Dan Farr

Hey, I'm Dan, a software engineer from Brighton, UK. Over the last decade, I’ve worked in startups building products, leading teams and helping turn ideas into software.

Starting out at age 11, my journey began learning to code from JavaScript books loaned from the local library. I got my first gig in 2014, working as fullstack engineer at a Amsterdam, NL based startup A Bigger Circle where we built apps for Heinz, Mercedes-Benz, and Spotify. Initially, this was to pay for my studies at The Gerrit Rietveld Academie where I intently studied fine art with a focus on developing my own idiosyncratic language. This sparked my love affair with the fast paced world of startups.

From there, I joined LegalBeagles as a technical lead and relocated back to the UK in 2018. We built JustBeagle, a platform architected to make legal justice more accessible, later we partnered with IBM Watson on the Global Access to Justice via AI project.

After this it was clear that I found building products from the ground up really fun, there was always an oppertunity to learn something new.

This led to me joining Venture Harbour, a bootstrapped venture studio geared up to build, launch and scale a new product every year. It was hardcore. We created Serene, Marketing Automation Insider, Brokernotes, Leadformly, and TrueNorth. This experience shaped my systems thinking and sparked a lasting obsession with automation which has followed me into every role since.

Since 2023 I've been Technical Lead at Bluecrest Wellness, growing the engineering team, mentoring engineers, introducing processes that foster collaboration and creating tooling to increase velocity whilst maintaining ISMS certification. The focus has always been on putting accessibility, security and privacy standards front and center so users can trust the product. A product that helps people catch health issues early is a great thing to work on.

Outside of work I think a lot about cybernetics, emergent systems and how nature teaches us how to elegantly solve complexity.

Things I'm working on

wobbli.esbeta

Wobblies are always-on, self-initiated, and proactive. They watch your tools and then they take action, so you can focus on the work that makes you feel most human.

artmutt.appbeta

A mobile app where you receive one remarkable piece of contemporary art every day. A small daily exercise in taste.

danny.engineering

My engineering notebook.

feedback.monsterbeta

I like getting feedback, so I created a product that allows users to get the truth without the friction but with the option to make it a bit fluffier if they want.

practically.devbeta

I'm often working with non-technical stakeholders who don't write code. I help them think like an engineer and ship products they're proud of.

loveyourepo.devalpha

Keeping open source repositories healthy so maintainers can focus on the work that matters.

usepilon.comalpha

A lightweight product management tool for small teams who want to move fast without the overhead, add roadmaps, get feedback, and ship products that delight their users.

Sometimes I publish interactive essays and make small games.