You know that feeling when you're lying in bed and an idea pops into your head? Maybe it's a tool that would make your life slightly easier, or a way to help people organize, or something that could bring people together. Before, those ideas would just rattle around in my brain until I forgot about them or they got pushed out by work priorities.

When I was laid off from my position at Shopify in August 2025, one of the greatest benefits was having the time to actually build those ideas. My head has always been filled with concepts and to get them out into the world as working apps has been an absolute delight. Now? I can actually build them. And honestly, that's been incredible.

There's something really special about having the space to let your brain roam free. No sprint planning, no stakeholder meetings, no pressure to hit metrics. Just pure creation. I can wake up with an idea, spend the day exploring it, and by evening have something running that didn't exist that morning. It's the kind of creative freedom I didn't realize I was missing.

But here's what I've learned through this process: it's not just about building things for the sake of building them. I've realized that I want to change the world (maybe I've always wanted this haha). I want to show non-technical people that web apps can be affordable, freeware, and easy to use. You don't have to sell your soul and your data to use good software. We can build a better internet, and that is what I've learned I'm focused on doing.

My goal is to help people come together in person. To build apps that facilitate real connection, not just digital engagement. To create tools that respect users' privacy and don't require them to trade their personal information for functionality. I want to prove that good software doesn't have to come with strings attached.

This is what I am going to build. Apps that help people share with each other, organize, own their data. Apps that are free to use, easy to understand, and don't require you to read a privacy policy that's longer than a novel just to figure out what you're signing away.

I'm testing out ideas and seeing what sticks with people. I'm shipping things quickly, getting them into users' hands, and learning what they actually need. Then I iterate. The tools I'm using help me move faster, but I'm still the one making decisions about what to build, who it's for, and what problems I'm trying to solve.

I'm not sure where this period of freedom will lead, but I've discovered something important: I have a mission. I want to build a better internet, one app at a time. I want to prove that software can be helpful without being extractive. I want to help people organize and connect in ways that matter. And having this time to be creative, to let my ideas flow freely, has shown me exactly what I want to spend my energy on.