~/build-log
The Build Log
Notes written after shipping - on AI, automation, cloud and the unglamorous parts of ecommerce where the margin actually lives. Plain markdown files, no algorithm, no schedule.
Where AI actually pays off in operations (and where it doesn't)
After a decade of automating business processes, the pattern is clear - AI wins where judgment is cheap and volume is high. Here's my mental model.
Post-processing: the part of ecommerce nobody demos
Everyone optimizes the storefront. The money leaks after the order is placed - in fulfillment, returns, invoicing and sync errors. That's where automation compounds.
Never automate a process you can't explain on a whiteboard
The most expensive automation projects I've seen failed before any code was written - because nobody could describe the process being automated. A short story from building Papervee.