Ray Rothwell

I served as a Finance Tech (MOS 3432) in the Marine Corps, then used the GI Bill to finish a degree in Environmental Studies while picking up JavaScript and HTML on the side. I spent years in GIS and environmental consulting — Phase I and II site assessments — before eventually going all-in on software development.

I'm a single dad raising two daughters, Dahlia and Violet. The studio is named after them. Balancing that with disability and development work isn't always clean, but it gives me a pretty clear filter for what's worth building: things that solve a specific, real problem for a real person.

The military apps came out of that same instinct. Promotion prep and fitness standards are stressful, high-stakes moments for enlisted members — and the tools available to them are often either behind a paywall, bloated with unnecessary features, or just not built by someone who's been there. I've been there. So I build these things the way I'd want them.

I started with a PT calculator for one branch, got feedback from actual users on Reddit, and iterated fast. That's still how the apps evolve — feedback first, then build.