Software beyond spreadsheets

I build the internal tools, automations, and practical AI your team needs when manual work starts limiting growth.

First build in weeks

One priority at a time

Built around your operation

The problem

The business outgrew the spreadsheets

Founder-led companies grow on hustle: spreadsheets, inboxes, and a few people who just know how things work. It works until it doesn't.

The numbers take a day to pull, and only one person knows where they live.
Critical steps live in someone's head, not in a system the team can run.
The software you bought never quite fit how the business actually operates.

How it works

A small practice, embedded in the work

One builder, not an agency. I map the workflow with you, ship a working first build, then stay embedded only while the work earns its keep.

Engagement loop Month 01

Now shipping

Working tool delivered Less manual work ↓ Clearer operations ↑

Engagements aren't rigid phases. The months tend to run along three loose tracks.

The first build

We open with a project you've been meaning to ship: an internal tool, a dashboard, an automation, a custom app. Whichever one moves the needle most in month one is where we start.

The rest of month one

The first build rarely fills the whole month. The rest goes to whatever else helps: more tooling, cleaning up back-office processes, or being on hand when something needs attention.

Months two and beyond

Same fee, same cancel-anytime terms. Each month we pick the highest-value work and focus there. The engagement compounds as I learn how the business actually runs.

What I build

Built around your operation, not a software catalogue

The first build depends on the bottleneck: lost time, missing visibility, disconnected tools, or decisions trapped with one person.

Internal tools

Replace the spreadsheet-and-email workarounds a team quietly runs on.

Dashboards & reporting

Make the numbers legible without anyone rebuilding them by hand.

Workflow automation

Remove the repetitive manual steps that sit between getting work done.

System integrations

Connect the tools that currently don't talk to each other.

Custom applications

Purpose-built software shaped around how you actually operate.

Practical AI

Used only where it genuinely earns its place, not for its own sake.

Two focused examples of where an engagement can lead:

Cortex OI

A decision system grounded in your operation

A working example of operational intelligence: documented context, cited recommendations, and decision history your team can revisit.

See how Cortex works →

Exit-Ready

For owners preparing to sell

If you are 12 to 24 months from a sale, the same monthly engagement can focus on reducing owner dependence and making operations legible to a buyer.

See exit-prep engagements →

Public builds

Things I have built

A few tools I designed and shipped solo, end to end. Client work stays private, so these stand in for the range.

SynthGrid

Energy Verification

View Site

After the build

Software your team can live with

The point is not to add another fragile system. It is to leave your business easier to operate than I found it.

Tailored to your workflows

Built around how your team actually works, with the tools and processes already in place.

You own everything

Your software, documentation, and data stay with your business. No platform lock-in.

AI only where it's needed most

Applied to specific bottlenecks where it can save time or improve decisions, not added for show.

About

Who you'd be working with

I'm Joshua Strub. I scope, build, and ship the software myself, so the person who diagnoses the problem is the one who fixes it. No agency overhead, no hand-off to a stranger six weeks in.

Five years in clean energy (EV charging, storage, solar), building for manufacturers and distributors across North America. Based in Calgary. I also build SynthGrid, battery-storage bankability software.

More about Joshua

Why this way

How an embedded engagement compares

The usual ways a growing business gets custom software built, and where a monthly engagement fits.

	An agency	A full-time hire	Embedded engagement
Who builds it	A rotating team, with hand-offs	One person, once you hire and train them	Me, the person you talked to
First working build	After a scoping phase	After months to hire and ramp up	Usually within the first month
Fit to your operation	Built to a spec sheet	Good, once they learn the business	Shaped around how you actually work
Commitment	Fixed project, plus change orders	Salary, benefits, and managing them	$2,500 a month, cancel anytime
When it is done	A codebase someone has to maintain	It stays their full-time job	Systems running, documented for your team

The engagement

One simple way to work together

The monthly structure lets us start with the problem that matters most, ship something useful, and keep going only if the work continues to pay for itself.

$2,500per month

One priority at a time. A working first build in the first month. Cancel anytime, with the software and documentation your team has already received remaining yours.

Book a 15-min call