Identity and Perspective
As the owner of The Embetter Company, I didn't come up through the traditional path of engineering or software development. I was never trained as a classical software engineer. My training came through website design. Over time, I began to think about the web in terms of three core elements: structure, scripting, and styling. Where I do my best work is in branding, brand development, business development, and crafting a story that fits a person or a company. Visual design and art are where I hang my hat. Ideation is another strength. I tend to approach things as a problem solver.
The Industry Problem
In many organizations, the overall goal of a product or initiative is defined at the highest levels of leadership. Designers are then asked to translate that direction into user experiences. But that level of design maturity isn't always present. More often, the solution has already been decided before it ever reaches the design team. The designer's role becomes documenting and visualizing a decision rather than solving the underlying problem.
The Personal Obstacle
When I began pushing forward with The Embetter Company, I approached it with the same problem-solving mindset that has guided most of my career. But there was a significant obstacle. I didn't have a developer partner. Without that partnership, it was difficult to fully bring the solution to life. I could design the system, outline the experience, and map the structure of the platform, but turning those ideas into a functioning product required development resources that I didn't have access to.
The Turning Point
Then AI arrived. Back in the early days of ChatGPT 3.5, I began experimenting with using large language models to help generate code. The workflow was simple: describe what I needed, receive generated code, and move it into my working environment. The AI could scaffold files and generate the structure of components, while I focused on organizing and integrating the pieces. The way I began describing the experience was that AI functioned like a junior developer — available to implement instructions, generate scaffolding, and help troubleshoot issues.
The Takeaway
Recently I read about someone who recreated a product they admired while working a full-time job using AI to generate much of the code. What remained entirely their responsibility was everything else: the strategy, the product direction, the roadmap, the testing, the debugging, and the countless small decisions that shape a product over time. For independent builders, that shift matters. One of the greatest challenges entrepreneurs face is the lack of momentum. AI doesn't remove the need for vision, judgment, or persistence, but it does change what is possible for someone working on their own.
