# Maximilian Alexander Founder. Software builder. I build companies and software that connect the digital and physical worlds. My work spans physical AI, wearable computing, and software that works beyond the cloud. Profile reviewed: 2026-11-08 Canonical profile: https://maximilianalexander.com/ ## Wendy Labs - Role: Co-founder & CEO - Status: current - Website: https://wendy.dev/ - Reviewed: 2026-11-08 A platform for building physical AI. Develop in simulation, deploy to real hardware, and operate devices in the field. Sources: [Wendy](https://wendy.dev/), [Public founder biography](https://forums.swift.org/t/meetup-swift-server-meetup-5-online-june-23rd/80469) ## Nora Labs - Role: Co-founder - Status: current - Website: https://nora.sh/ - Reviewed: 2026-11-08 Building a wearable personal computer. Sources: [Nora](https://nora.sh/), [Public founder profile](https://x.com/signalgaining) ## Ditto - Role: Co-founder, former Chief Product Officer - Status: historical - Ended: 2024-08-01 - Website: https://www.ditto.com/ - Reviewed: 2026-11-08 Previously, I co-founded Ditto, working on software that lets applications exchange data across devices, including without an internet connection. I left the company in August 2024. Sources: [Beyond Ditto](https://www.sudomax.com/blog/beyond-ditto), [Historical biography](https://www.sudomax.com/about) # Principles in my writing These are recurring themes in my published essays. They are summaries, with the original writing linked for context. ## Work on problems that matter. Choose a mission worth years of effort. Let the problem give the work its direction. Source: [Original essay](https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/mission-oriented/) ## Start with a real need. Understand the customer's problem and why it matters now. A company needs demand, not just a technical idea. Source: [Original essay](https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/vision/) ## Build for the real world. Critical software should keep working when connectivity fails. Design for the conditions people actually face. Source: [Original essay](https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/klevio-gate/) ## Make it easier to build. Give developers a coherent path from an idea to a working device. Reduce the infrastructure they must assemble first. Source: [Original essay](https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/thoughts-on-iot-fragmentation/) # Writing - [Mission Oriented](https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/mission-oriented/) (2024-08-02) My next company is mission oriented. - [Beyond Ditto](https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/beyond-ditto/) (2024-08-01) Beyond Ditto! I'm leaving for a new adventure! - [Contrarian Thoughts on Startups](https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/contrarian-thoughts-on-startups/) (2023-10-01) I've had some very contrarian thoughts on startups. To my surprise, when I shared these with founder friends, I realized that vastly everyone agreed but they all said no one says this out loud enough. - [Startup Vision is not 'What will you build'](https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/vision/) (2023-10-01) Many people in tech have commented out that having 'vision' is a key ingredient to success. But what is vision? And how do you get it? The answer is simple and no it's not a fancy word for 'what you want to build' - [Stay true to purpose not technology](https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/purpose-not-technology/) (2023-09-20) Square Enix can be regarded as the Disney of triple A games. They have a huge portfolio of games and are known for their high quality. They are also known for their long development cycles. In this article I will explain how they can stay true to their purpose and not get distracted by technology. - [IoT is a Mess - Thoughts on How to Fix It](https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/thoughts-on-iot-fragmentation/) (2023-09-15) There's something weird happening with IoT and I'm not sure what it is that prevents it from completely taking off. - [Do not build a cloud-first mission-critical mobile app](https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/klevio-gate/) (2023-09-14) I think it should be illegal to build cloud-first mission-critical mobile apps # Official profiles - [GitHub](https://github.com/zamderax) - [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/signalgaining/) - [X](https://x.com/signalgaining) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/signalgaining/) - [TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@signalgaining) # Contact - Wendy: max@wendy.sh - Nora: max@nora.sh - Personal: mbalex99@gmail.com # Mission Oriented Author: Maximilian Alexander Published: 2024-08-02 Canonical: https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/mission-oriented/ Original source: https://www.sudomax.com/blog/mission-oriented Migrated: 2026-11-08 My next company is mission oriented. Tony Fadell, one of the creators of the iPhone always said that you