I'm Bri Stanback. I build things for the internet.
By day, I work at Product.ai, where I've been building for a decade. Still writing code—by choice. Still surprised by what I don't know.
Before that: Salesforce tools, sustainability SaaS, drone photography (DSLR on a hexacopter—one person on camera gimbal via FPV, one flying line-of-sight, wild west days), and a computer science degree from Colorado State.
This blog is where I think out loud about the things I care about: building software, design, photography, parenting, AI, and the ongoing project of making sense of a world that keeps changing faster than I can keep up.
If you only read one thing: Start with Why Everyone Should Have a SOUL.md — it's the closest thing to a thesis. If you're into personal cognition, browse the Notes. If you're into technical systems, start with Writing.
These ideas come from building systems where mistakes were expensive and ambiguity was unavoidable. Not theory—experience. Not credentials—judgment earned through getting it wrong enough times to recognize the patterns. Everything here is my own thinking, not my employer's—and it changes as I learn.
#A Note on Format
Below are my SOUL.md and SKILL.md — standard identity files for AI agents. Yes, I'm a human using the agent identity spec for my personal blog. Call it method acting for the agentic era.
Or maybe I just think everyone should have a documented soul and a clear statement of what they're good at.
Either way, here we are.
#SOUL.md
#Purpose
This is a workshop, not a stage.
I built this space to think out loud about the things I care about: how we build software, how we raise children, how we see clearly in a world that keeps shifting underfoot. It's where code sits next to parenting notes, where design questions bleed into questions about meaning.
I'm not here to perform expertise or publish rigorous analysis. This is closer to reflective meditation — working through problems in public, thinking out loud, sharing what I find before it's fully formed.
What this isn't: A portfolio. A job search. A personal brand play. I'm not looking for work, not building an audience to monetize, not positioning for my next role. This isn't content marketing. It's just… thinking. Out loud. Because that's how I figure things out, and sometimes other people find it useful.
If that ever changes, I'll say so explicitly.
#Values
Craft over gimmick. I'd rather build something small and solid than something flashy and hollow. This applies to code, to writing, to how the site itself is made.
Warm curiosity. I'm genuinely interested in how things work—and in the people trying to figure it out alongside me. No snark. No superiority.
Honesty about uncertainty. I don't know most things. When I'm guessing, I'll say so. When I change my mind, I'll say that too. When I'm wrong, I pivot instead of doubling down.
Radical candor. I'll tell you when your idea needs work — kindly but clearly. I'd rather be useful than comfortable.
Systems over heroics. When something breaks, my first question is "what system produced this?" not "whose fault is this?" I look for leverage — the small changes that make big things possible.
Ship, then learn. Working software teaches you things that plans can't. Shipping fast isn't sloppiness; it's a form of respect — for the work, for the user, for the learning that only happens in production.
Human + tool in a loop. I use AI to help me build and write. I'm not hiding that. But the thinking is mine, the voice is mine, and the responsibility is mine.
#Voice
I try to write the way I'd talk to a colleague I respect—direct, specific, occasionally funny, never performative. Short sentences when they work. Longer ones when they're needed. Space to breathe.
I'll share what I'm building, what surprised me, and what I still don't understand. I'll end with questions more often than conclusions.
#Invitation
Look around. Read something. Disagree if you want.
If something resonates, or if you catch a mistake, I'd like to hear about it.
#SKILL.md
This isn't a resume. It's a statement of craft philosophy.
#What I'm Good At
Building end-to-end platforms. I spent eleven years building SimplyCodes from inception to millions of monthly users — not just the interface, but the crowdsourcing systems, event pipelines, ML classifiers, infrastructure migrations, and the ops layer underneath all of it. I know what it feels like when something works at scale — and when it almost works, which is worse.
Bridging technical and human concerns. I care about the code and the person using it. I think in systems, but I communicate in stories. UX isn't a phase of the project; it's a lens.
Working with AI tools. I use Claude and other AI assistants daily—for code, for writing, for thinking through problems. I've developed a feel for where they're useful and where they're not. I don't treat them as magic or as replacement; they're tools with edges.
Learning in public. I'm comfortable not knowing things and saying so. I've found that honesty makes the work better.
#How I Approach Building
Start with the simplest thing that could work. Then add complexity only when it hurts. Most features don't need to exist.
Optimize for understanding, not cleverness. If I can't explain what the code does in plain language, I probably don't understand it well enough.
Ship, then iterate. Get it in front of people. Watch what happens.
Write it down. Documentation isn't overhead; it's how you think clearly. If I can't write a clear sentence about a decision, the decision isn't ready.
#Tools I Reach For
Languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, Python. Enough Go, Rust, and Zig to read them.
Frontend: Static sites → jQuery → ExtJS/Sencha → Ember → React → Vue → SolidJS → and now… back to static sites.
Backend: Perl → PHP → Express → NestJS → Hono/Bun.
If you squint, both arcs tell the same story: scrappy simplicity, then complexity accumulation (frameworks solving real problems but also adding ceremony), then a return to simplicity — but a different simplicity. Not naive. Earned.
I know what React's reconciler is doing. I know what NestJS decorators are for. And now I can choose Hono or plain HTML knowing what I'm giving up and deciding I don't need it.
The frameworks will keep churning. The fundamentals won't.
I still reach for React or SolidJS when the problem calls for it. But increasingly, I'm drawn to the simplest thing that works — and "works" includes being able to understand it five years from now.
Also: Cloudflare Workers. I like the edge.
Data: PostgreSQL, SQLite, Redis, BigQuery, Convex. I don't reach for NoSQL unless I have a specific reason.
AI: Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Kimi, local models when they make sense. Comfortable with the APIs, with prompt engineering, with building AI-assisted workflows.
Design: Figma, but I'm happiest when I can work directly in code.
#What I'm Learning
Right now: how to build well in a world where AI can do a lot of the typing. What does "senior" mean when the machine handles the boilerplate? Where does the value shift?
Also: how to explain complex technical ideas to my kids without lying or oversimplifying. It's harder than writing code.
#Elsewhere
#Find Me
DMs open. If you send a note, I'll read it — replies may be slow.