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Our customers do include quite a few startups or startup-shaped projects. They're typically either professional developers in a hurry, or "allied trades" [eg da

Our customers do include quite a few startups or startup-shaped projects. They're typically either professional developers in a hurry, or "allied trades" [eg data science or sysadmin] who aren't familiar with the full Lovecraftian Web stack, but who can build things just fine if they have more sane tools. But there's a whole universe of companies who need to build internal tools. (If you're in a startup/tech-co bubble, you'll be astonished how many line-of-business Django or .NET developers are out there, and how much they are needed. They tend to quite enjoy meeting Anvil :). Unfortunately for the peanut gallery, their employers tend to be a little more leery of suppliers throwing their names around, so those customers will have to remain anonymous in HN comments...)

dalbasal 9y ago
"Allied trades" widened to any people who willing/capable of programming some and "internal tools" (a) overlap in interesting way and (b) are still generally underserved and hence not programming enough, IMO. In some sense, programmers with no knowledge or interest in the work that's flowing through a workflow they are formalizing as a program... it's a lot like managers with no knowledge or interest in the work they're managing. In both cases the knowledge is not with the decision maker and the tools and an accumulation of small but many & frustrating mistakes is inevitable. Think of all the "understand your customer" and "build for yourself" advice, it's because insider, specialist knowledge and programming ability have to get together someplace and the advice wants to make it happen inside the programmers head. Well... there's another head this could take place in.