shouldn't be a "geek chasing technology". As I entered my 30s, I realized that time is the only currency that I have. And I want to work on something that will make a mark in the history books. Instead of creating simply a product, I want to create something that will change the world (or at least has a shot). One thing that always shocked me is how many cars were parked outside of SpaceX's headquarters. It's a company that's been around for 20 years but you hardly see startups that have this sort of work ethic. I thought to myself that these SpaceX employees could only be here on a random weekend night working late hours because they believed in the mission. After all, we know that SpaceX doesn't pay like Google or Facebook, but the mission and the work seems to be the most important part of why they work tirelessly. Mission-driven startups have a unique advantage when it comes to recruiting talent. People are often inspired by the opportunity to work on projects that have the potential to make a significant impact on society. Talented individuals are more likely to join a company with a clear and compelling mission, even if it means taking a lower salary compared to larger corporations. This is particularly true for millennials and younger generations who prioritize purpose over paychecks. When employees believe in the mission of the company, they are more motivated and engaged in their work. Research has shown that engaged employees are significantly more productive than those who are not. They are also more likely to stay with the company long-term, reducing turnover and associated costs. A strong mission can create a sense of camaraderie and shared purpose among the team, driving them to give their best efforts. Consumers are more inclined to support companies that align with their values. A clear mission can differentiate a startup from its competitors and build a loyal customer base. People want to feel good about the products and services they use, and knowing that a company is working towards a meaningful goal can enhance their brand loyalty A mission-driven approach can provide stability and direction during challenging times. When the company’s purpose is deeply ingrained in its culture, employees are more likely to stay committed and work through difficulties. This resilience can be a significant asset, helping the company navigate through tough periods without losing sight of its long-term goals. It certainly doesn't mean that the company won't fail or layoff employees, but it certainly should mean that people will work regardless of ebbs and flows to the company performance. --- # Beyond Ditto Author: Maximilian Alexander Published: 2024-08-01 Canonical: https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/beyond-ditto/ Original source: https://www.sudomax.com/blog/beyond-ditto Migrated: 2026-11-08 Beyond Ditto! I'm leaving for a new adventure! Today marks a a transition in my life, a day filled with mixed emotions as I bid farewell to Ditto, the company I co-founded and poured my heart and soul into. Standing here, now in my thirties, I can't help but reflect on the journey that has brought me to this moment. When I was younger, I envisioned a future where I would start multiple companies, each more challenging and ambitious than the last. As I grew older, I began to understand that time is our most valuable currency. Over the last 21 months, I've had the privilege of meeting several remarkable founders. These individuals, who once led successful B2B enterprise companies, chose to leave their established ventures to pursue something much more ambitious, even if the risk of failure was high. They ventured into fields like chip manufacturing, aviation, defense technology, and biotechnology—areas I once believed required years of PhDs and graduate studies. However, they proved that all you need is agency and ambition. In particular, meeting many deep tech founders has sparked the creativity in my head for a new product idea. After all, what is creativity other than connecting a bunch of disparate dots? So I thought, why couldn't I start something challenging if those are the only ingredients that I need? These encounters made me question my own path. Nearly 21 months ago, I faced a difficult decision: Should I stay at Ditto, a company I deeply love and have invested so much in? Or should I reinvent myself, stepping into new and unfamiliar territories that would astonish my younger self? Leaving Ditto is not just an ending; it is the beginning of a new adventure. It's an acknowledgment that our time on this earth is finite and that we must use it wisely. The founders I met taught me that the pursuit of ambitious dreams, no matter how daunting, is a testament to our human spirit. They showed me that we don't need to be confined by our past achievements or the limits imposed by conventional wisdom .Today, I choose to follow their example. I choose to step into the unknown, driven by the same curiosity and determination that have always fueled my journey. Ditto will always hold a special place in my heart, but now it's time to turn the page and explore new frontiers. So what's next? I am already working on a new venture idea that I'm excited to share with you all soon. Some people at Ditto already know what I'm up to; some lucky ones even got to see a prototype. When I told them about it I think they spat their coffee out started telling me about the failure probability. Which is exactly an indication of risk. But remember, you can't get rewards without taking risks. So in a weird way, it's exactly the validation that I need. ### Frequently asked questions I got *so many questions* from people in my network once I annonuced my departure. - **Will you be working on data sync?