Journal

Decisions that get made before a build starts.

Notes on building digital products, choosing the right model, and the decisions founders face before a build starts.

• 01

  Hiring a developer when you cannot read the code they write

  Non-technical founders usually know the outcome they want. What they cannot see are the decisions between here and there. Those decisions are what the quote is actually for.

• 02

  Venture studio vs agency: what actually changes between the two models?

  A practical comparison of the venture studio and agency models, where they differ, and which kinds of businesses each one suits best.

• 03

  Vertical SaaS or internal tool: which one are you actually building?

  Industry software starts the same way whether it becomes a product or stays internal. The two builds diverge early, and the difference decides what the software has to do.

• 04

  What an embedded digital partner actually does.

  A clear explanation of what an embedded digital partner does, where the model helps most, and why it differs from broader agency retainers.

• 05

  What belongs in version one, and what can wait

  The first version is not a smaller version of the finished product. It is a different object with a different job. Knowing which is which decides what survives the budget.

• 06

  Why two studios quote wildly different numbers for the same brief

  The same brief, quoted at £25,000 and at £180,000. The spread is not arbitrary. It reveals what each studio thinks it has been asked to build, and where the brief left them guessing.

• 07

  Why most startup websites underperform.

  Why startup websites often underperform in trust, clarity, structure, and conversion — and what stronger digital foundations usually look like.