Software built around your operation. Not the other way around.

Stax

John Cole

Most software forces your business to adapt. Off-the-shelf tools weren't designed for your workflows. Custom developers often start with architecture and work backward. I start with your operation — how it actually runs, the rules, the exceptions, the edge cases — and build the software around that.

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Contact

Email jcole@staxweb.dev Book a call calendly.com/jcole-staxweb →

What I Do

Internal web apps & dashboards
Workflow & process automation
Spreadsheet replacement
Tool integrations (QuickBooks, Stripe & more)
Legacy system rescue
Ongoing support after launch

Fixed-price · US-based
You own everything when we're done

Why it matters

Your operation developed rules no software vendor anticipated.

Off-the-shelf platforms are designed for average businesses. If your operation isn't average — multiple stages, specific rules, workflows that depend on each other — you adapt. You build workarounds. Spreadsheets fill the gaps. The workarounds become the system.

Custom software is supposed to fix this. Often it doesn't — because the developer understood code better than they understood your operation. They built what they were told to build, not what the workflow actually needed.

The result works at demo. The gaps surface three months in.

What I do differently

Most developers start with technology. I start with your operation — every stage, every role, every rule, every edge case. That understanding becomes the specification. The specification becomes the software.

Built without operational understanding→Built operation-first

Works at the demo, gaps emerge in production→Edge cases designed in before a line is written

Spec describes what to build; misses how it will actually be used→Spec captures the workflow, the rules, and the exceptions

Workarounds compound over time→Software fits the operation — no gap to fill with spreadsheets

Changes require re-explaining the whole system→Living documentation; context is always current

The spec is the foundation

Software built from a shallow understanding of the operation will miss the cases that matter. I spend real time learning how your operation works before writing any code.

Edge cases get designed in

Not discovered after launch when they're expensive to fix. The exceptions and rules that make your business yours get built in from the start.

The software stays yours

Every project includes Groundwork documentation — architecture, data model, business logic. The system doesn't live only in my head when we're done.

What I build

Operations software for businesses that run on complexity.

Internal web apps

Custom operations portals

Multi-stage workflows, multi-role admin tools, order and inventory systems. Built around how your operation actually runs.

Legacy rebuilds

Replace the system you've outgrown

Old codebases, undocumented systems, platforms held together by one person. Modernized without losing what works.

Integrations

Make your tools talk to each other

Third-party APIs, accounting platforms, shipping carriers, data pipelines. Without duct tape.

Ongoing support

I stay on after launch

Operations change. Requirements evolve. I stay engaged as your systems need to grow.

Real work

What this looks like in practice.

Logistics · Active

Auction-to-shipment operations portal

End-to-end platform covering lot management, bid collection, device clear-checking against three third-party providers, warehouse check-in with label printing, and outbound shipment tracking. Replaced a multi-system manual process.

Warehousing · Active

Full rebuild of a decade-old legacy system

A ColdFusion-era inventory platform with no documentation, inaccessible database, and one developer holding all the context. New system built operation-first with full Groundwork documentation from day one.

More case studies published as active projects ship.

Who this is for

If your operation has outgrown your software, we should talk.

You're running an operation with real complexity — multiple stages, multiple roles, specific rules that don't map to a standard template.

Off-the-shelf tools work for simple cases, but your cases aren't simple. You've built workarounds to fill the gaps.

You have a legacy system — old software, aging codebase, maybe an undocumented build someone handed off years ago — that you need to replace without burning everything down.

You've tried to explain your operation to developers before and watched something that didn't quite fit get built.

If you can build it yourself with standard off-the-shelf tools, you probably should. If your operation has genuine complexity that doesn't fit those tools — that's exactly what I do.

Pricing

Flat price. No hourly surprises.

Small systems

$5–12k

Single workflow automations, reporting dashboards, integrations between 2–3 tools.

Medium systems

$12–25k

Custom internal apps, multi-step workflows, legacy system replacement.

Large systems

$25k+

End-to-end operations platforms, complex integrations, multi-team rollouts.

Fixed price agreed before work starts. Groundwork documentation included in every engagement.

Let's talk

Free 30-minute call. No pitch.

Tell me what you're running on. I'll tell you honestly whether I can help, what it would take, and what it costs. If I can't, I'll say so.

Book a call

Schedule on Calendly →

Email John directly

jcole@staxweb.dev