** No, I'm not working on data sync. I am still invested in Ditto to do well. - **Are you going to start a fund?** No, I'm not starting an investment fund. (This was a bit surprising, I got asked this by over 10 VC firms to join as an entreprenur in residence or even a partner for new bourgeoning funds.) - **Are you interested in advising startups?** Yes, I'm already helping out a ton with that; particularly in helping startups get enterprise deals. I can do this with my eyes closed. - **Are you going to join a venture fund?** No, I don't want to join a venture fund, I'm happy to vet startups for VCs who are serious - **Are you going to work on this new idea?** Yes, this new idea is going to be shockingly difficult but I want to that - **Is your new idea an edge computing idea?** Yes, it requires a lot of edge computing - **Will there be hardware?** Yes, it's going to require a lot of hardware. --- # Contrarian Thoughts on Startups Author: Maximilian Alexander Published: 2023-10-01 Canonical: https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/contrarian-thoughts-on-startups/ Original source: https://www.sudomax.com/blog/contrarian-thoughts-on-startups Migrated: 2026-11-08 I've had some very contrarian thoughts on startups. To my surprise, when I shared these with founder friends, I realized that vastly everyone agreed but they all said no one says this out loud enough. - You can work really hard, be charismatic, or be the best sales, marketing, engineer, product person but if you don't find product market fit, you are going to fail as an entrepreneur. I've met so many hard working and brilliant entrepreneurs who are working on things where there is not sufficient market pull. - Nothing else matters except product market fit. Founders are not magical people, they only need to have conviction on a thesis that there is a product for a market. - A lot of people love to bring up Steve Jobs as an example; but he is a clear illustration of the this rule. Next and Lisa spectacular failures for products that had no market. The iPhone and iPad were spectacular successes because they had product market fit. - If you take a look at the most successful companies, you will see extreme changes in executive leadership and even removals and departures of founders themselves. Unity, MongoDB, Twitter, Zynga, Cisco, Uber, Nextdoor the list keeps going. - The reason companies can survive these executive shifts is because the market pulls the product so hard that the company can't help but succeed. - Every startup founder I talk to always vents to me about their minor frustrations: sales team productivity, marketing campaigns, product roadmap slipping, hiring etc... But none of these issues matter if you don't have product market fit. - I have a sneaking suspicion that there is really only one that the founders need to worry about: product market fit. This is the black magic that only founders can do. They see gaps in an unaddressed market, and they create a shoddy, buggy, yet amazing prototype that people are desperate to use. - If the customers are desperate, they will overlook all the other issues and the company will succeed. - Adding more features to a product that has mediocre product market fit will not make people more frantic to use it. - Trying to build a product that is slightly better than the incumbent is guaranteed failure. There are so many companies trying to be analytics databases to replace Snowflake. They will not succeed unless Snowflake decides that they want to depart from that category. A good example of this is Atari deciding to leave what they were good at (arcade games) and entering the home console market. Nintendo swiped the market from them and Atari never recovered. You cannot take a category from the leader unless they decide to leave it. Xerox invented the GUI, mouse, and ethernet and had unbelievable product market fit, but decided to go into brokerages, insurance and investments and services. Soon, Sony, Apple, and Samsung rushed in to take the market. - Some categories are so big that they actually splitting into multiple categories. For example, the database market is so big that it has split into multiple categories: analytics, transactional, graph, time series, etc... Computers are so big that they have split into multiple categories: mobile, desktop, server, etc... This is a perfect opportunity to enter a growing subcategory and become