Software isn't a solo project — it's a neighborhood thing

Randy Smith just wrote that software building is a collaborative mess, not a lone developer in a dark room. His post came out of the TLDR Product newsletter where Dan does his daily dispatches on product and how things actually get built.

The point is simple. Nobody ships code alone. You need the cousin who writes the API, the auntie who reviews the design, the guy who runs the side business that depends on your thing working. Software is built by people who talk to each other, who argue, who fix things together.

This is the rub — the part we keep forgetting. The solo dev myth makes us think building software is just you and your laptop. It's not. It's a neighborhood thing. The people who make software work are the ones who show up, who answer each other's messages, who fix things at 2am because the side business can't wait.

Why this matters for us: Every time a platform or tool talks about "the creator economy" or "building your brand," it's usually selling you a solo dream — but the work is still community work, and the people who do it together win.