About

Hi, I’m Ryan.

Between product and engineering

I started out as a consultant, then became a PM. Along the way I kept getting pulled toward how things actually work, and whether I could build them myself. Eventually that turned into a master’s in computer science. The more I learn, the more confused I get, but I’m pretty sure that means we’re headed in the right direction.

Being on both sides is the part I’d never give up. I can sit with a customer, hear what they really need, and already be sketching how it could be built. Knowing what’s possible, and what it takes, changes that whole conversation.

Lately I’m most excited about how AI makes it easier to build software that fits one person instead of everyone, and about building and running my own personal software factory.

Records and listening rooms

I grew up on my mom and dad’s records. What really got me, though, was going out: hearing a good DJ on a well-set-up dancefloor and realizing how completely the room and the system can change the music.

At home it’s a pair of Technics 1200s with Jico J44 cartridges, a Condesa Lucia mixer, and Yamaha HS3 monitors. The room itself is still untouched. For now I’m working my way through the old Dope from Hope newsletters and picking up tips as I go.

The one I had to have: Joe Claussell and Timmy Regisford’s remixes of Prince’s “Sticky Like Glue.” I first heard them at Gramaphone Records in Chicago.

Improv

I’d always been told I was funny, so I finally took some classes and fell in with a good group. What stuck with me is what it’s like to fail hard with people you know have your back.

It shows up in my work too: being genuine, trusting my gut with whatever comes to mind, and listening.

Elsewhere

• LinkedIn