Back in May I handed in my notice, without having the next job lined up. After 10 years making software for a living I had begun to get restless. I used to love what I do. It’s been a long time since I felt that way. The tech industry is not in good shape. It was time to step away.
It’s not just the AI stuff, although that’s part of it. It’s not just that we’re all addicted to doomscrolling on our pocket rectangles, although that’s part of it. It’s not just the awful billionaire CEOs and the enshittification and the environmental damage, although that’s part of it. I got into this business to help people, and after 10 years what can I actually point to that has had any lasting impact?
My most recent project seemed to be a moderate success. People were using it, and it did what it was supposed to do. There didn’t seem to be much in the way of challenging work on the horizon at Nanopore - small projects, minor fixes, nothing that felt like it needed someone with my skillset. It was clearly time to move on, but move on to what? Find some tech-for-good startup, hustle like crazy, and hope for the best? Make the career switch into teaching? Yvan eht nioj?
None of the options seemed great. Which is why I decided to start my own company. I’m the captain now. For the next year I’ll be building some cool stuff on the web, for the web. I’d love to be more specific, but right now it’s more of a vibe than anything concrete.
I want to explore how we can restore some humanity to the digital world. The web used to be a wonderful, chaotic, messy place. Maybe those weird bits are still out there, but they’re increasingly hard to find. I’m clearly not alone in this frustration. Some people want to Escape the Algorithm. Some are asking Where have all the websites gone? Often it feels like there are only five giant websites, each filled with screenshots of the other four.
Of course, this may turn out to be an absolute shitshow. I have no idea how to run a company. Oh, and I’m doing all this without a cofounder or any outside investment. Free solo. It could be good entertainment value to watch from the sidelines, so I will be documenting progress (or lack thereof) as I go. I’ve joined Bluesky if you want tiny snippets of nonsense. This site finally has RSS. And I suppose there will, regrettably, be the odd LinkedIn post with Big Important Updates.
The product itself is very much a work-in-progress. I still don’t have a good answer to “What is it?”, but I’ll give it ago. Internotes is a notes app that lives in the browser. Crucially, it’s a notes app that doesn’t try to be The Only Notes App You’ll Ever Need. You probably have notes and tasks scattered across a bunch of places, including some places that you might not think of as “notes” or “tasks”. Internotes hooks into a bunch of those, rather than adding yet another data silo to the pile. All being well, I’ll launch the first version in a few weeks. Drop me a DM or an email if you’d like an invite.
We’ll see how this goes. I have enough cash hidden under the mattress to pay the bills for a year. In 12 months’ time, I may have to go back and get a real job. So be it. In the meantime, things are very uncertain, and very messy, and I’m excited to show up to work every day for the first time in years. Let’s! Build! Websites!
As always, signing off with a song. Here’s some approriately upbeat Eurotrash about going solo.