Hey - it’s personal. Software that is. We’re moving away from rigid, one-size-fits-all enterprise solutions and toward a world where individuals can quickly build the exact tools they need. And that means developer tools (especially open-source ones) are more important than ever.

The shift from buy to build

A few years ago, the default for most startups and companies was to buy software. Need a CRM? Sign up for Salesforce. Want to track analytics? Evaluate a dozen SaaS tools and pick the least bad option. This worked, but it came at a cost: you had to learn the tool, conform your workflows to it, and pay per seat.. often for way more users than necessary.

But something changed. As AI code gen exploded, dev tools got better and software became more modular, it became easier to spin up lightweight, purpose-built tools in-house. Instead of spending weeks evaluating and integrating software, I could just build exactly what I needed in a fraction of the time.

The cost of writing code has plummeted

The rise of personal software is not an isolated trend. It’s a second-order effect of the cost of writing code dropping dramatically. Advances in AI-assisted development, reusable open-source components, and developer-focused infrastructure have eliminated many of the traditional barriers to building software. What once required an entire engineering team can now be accomplished by a single person in an afternoon (hey if it took the person pitching me 2 hrs to build an MVP… well I could just spend that 2 hrs making the exact same thing but hyper personalized to our needs)

In the past, building software meant months of planning, development, and testing. Now, with powerful frameworks, cloud functions, and tools like GitHub Copilot, an individual can ship a functional tool in hours. This has profound implications: software is no longer just the domain of companies—it’s something individuals can create for themselves, on demand.

As a founder, I’ve built internal tools for everything from GTM tracking to analytics dashboards, sales utilities, and even Chrome extensions for automating repetitive tasks. Instead of struggling with bloated SaaS solutions, I’ve been able to spin up simple, efficient solutions that do exactly what I need: nothing more, nothing less.

The key here isn’t that I’m avoiding paid tools out of principle. It’s that by building, I get to focus on outcomes, not on becoming an expert at using someone else’s software.

The rise of ephemeral software

Another fascinating development is the rise of ephemeral software: tools that are built for a specific task, used for a short time, and then discarded. Unlike traditional software, which is designed for long-term use and maintenance, ephemeral software thrives on agility and minimalism.

Think of it like this: instead of buying a massive, all-in-one SaaS tool, a founder or developer can now spin up a lightweight solution in a weekend, use it to solve a specific problem, and then move on. This is enabled by the low cost of development and the abundance of reusable components. Software is becoming more like a sketchpad than a monument.

For example, I once needed a quick tool to scrape competitor pricing data from the web. Instead of searching for an off-the-shelf SaaS product, I wrote a simple script using Playwright, ran it for a few weeks, and then discarded it once I had the insights I needed. There was no need for ongoing subscriptions, integrations, or overhead.

The role of local-first software

Another critical trend fueling this shift is local-first software: apps that prioritize local storage and sync data in a distributed way rather than relying on centralized cloud servers. Tools like Obsidian, Logseq, and Preswald show how software can work seamlessly offline while still syncing when needed.

Why does this matter? Because it gives individuals and teams more control over their data, privacy, and workflow. Instead of being locked into SaaS tools that can change pricing, shut down, or get acquired, local-first software ensures continuity. It also allows for much better performance and reliability, working offline means no downtime if a server goes down.

This approach aligns with the broader shift towards self-reliant, personalized software, where people can tweak, extend, and own their tools rather than relying on inflexible SaaS subscriptions.

Preswald and the future of custom data apps

A perfect example of this shift is Preswald, a tool designed for building your own data applications with minimal overhead. Instead of being boxed into a rigid SaaS product, Preswald allows you to create exactly what you need. Nothing more, nothing less. It abstracts away deployment and production complexities so you can focus on the logic of your program rather than the infrastructure.

This is exactly the kind of tooling that’s enabling more people to build their own solutions. With Preswald, developers and non-developers alike can create tailored data applications that integrate into their workflow without needing an entire data engineering team to manage deployments.

This is our philosophy: Empower people to build their own solutions. Instead of enforcing rigid, top-down tooling, provide the frameworks, APIs, and developer-friendly ecosystems that enable customization and flexibility.

The renaissance of developer tools

Everything is becoming a developer tool—whether it’s no-code/low-code platforms, AI-assisted coding, or open-source libraries that make it easier than ever to build what you need.

We’re entering a world where software isn’t something you buy. It’s something you create, effortlessly. Software is becoming a personal, dynamic, and disposable extension of human intent. And that’s a win for everyone.

Try Preswald today!

https://github.com/StructuredLabs/preswald