seven of those years were at Dunstone Company, a global aerospace composites manufacturer. I went from machine operator to plant management, then technical account manager and marketing director toward the end. By then I was running all the brand, design, and digital plus a sales territory on the side. Software was the next side thing, self-taught project by project, until the side started feeling more like the work.
In 2020 I founded Hyak Co., a Charlotte studio that shipped design systems, marketing sites, and the CRO and paid search work to keep them growing. Engage Content acquired it in 2021 for the client book and the lead-gen IP. After the earnout I moved into startup work, first at Stashpad and then at Craftwork, learning how to move between design and code without dropping either.
These days I'm split between Craftwork, where I lead design and ship engineering on a YC-backed product, and AuraNote, an AI journaling app I co-founded and build end to end. Most of my attention is on AI-native products and agent-driven development. About half of what I ship is written alongside coding agents.
Outside work, I'm a dad first. I collect motorcycles, bicycles, and vintage jazz records. I cook for the people I care about more than I cook for myself. The short version: I like things that reward patience.