the leader. Interestingly right now, the database market split into "Vector Databases" and "Embedded Analytics Databases"; of which Pinecone and DuckDB are the leaders. To say they will succeed if the vector database market grows large is to be determined. Arguably, identifying these category splits is probably 99% of the founders job. - Your early sales team is not a traditional sales team; they are actually a marketing team. They are experimenting with what works and trying to create a recipe to hit a nerve with a market. They are helping the company test if the product market fit is real. If they are successful, then you can hire a traditional sales team to scale the company. - How do you know you've found product market fit? For consumer applications, it's viral growth. For enterprise applications when ["sales yield reaches a point where revenue per sales rep equals the fully loaded cost per sales rep."](https://hbr.org/2006/07/the-sales-learning-curve) - Subjectively you should be able to identify that your customers would scream if your product was taken away from them. If they don't scream and can find a replacement, you don't have product market fit. --- # Startup Vision is not 'What will you build' Author: Maximilian Alexander Published: 2023-10-01 Canonical: https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/vision/ Original source: https://www.sudomax.com/blog/vision Migrated: 2026-11-08 Many people in tech have commented out that having 'vision' is a key ingredient to success. But what is vision? And how do you get it? The answer is simple and no it's not a fancy word for 'what you want to build' - VC: "Tell me your vision." - Entrepreneur: "We are a company that will build a the next generation VR headset". - VC: "Cool, so what?" The vision question is not "what your want to build." The question is aimed to get entrepreneurs to describe product-market fit. In startups, discussions about 'vision' and 'Product Market Fit' are ubiquitous among employees, founders, and investors. But often, these concepts are misunderstood or superficially addressed. Vision is not just a grandiose term for 'what you want to build'. Nor is it a hallucinatory dream of the future. Vision, in its true essence, is an 'insight'—an acute perception into a growing, profound pain that a market is experiencing. When stakeholders ask about your company's vision, they're probing for a unique market insight that incumbents, be they established companies or burgeoning startups, have overlooked. I argue that vision and Product Market Fit are inherently intertwined. You can't talk about one without implicating the other. Product Market Fit revolves around creating a product that resonates so well with a target market that it sells itself. Vision, as we've defined it, is the insight into a market's deep-seated pain. They are two sides of the same coin. When a venture capitalist inquires about your vision, it's a misstep to respond with aspirations like, "We want to be the next Google," or describe your product in isolation. This approach is too superficial, too generic, and frankly, it sounds more like mid-level product management rhetoric than a founder’s vision. Instead, articulate your vision with the market’s desperation at its core. For instance, consider a formula like, "W users are desperate for X, and we will build Y to solve it by charging them Z amount of dollars." This formula not only identifies a problem but also proposes a tangible solution and a business model. Furthermore, a powerful vision often highlights the existing market gap: "W users are desperate for X, and we will build Y to solve it. Our solution spans 2 different incumbents who aren't seeing the connection, and we'll charge Z dollars." This approach not only identifies the problem and the solution but also underlines why the problem persists—because current players are too busy or inept to address it. # Compelling Vision Statements Include Desperation of the market and a current inflection point in the market that make building possible *now* and not *earlier*. Think of Steve Jobs’ vision of a personal computer: "Now is the time to build a computer for everyday people because all the parts are available, and the market is ready." This kind of vision captures not just the what and the how, but also the why now. Here are some other examples - PayPay - "The internet is going to power all commerce, and we will build a payment system to enable it. We are going to create a global currency for the internet." The internet was already powering things like eBay's meteoric rise, and the market was ready for a payment system that could enable commerce. PayPal's vision was to build a payment system that would enable commerce on the internet. PayPal could not have been created 10 years earlier because the internet was not ready for it. And PayPal could not have been created 10 years later because the internet would have already had a payment system. - NVidia - "Computers are becoming ubiquitous in the enterprise and consumer space. Almost all graphics and visualizations will