Who is Dagny?

Growing up, I was an avid reader of a mix of business, psychology, and ‘realistic’ science fiction novels. Yet no author caught my attention more than Ayn Rand. Her books were full of dualities. Collective individuals on the brink of scientific breakthroughs, juxtaposed against societies fearful of that same progress. Strong-willed characters who were both heroic and rationally self-interested. And monologues about economic and psychological theories that could put me to sleep, yet kept me turning pages.

Today can often feel like those novels are not far from reality.

Yet the reality that I experience and continue to believe in involves creativity, innovation, and durability.

As a longtime operator who has leveraged data and built systems, the release of Claude Code was an “aha” moment for me. Suddenly, the ability to build and create became much more accessible, as did the ability to interconnect systems that were once difficult to communicate with.

However, as I continued building, I realized that these tools are actually complicated. They are technical, and the advantages they provide will certainly accrue to those who know how to use them effectively.

That’s why operators also need the right infrastructure, talent, and expertise to supplement their existing operational expertise, workflows, and knowledge. I found this to be a competitive advantage in my own operations and financial roles. Most importantly, when time is freed up, there is more space to think creatively and strategically.

This is why Dagny spoke to me then and still does today.

We lower the barrier to accessing tools and solutions that can feel like alchemy for operators and businesses that have the know-how, but are not necessarily ready to hire a technical team or have the time to stay on the cutting edge of where AI is going. We build the foundation and maintain the Rails that enable strategy, security, reliability, and built-in expertise, allowing for further creativity and innovation.

When Ali and I met before the proliferation of AI, we were able to move with startup speed while keeping quality in mind. AI can’t replace this mentality, but can, and does, accelerate the pace and expand the surface area of our impact.

I have also long served in roles that were highly ambiguous. They were cross-functional and often considered “a master of none,” an inch deep and a mile wide. That’s where the concept of the Agentic Athlete was born: someone who is curious, understands how to use AI tooling, and appreciates the important technical and operational systems that bring this all together.

Whereas this role was once considered a nice-to-have, this skill set is now one of the most competitive advantages an organization can have. Agentic Athletes are highly attuned to working across stakeholders, understanding their workflows, delivering value, and bringing empathy to the process. They are also able to work cross-functionally with our own teams and systems to deliver exceptional value.

We strongly believe that these individuals, paired with trusted infrastructure like Dagny, are the key to unlocking the value of these evolving tools.

We all have the desire to innovate, improve, and continue to create, and that’s exactly what Dagny fosters with our partners.

I started coding in Pascal when I was fourteen or fifteen. What hooked me was the possibility: you could have an idea, figure out how to build the idea, and make something that hadn’t existed before. There was always another way to challenge your creativity.

My professional career began in data analytics while I was still in college. I worked closely with operators, building data products and automating workflows to help people make better decisions and get more done.

Through great mentors and hands-on experience, I learned to break complex problems into smaller challenges, think them through, and build solutions. I was always exploring open-source projects and experimenting with new ideas, willing to get a little hacky to solve a real problem. That curiosity still shapes how I work.

That’s where Dagny comes from. We bring the technical talent and partnership to help businesses turn those possibilities into working software. We approach that work the way we would in a startup: build, learn, listen, and iterate toward product-market fit. Even when we’re building an internal tool for one person, I want to build something that person loves.

AI has changed how quickly we can do this. Building is faster. Learning and research are faster. Time used to be one of the biggest limits on what I could create. Now creativity feels like the bigger limit, right next to token usage. But moving quickly makes staying close to the problem, keeping things simple, and building systems that can grow with what comes next even more important. I’m designing Dagny’s agentic software factory and internal tools with that in mind.

Will and I first worked together at a startup. We shared a passion for building and solving problems, and, yes, an appreciation for Ayn Rand. We learned how to move quickly together, deliver results, and be honest with each other about what needed more work.

Our strongest work has come from that exchange: moving quickly, sharing candid feedback, challenging each other, and continuing until the result is better. That’s become part of how the team works at Dagny. We set a high bar because the work matters to the people who use the systems.

The part I loved about coding at fifteen is still the part I love today. With Dagny, I get to help more people turn their ideas into something real.