One operator. Faster than an agency. Built around your next launch.
AetherForge is independent on purpose. Software, automation, websites, and project management — all delivered by one accountable operator, in the time it would take an agency to send their first proposal.
Built to ship — not to sell hours
I spent the last decade inside startups, watching the same pattern play out every time: a founder or operator needed software, an agency or freelancer started strong, and eight months later it was still “almost ready.” Most of those projects could have shipped in two or three weeks.
I started AetherForge to do exactly that. I scope tight, ship in days, charge a fixed price, and hand off code clients own outright. No retainers. No vendor lock-in. No 12-week “discovery phase” to justify a bigger invoice.
Today, that means one operator delivering software, automation, websites, and project management end-to-end — using modern stacks and AI tooling that let one builder out-ship a five-person agency. Faster turnaround, lower cost, no middle-men. Your sales clock starts the day you launch, not next quarter.
Four rules I don’t break
Ship fast or don’t ship.
Software that lives in a Notion doc is worth zero. I pick the smallest scope that delivers the outcome and ship it in days. Polish is iteration #2, not blocking v1.
Outcomes over output.
I don’t bill for hours. I don’t add screens to look busy. I deliver against a measurable outcome — signups, revenue, hours saved, errors killed — and that’s what I track.
One person, fully accountable.
No juniors learning on your codebase. No offshore subcontractors. No PM relaying messages. The person you scope with is the person writing your code, and the person on the line if anything breaks.
You own everything.
Code in your GitHub. Designs in your Figma. Servers under your account. No proprietary lock-in. If I disappeared tomorrow, your business keeps running.
Where one operator wins
No PM layer, no overhead, no hourly billing. One operator who scoped the work is the one shipping it. Weeks instead of quarters.
Most freelancers do one slice — design, or frontend, or automation. I cover the full stack: design, code, AI, integrations, and project management end-to-end.
Three months to hire, six months to ramp, six figures all-in. I deliver a working v1 before your first hire signs an offer.
No-code tools usually hit a wall around 100 users. I build software that grows with you to 100,000 without needing to be rebuilt — using the same tools serious startups ship on.
Four disciplines, one operator
Most agencies split the work across a designer, an engineer, an AI specialist, and a PM. I do all four — which is why projects ship in days, not quarters.
Custom software
Internal tools, customer portals, first versions of a SaaS product. End-to-end — logins, billing, permission roles, dashboards, the whole thing. Built on modern tools so it grows with you instead of needing to be rebuilt in a year.
Workflow automation
AI agents and integrations that replace the SaaS glue eating your ops team’s week. Inbox triage, CRM enrichment, document review, intelligent alerting — designed to run unattended with human-in-the-loop where it matters.
AI-powered websites
Websites built to turn visitors into customers — and to show up in both Google and in AI search like ChatGPT. Designed and live in days, with the conversion tracking and analytics already in place. No off-the-shelf template kits, no ceiling on what we can customize.
Project management
I run the whole engagement: scoping, design, build, launch, and the post-ship 30 days. No PMs to brief. No status meetings to sit through. You get daily email updates and a thread that doesn’t go quiet.
Faster, cheaper, and on your side
The advantages of a solo, AI-accelerated operator over the traditional agency model — measured in dollars, days, and revenue you collect sooner.
Faster than a traditional agency
Agencies stretch a 2-week project into 6 months because billing-by-the-hour rewards the stretch. I work fixed-scope and fixed-time, so finishing fast is the win — not the loss.
Cheaper than the alternatives
No PM layer. No account-management overhead. No idle bench. No recruiter fees. The dollars go into your software, not the org chart wrapped around it.
Quick turnaround = value, sooner
When your site, CRM, or automation ships in weeks instead of quarters, the clock starts now — not after a six-month build. You start capturing value months earlier than a traditional agency timeline allows.
You talk to the person building it
You message me, you get me — not a PM, not a junior, not a ticket queue. Direct email line, daily commits to your repo, decisions in minutes instead of meetings.
AI-accelerated, end-to-end
Modern tools plus AI let one builder cover what an agency splits across a designer, an engineer, an AI specialist, and a PM. And AI shows up in what you get, too — smart search, drafting, assistants, and document review built into your product.
You own everything from day one
Code in your GitHub. Designs in your Figma. Hosting under your account. No retainers required, no proprietary CMS, no licensing strings. Walk away on day 22 and everything still works.
The person you’ll actually work with
From the first message to the post-launch tweaks — same person, top to bottom. No handoffs, no re-explaining your project to a new face.
Aedyn Duer
Founder — Solo builder · Your direct line
I’m a senior full-stack engineer and product designer who spent the last decade shipping production software inside startups before going independent. I started AetherForge to do one thing well: deliver real software, fast, for founders and operators who can’t afford to wait six months for a quote.
- A direct line to me — not a sales rep or account manager
- A written, fixed-scope quote within 48 hours
- Daily progress updates by email
- Code in your GitHub from day one
- 30 days of post-launch support, free
A modern, scalable stack — that you own
I default to these because they let one operator move at the speed of a team, but I’m happy to work in your existing stack if you have one.
Static-first sites that load instantly and score high on Core Web Vitals.
The React framework for full apps — dashboards, portals, SaaS — built to scale past a marketing site.
Catches whole classes of bugs before they ship. Every line I write is typed.
Consistent, responsive UI without a five-thousand-line stylesheet to maintain.
The database I trust with your data — battle-tested, relational, and it scales with you.
Auth, database, and file storage wired up in hours — on open Postgres you can take with you.
The reasoning engine behind the AI features I build: drafting, search, document review.
A second AI provider so your product isn’t locked to one model’s pricing or availability.
Payments, subscriptions, and invoicing done right — the standard serious businesses bill on.
Reliable background jobs and workflows — the engine that runs your automations unattended.
Global, instant deploys with zero server babysitting. Push code, it’s live in seconds.
The heavy machinery when you need it — storage, compute, and infrastructure without limits.
Ready to scope your next project?
Tell me what you’re trying to build — I’ll send the highest-leverage place to start, with a fixed price and ship date, in writing within 48 hours. No call required, no sales pitch.