I walked away from TekDog in 2018. Not because it failed—we worked with 1,000+ companies and 3,000+ customers. Not because we weren't successful—we were one of Nintex's most trusted partners globally. I walked away because I couldn't deliver ROI anymore. And if I can't deliver ROI, I don't want to be in the business.
When we started TekDog, SharePoint and Nintex felt like magic. Low-code drag-and-drop workflow automation that let enterprises move fast without massive dev teams. We traveled the world showcasing what was possible. In 2011/2012 alone, I spoke at over 30 industry conferences. It was exciting. We helped companies automate approval workflows, eliminate paper processes, and streamline operations.
But there was always something nagging at me.
The Problem Nobody Talks About
Our customers needed more than SharePoint could give them. They needed complex, data-driven applications with sophisticated business logic and real databases. So we did what we'd always done: we built custom solutions.
A custom enterprise application? 6-12 months. $200K-$500K. Sometimes more.
We delivered amazing results, but the cost and timeline were brutal. And then it got worse.
The Breaking Point
I was on a renewal call with a 10-year Nintex customer. Their Nintex license cost had jumped 40% from the previous year. Same features. Same capabilities.
They asked me point blank: "Is this still worth it?"
I didn't have a good answer.
I'm not in business to sell software licenses. I'm in business to deliver measurable value. If I can't do that, I don't want to do the work. That's not a business philosophy—that's a moral obligation. So I had a choice: keep selling solutions I couldn't fully stand behind, or find a better way.
If you know me, you know exactly what I did.
The Custom Development Trap
In 2016, we built something I was truly proud of: a custom permitting and inspections platform for municipalities. Real databases. Complex workflows. Beautiful UI. Years ahead of anything in the industry. Major traction. This was the dream. Then reality hit. Years of development. Tons of cash invested. Sales didn't come fast enough. We killed the product, sold it off never to be heard about again.... Years of work. All that money. Gone in a minute.
That's the true cost of custom development: it can bankrupt you.
We loved custom development so much, but the economics weren't sustainable. It's like loving somebody who despises you. We limped along with SharePoint and Nintex, but the passion was fading. In 2018, I stepped back from daily operations. In 2021, I sold TekDog to the employees. In 2025, they made the hard decision to cease operations.
But the story doesn't end there.
Enter AI: Everything Changed
Fast forward to 2025. I was working a corporate Product Owner role by day, building AI products by night and on weekends. The passion was back. After a 27-year career, my technical dreams were finally reality.
Custom development went from months and years to days and weeks.
The same complex applications that nearly bankrupted us in 2016? We could build them in 2-8 weeks. The same projects that cost $200K-$500K? We could delivering for $20K-$80K. Tools like Lovable, Cursor, Replit, and Claude Code let us build amazing things in hours that would have taken teams of developers months. Finally, custom solutions could be delivered at a price point where the math actually works.
The TekDog Reunion
In 2026, I reconnected with the former TekDog owners. We talked about the old days. The amazing customers. The work we did together. And then I said it: "AI changes everything we tried to do before. Let's bring TekDog home."
So we did.
The TekDog foundation—3,000+ customers, 15+ years of enterprise experience, trusted relationships. The BlackProject innovation—AI-accelerated development, production-ready results, sustainable economics. It was time. But this time, with tools that actually work.
Why This Matters
I didn't leave TekDog because I was bored. I left because I couldn't deliver value at a price that made sense. I came back because AI finally makes it possible to deliver what enterprises actually need: complex, data-driven applications with enterprise-grade quality, 10x faster delivery, and a fraction of the cost.
The math finally works again. And when the math works, I can sleep at night knowing we're delivering real value.
I'm back baby. Let's move some mountains.