be done on the computers, we will build a company that powers this growing demand." - Shopify - "The internet is powering all commerce and small businesses are left out of creating their own online stores. We will build a platform that enables small businesses to create their own online stores." All great vision descriptions talk about: - The user - The desperation - The inflection point in the market that makes building possible now and not earlier Remember, if your vision statement focuses solely on building, you're unlikely to grab the attention of public relations or venture capitalists. Money and interest flow to stories, narratives that encapsulate not just the product, but also the market, the timing—essentially, the Product Market Fit. It's about crafting a story that resonates, one that goes beyond features and specifications. Vision in the startup world is a profound insight into a market pain point that others have missed. It’s about understanding a deep need and addressing it with a timely, unique solution. When aligned with Product Market Fit, this vision becomes a powerful narrative, one that can attract investors, inspire teams, and resonate with the market. It’s more than building a product; it’s about creating a solution for a desperate need at the perfect time. Remember, in the world of startups, vision isn't just a dream—it's a strategic insight that can propel your venture to unprecedented heights. --- # Stay true to purpose not technology Author: Maximilian Alexander Published: 2023-09-20 Canonical: https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/purpose-not-technology/ Original source: https://www.sudomax.com/blog/purpose-not-technology Migrated: 2026-11-08 Square Enix can be regarded as the Disney of triple A games. They have a huge portfolio of games and are known for their high quality. They are also known for their long development cycles. In this article I will explain how they can stay true to their purpose and not get distracted by technology. Square Enix can be regarded as the Disney of triple A games. They are famous for their high quality games, with incredible storylines, soundtracks, graphics, and distinct brand. Some of their most famous series are Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and Kingdom Hearts to name a few. In many ways, Square Enix's influence on turning video games into cinematic sagas can be felt throughout the industry. Just take a look at their latest trailer for Final Fantasy VII. What a sight and sound to behold. [Watch the embedded video](https://www.youtube.com/embed/lNVL-ygqw3w) However in the last 20 years they have been known for some incredibly long development cycles. Famously, Final Fantasy 15 was plagued with a decade long development cycle. The game was announced in 2006 and released in 2016. Originally slated for the PS3, it's release was so delayed that it eventually released 5 years into the PS4 era and had to even be rebranded. Previous titles such as Final Fantasy 13 and 14 also struggled with development in comparison to peer company titles. One of the major issues that Square Enix faced was that they were building not only a game but also a game engine at the same time. A game company building a game engine and a game is asking to do two things poorly. (Maybe I should take that back since Capcom has been quite successful with the RE Engine while simultaneously building RE2, RE3, RE7, RE8, and DMC all at the same time). --- # IoT is a Mess - Thoughts on How to Fix It Author: Maximilian Alexander Published: 2023-09-15 Canonical: https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/thoughts-on-iot-fragmentation/ Original source: https://www.sudomax.com/blog/thoughts-on-iot-fragmentation Migrated: 2026-11-08 There's something weird happening with IoT and I'm not sure what it is that prevents it from completely taking off. How come building apps for IoT feels so hard when compared to building a SwiftUI or JavaScript app? I can only distill it down to two major reasons: 1. There is no out of the box developer experience 2. IoT doesn't imply that there is a user interface or a screen ## The developer experience If you compared developing for an iPhone or Android device to developing for an IoT device, you'd notice that the developer experience is vastly different. For example, if you wanted to build an app for an iPhone, you'd need to download Xcode, install it, and then create a new project. You'd then be able to run your app on a simulator or a physical device. For IoT, a developer (or worse team of developers) would need to do the following: 1. Pick a platform (e.g. Raspberry Pi, Arduino, etc.) 2. Pick an operating system (e.g. Linux, Android Things, etc.) 3. Pick a runtime (e.g. Node.js, Python, etc.) 4. Pick a developer kit (e.g. Raspberry Pi 4, Arduino Uno, etc.) 5. Pick a programming language (e.g. JavaScript, Python, etc.) 6. Pick a framework (e.g. Express, React, etc.) 7. Figure out how to create a developer experience with an IDE like VSCode, JetBrains, etc. As you can see the friction is so high that it's no wonder