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The DevFoundry Thesis

Software as Accessible Leverage: Empowering Individuals to Build

The Core Insight​

Software is the most accessible form of leverage ever created.

Throughout history, leverage has come in many forms — capital, labor, real estate, machines. Each required significant resources to acquire and deploy. Software is different. With modern AI and machine learning tools, combined with decades of open-source infrastructure, any individual can become a software company.

One person. A computer. An internet connection. That's the startup cost.

The barrier to entry is no longer capital or connections. The barrier is understanding.

The Gap​

If you've never been inside a software company, you might not understand:

  • The nature of the process we go through
  • How we think about solving problems
  • What patterns we apply
  • What tools are at our disposal
  • What's even possible

This gap isn't about intelligence or capability. It's about exposure. It's about having bits to think with.

Bits to Think With​

When you understand how software works — not syntax, but how systems are structured, how data flows, how problems decompose — you gain a new lens for seeing the world.

You start to notice things.

When you look out into the world:

  • You see how things work (and don't work)
  • You model systems in your head
  • You ask: "How did they solve that?"
  • You wonder: "Why is this thing broken?"

This isn't just about building software. It's about building mental models that transfer everywhere.

Protocols Are Everywhere​

Much of what I've done in my career is protocol engineering — thinking about:

  • How actors are defined
  • What their boundaries are
  • What their interests and incentives are
  • How they interact with one another

The point of protocol engineering is to develop an understanding of what your system needs to accomplish its goals, given the actors and constraints.

Here's the insight: When you look at the world through this lens, you see protocols everywhere.

Standing in line at the DMV? That's a protocol. Filing expenses at work? Protocol. Ordering coffee? Protocol. Voting? Protocol. Healthcare? Protocol.

And all the things that feel wrong — the frustrations, the inefficiencies, the "why does it have to be this way" moments — those are broken protocols.

Often the problem is that protocols are implicit rather than explicit. Nobody wrote them down. Nobody designed them. They just... happened. And nobody knows who has the authority to change them.

Making protocols explicit is the first step to making them better.

Your Uniqueness Is a Superpower​

Every person notices different things.

Your background, your experiences, your frustrations, your joys — these shape what catches your attention. What seems obvious to you might be invisible to someone else.

Every time you notice friction — in your own life, or when someone tells you about theirs — that's opportunity knocking.

Not every opportunity is a billion-dollar business. Not every friction is worth solving. But if you develop the habit of:

  1. Noticing friction
  2. Understanding the underlying protocol
  3. Imagining how software could help
  4. Testing small solutions

...then eventually you'll land on something. And then another thing. And you'll get better at distinguishing between "interesting idea" and "real value."

The Consequence: Financial Independence​

Let's be explicit about where this leads.

If software is leverage, and leverage enables output disproportionate to input, then one person can build things that generate ongoing revenue. Not millions necessarily — but enough.

The Math That Changes Everything​

Traditional thinking: "I need a job that pays $80k/year."

Portfolio thinking: "I need 5-8 small products that each generate $1-2k/month."

  • Tool A: $800/month
  • Tool B: $1,200/month
  • Info product: $600/month
  • Tool C: $1,500/month
  • Consulting from reputation: $2,000/month

Total: $6,100/month — enough to live on in many places.

None of these is a "successful startup." Together? Financial independence.

Serial Solopreneurship​

The strategy isn't to bet everything on one big idea. It's to build a portfolio of small, sustainable income streams:

  1. Notice friction
  2. Build something small that solves it
  3. Charge money for it
  4. If it works, maintain and grow it
  5. If it doesn't, learn and move on
  6. Repeat

Some products will fail. Some will generate a few hundred a month. Some might surprise you. The portfolio approach means no single failure is catastrophic, and successes compound.

What This Looks Like​

  • Micro-SaaS: Small software tools for niche problems ($500-5,000/month)
  • Info products: Courses, templates, guides (passive, spiky income)
  • Productized services: Standardized offerings at fixed prices
  • Tools you built for yourself: Your automation, shared with others

The goal isn't to build the next unicorn. It's to build enough small things that you're no longer dependent on a single employer.

Why Now?​

This has always been theoretically possible. What's changed:

  • AI dramatically accelerates building — One person can now do what took a team
  • Distribution is global and instant — Your niche audience is reachable
  • Infrastructure is commoditized — Hosting, payments, everything is cheap
  • Open source provides the foundation — You're not starting from zero

The window is open. The question is whether you'll walk through it.

For the full strategy, see The Portfolio Strategy

What Actually Matters​

Building something that makes money is nice. But let's be clear: financial independence is a means, not an end.

Building something that provides value to real people — and being able to see that value, and get feedback from those people — that's what drives this work.

The feedback loop of:

  1. Notice a problem
  2. Build a solution
  3. Give it to people
  4. See it help them
  5. Learn from their feedback
  6. Make it better

This is the most rewarding work there is. And it's now accessible to anyone willing to learn.

The DevFoundry Mission​

DevFoundry exists to close the understanding gap.

We believe there's a minimum amount of software knowledge — not syntax, but how software works — that people need to effectively use the current and future generations of AI tools.

With that foundation, you can:

  • Build your own products from scratch
  • Solve problems you uniquely notice
  • Create value for people you uniquely understand
  • Participate in the leverage that software provides

This isn't about becoming a "professional developer" (though that's an option). It's about becoming software-literate in an age where software literacy is power.

Learning Together​

This isn't a solo journey.

Software has always been built by communities — open source, shared knowledge, standing on the shoulders of giants. DevFoundry embraces this.

We're:

  • Collecting problems that people want solved
  • Building in the open so others can learn from the process
  • Creating curriculum that's accessible and practical
  • Fostering community where people discover this process together

The Invitation​

If any of this resonates with you:

  • If you've noticed friction and wondered "why can't this be better?"
  • If you've wanted to build something but didn't know where to start
  • If you've been curious about how software actually works
  • If you want to turn your unique perspective into something real

You're in the right place.

Let's discover this process together.

Summary: The DevFoundry Thesis​

  1. Software is accessible leverage — Anyone can build software products now
  2. The barrier is understanding — Not capital, not credentials, just knowledge
  3. Mental models transfer — Learning to think in systems helps everywhere
  4. Protocols are everywhere — And most broken things are broken protocols
  5. Your uniqueness matters — You notice what others miss
  6. Friction is opportunity — Every frustration is a potential solution
  7. Financial independence is achievable — A portfolio of small products can sustain you
  8. Value drives everything — Building for real people is the reward and the path
  9. Community accelerates learning — We're building this together

This thesis informs everything in DevFoundry — the curriculum, the examples, the community. If you want to go deeper: