﻿<a href="https://stacked-api-production.herokuapp.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaEpJaWxoTXpOaU5qSTNOUzAwWkRVeUxUUXhOR0l0WVdWbU15MW1NV0prWldZMFpEUTNOV1lHT2daRlZBPT0iLCJleHAiOm51bGwsInB1ciI6ImJsb2JfaWQifX0=--cf3635530ebe338e4975962e3b2eec0c5afd9e49/CZGHPChUAAA3jqE.png?content-disposition=attachment"><img src="https://stacked-api-production.herokuapp.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaEpJaWxoTXpOaU5qSTNOUzAwWkRVeUxUUXhOR0l0WVdWbU15MW1NV0prWldZMFpEUTNOV1lHT2daRlZBPT0iLCJleHAiOm51bGwsInB1ciI6ImJsb2JfaWQifX0=--cf3635530ebe338e4975962e3b2eec0c5afd9e49/CZGHPChUAAA3jqE.png" width="2000" height="2000"></a>﻿ I have just finished watching <a href="https://youtu.be/HDKUEXBF3B4?si=fK_hqqFsP_a0x0D4">Ruby on Rails: The Documentary</a>, which was created by the team at Honeypot and is now live on YouTube. This framework has had such a profound and positive impact on my life, that I feel compelled to publicly acknowledge those who created it and to express my gratitude. As a child and young adult, web development and software engineering were not things, which I showed any real interest in. It was only after spending 5 or 6 years in the business world, that I developed a keen interest and passion for engineering. This prompted me to enrol in a web development bootcamp, in late 2015. As someone, who had never written a line of code in his life, I found the learning curve to be incredible steep and there were certainly times, when I was ready to throw in the towel. Fortunately, I managed to persevere and come out the other side. It was during this bootcamp that I first became aware of the <a href="https://www.ruby-lang.org/en/">Ruby</a> programming language and <a href="https://rubyonrails.org/">Rails</a>, as a web development framework, which simplified the process of building and deploying applications, to the web. Like so many people, who write their first lines of code, hit deploy and see their work published to the world, I was struck by a profound sense of excitement and limitless possibility. The magic and beauty of Ruby on Rails, is found in it's powerful simplicity. All it takes, is a few command line prompts, along with some accompanying lines, of beautifully readable code and you can publish a full stack application to the web, in minutes. After learning the basics, I was fortunate enough to land a job with a web development agency in Brighton called Datanauts, which was founded by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-osborne-6b17551/">Pete Osborne</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-brook-3ba7091/">Simon Brook</a>. Thank You both for taking a chance on me and for welcoming me into an environment, where I was able to learn so much, in such a short space of time. During this period of time, I was also fortunate enough to collaborate with <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andycroll/">Andy Croll</a>, who runs the <a href="https://brightonruby.com/">Brighton Ruby Conference</a>. After some really happy times in Brighton, I landed a job with an EdTech company in London called <a href="https://www.pobble.com/">Pobble</a>. It was here that I had the distinct pleasure of working with some wonderful people and a great team of engineers. I would like to extend a special Thank You to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasvalent/">Tomas Valent</a>, who is an incredibly talented engineer and someone, from whom I have learned such a great deal. As an entrepreneur by nature, it was always my intention, to use my engineering skills, to solve real world business problems. And so it was, that I founded <a href="https://www.stacked.group/">Stacked</a> in 2020, in an effort to the revolutionise the property investment industry. Stacked started life as a full stack Ruby on Rails application, before gradually evolving into a Rails API, which is paired with a <a href="https://react.dev/">React</a> front end and connected together with <a href="https://graphql.org/">GraphQL</a>. Stacked now has thousands of customers, who have used our platform to stack, somewhere between 500 million and 1 billion pounds worth of real estate deals. None of this would have been possible without the Ruby on Rails framework and the incredible community of developers, who have contributed so much time and energy, to power this incredible ecosystem. In addition to thanking the core Rails team, I would also like to thank the founders of <a href="https://37signals.com/">37Signals</a>, who have played such an important role in supporting developers and early-stage tech entrepreneurs, through their <a href="https://basecamp.com/">products</a>, <a href="https://37signals.com/books/">books</a>, <a href="https://37signals.com/thoughts/">articles</a> and <a href="https://37signals.com/podcast/">podcasts</a>. So here's to you <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-heinemeier-hansson-374b18221/">David Heinemeier Hansson</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-fried/">Jason Fried</a>.  Thank You to everyone, who has made this incredible journey possible.  With the Ruby and Rails communities being as vibrant now, as they have ever been, I look forward to connecting with more community members and seeing what the future holds.

In this article, I want to express my gratitude, to the core team who created the Ruby on Rails framework and revolutionised the web development industry. 

Thank You Ruby On Rails 

The cycle of constantly refactoring things, to fuel the engines of continuous improvement, is one of my favourite aspects of engineering. The idea is to build something, as quickly and pragmatically as possible, so it can be shipped out into the real world, to start attracting feedback. The lessons, which this feedback produces, are like gold dust. They are invaluable, when it comes to assessing what's working well, what's not working well and coming up with fresh ideas for improving things. Eric Reis captured this idea very well, in his groundbreaking book <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lean-Startup-Innovation-Successful-Businesses-ebook/dp/B005PR422K/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp;qid=&amp;sr=">The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses. </a>You can spend all the time in the world, making educated guesses on what you think your customers want and need. Likewise, you can try to predict the endless ways, in which they will break or get confused by the user experience, which you create for them. Bottom line though, the majority of the time, you will be wrong. It's far to better to spin the wheel of innovation, as quickly and frequently as possible, in order to remove the guesswork and gather irrefutable data about what needs to be done, in order to constantly move things forward, in a positive direction. Today, I am reviewing every aspect of the user journey, which a property developer navigates on <a href="https://www.stacked.group/">Stacked</a>, to add a new property, stack a deal and start a bridging loan application. I have spent the past two hours engaged in this process and have already identified 20+ things, which are screaming out for improvement and simplification. This is not something to be disheartened by! Yes it can be sobering, to realise how many flaws there are in your product. But every single one of these flaws, represents an opportunity for innovation and improvement. Stick at this process long enough and the war against luck, will start to turn decidedly, in your favour. Never stop trying new things. Never stop innovating. Never stop improving. And most importantly of all .... Never Ever Give Up! ﻿<a href="https://stacked-api-production.herokuapp.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaEpJaWs0T1dSaE5qWTJNQzAyT1dGa0xUUmhNR0l0WWpReFpDMHdPRGN5WTJVM01HRmhZamtHT2daRlZBPT0iLCJleHAiOm51bGwsInB1ciI6ImJsb2JfaWQifX0=--d3df1275c08722a23e3b8324fe165440e33784aa/hans-peter-gauster-3y1zF4hIPCg-unsplash.jpg?content-disposition=attachment"><img src="https://stacked-api-production.herokuapp.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaEpJaWs0T1dSaE5qWTJNQzAyT1dGa0xUUmhNR0l0WWpReFpDMHdPRGN5WTJVM01HRmhZamtHT2daRlZBPT0iLCJleHAiOm51bGwsInB1ciI6ImJsb2JfaWQifX0=--d3df1275c08722a23e3b8324fe165440e33784aa/hans-peter-gauster-3y1zF4hIPCg-unsplash.jpg" width="5988" height="4000"></a>﻿

The idea is to build something, as quickly and pragmatically as possible, so it can be shipped out into the real world, to start attracting feedback.

Our latest thoughts on
product development and engineering

Inspired by our efforts, to build a better product for our customers

Thank You Ruby On Rails

Review - Reimagine - Rebuild

Our latest thoughts on product development and engineering

Inspired by our efforts, to build a better product for our customers

Thank You Ruby On Rails

Review - Reimagine - Rebuild

Our latest thoughts on
product development and engineering