A One-Person AI Dev Shop, On Purpose
AI Developer was founded in 2023 by Doug Allen to build the kind of custom software that used to cost six figures — at a price small businesses can actually justify.
DAFounder & CEO
Doug Allen
Building AI Developer since 2023
Hi — I'm Doug.
I started AI Developer in 2023 because I'd watched too many small businesses get squeezed by the same SaaS treadmill: pay $500 a month for a tool that almost fits, watch the price climb every renewal, and lose your data the day you try to leave.
I'm a full-stack builder. I write the code. I sit in the meetings with your office manager. I ride along with your lead tech if that's what it takes to get the workflow right. AI Developer isn't a layer of project managers between you and the work — it's me, building, with AI as the leverage that makes a one-person shop ship like a ten-person agency used to.
My focus is on the businesses I see getting hurt the most by the off-the-shelf software economy: home service trades, small operators, and any owner who's ever said the words "our software doesn't really do that, we use a spreadsheet for it."
If you've outgrown your CRM, your phone is eating your office manager alive, or you're staring at a five-figure annual SaaS bill and wondering if there's a better way — there is. Let's talk.
Why this works now
The economics of custom software just changed
Five years ago, telling a 5-truck plumbing shop to build their own CRM would have been insane. A six-month engagement at $25k/month, plus three years of maintenance. Nobody could justify that.
AI changed the math. The same project now ships in 4-6 weeks for a fraction of the cost — and the quality is better, not worse, because the boring repetitive code is handled, freeing up real engineering thought for the parts that matter.
That's the shift I'm betting AI Developer on. Custom software, fast and affordable, for the businesses that were locked out of it.
10x
Faster than traditional development
60%
Lower cost on average
100%
Owned by you — code, data, integrations
Expertise
What I build
Hands-on across the stack — frontend, backend, AI integration, payments, voice, deployment. The whole project, one builder.
Custom CRMs
Trade-specific CRMs for electricians, plumbers, HVAC, and other home service shops. Owned, not rented.
Voice AI Agents
AI phone agents that answer calls 24/7, book appointments, and triage emergencies — built on the latest realtime voice models.
Chat AI Agents
Customer-facing chatbots on your website, SMS, and social — trained on your business, not someone else's template.
AI Automations
Workflows that eliminate the busywork — lead routing, document processing, follow-up sequences, report generation.
Web Apps & Sites
Custom dashboards, customer portals, marketing sites. Modern React/TanStack, fast and SEO-ready.
Stripe & Integrations
Payments, subscriptions, split installments, QuickBooks sync, supplier catalogs — the connective tissue that makes the rest real.
Principles
How I work
Four principles that show up in every project, on purpose.
Built to be Owned
We don't build software you rent. We build software you keep. Every project ships with the source code in your hands and a hosting setup you control.
AI-First, Human-Reviewed
AI is in every step of how we build — planning, code, tests, deployment. But every line of code that ships to your business has been read, shaped, and verified by a person.
No Bloat, No Lock-In
We don't add features you didn't ask for. We don't add fees that weren't in the quote. And we don't hold your data hostage if you ever want to take the project somewhere else.
Direct Partnership
You won't talk to an account manager who escalates to a project manager who emails a developer. You'll talk to the people actually writing your software. That's the whole thing.
Ready for
Optimization?
Schedule a technical discovery session. We'll audit your current infrastructure and map out a bespoke AI transformation blueprint.