that IoT hasn't taken off. It's not that there aren't any IoT devices out there, it's just that the developer experience is so fragmented that it's hard to build apps for them. And when you consider this level of fragmentation, it's no wonder that a developer community hasn't blossomed. Imagine creating an IoT developer meetup, some developers will show up with a Python app running on a Raspberry Pi, others will show up with a Node.js app running on an Arduino, and others will show up with a Java app running on a BeagleBone. It's a mess. ## No screen, no UI IoT devices are basically the cousin of mobile apps. They run on the edge, in the real world. But humans are visual creatures, and we like to see things. So when you build an app for an iPhone or Android device, you know that there will be a screen and a user interface. But when you build an app for an IoT device, you don't know if there will be a screen or a user interface. And if there is a screen, you don't know what the screen size will be, what the resolution will be, or what the aspect ratio will be. This is quite a problem in production and debugging. Let's say we build a smart home garage door controller. If the device breaks, we have no way of knowing if it's the hardware, the software, or a connectivity problem. This is why most IoT applications need to outsource a user interface to either a mobile companion app or explicitly make internet calls to deliver a user interface to a web app. This is a huge problem because it means that the developer experience is even more fragmented. Now you have to build a mobile app, a web app, and an IoT app just to control, debug or configure the device! Most of the IoT development teams are rather lazy, they make the IoT device require an internet connection to funnel data to a web configuration plane. In my opinion this makes for some of the most horrific user experiences. I've seen smart garage doors that can only work if it's properly configured to the internet. So if just one issue happens in the client-server communication, the garage door is rendered useless. This is a bad problem in industrial and manufacturing sectors. A friend once told me that their manufacturing robots were all powered Raspberry Pis and if anything went wrong; even things as simple as a network outage, the entire manufacturing line would be shut down. So a line worker would have to run to the lockers, find a portable monitor, keyboard, and mouse, run to the robot and plug it in and navigate to the configuration page to fix the Wi-Fi connectivity issue. This is a terrible user experience. Pretty terrible right? If you have a web configuration system, connectivity would force you to debug the issue on the ground floor. But I'm not going to lie, getting a Raspberry Pi to communicate with an iOS app is challenging. So I sympathize with the lazy web-client approach. If it was just easier to build IoT companion apps that could communicate and configure devices without even requiring an internet connection, I think we'd see a lot more successful IoT apps in the wild. ## Android Things - A missed opportunity One of the most interesting developments in the last decade *could have been* [Android Things](https://developer.android.com/things). Android Things was a platform that allowed developers to build apps for IoT devices. It was a great idea introduced in 2016 as a way to bring Android APIs and services to Raspberry Pi, Intel and NXPs devices. In my opinion it was a significant step forward for creating a canonical way for IoT developers to build apps without having to shop for a platform, operating system, runtime or developer kit. In addition, because it was a variant of Android, it would have a major ecosystem of libraries that developers could tap into Sadly it was killed by Google in 2019. Sometimes the community will take 2 steps forward and 3 step back. ## Conclusion 1. There is an opportunity for a player to create an accessible platform inspired by Android Things for the world of IoT to address the developer fragmentation problem. 2. I also think there is an opportunity to create a more accessible framework allowing mobile apps to communicate directly with IoT devices without requiring an internet connection. The problem is super clear, but a lot of software development is required. But the market is big enough that it's worth it. The game development industry has largely solved the fragmentation problem with the rise of Unreal Engine and Unity. Previously, game engines were ungodly expensive to get a hold of, and every company created a game engine from scratch. But now, many large studios pick engines like Unreal Engine, which people like you and I can easily download and use. The same thing needs to happen for IoT. --- # Do not build a cloud-first mission-critical mobile app Author: Maximilian Alexander Published: 2023-09-14 Canonical: https://maximilianalexander.com/writing/klevio-gate/ Original source: https://www.sudomax.com/blog/klevio-gate Migrated: 2026-11-08 I think it should be illegal to build cloud-first mission-critical mobile apps I'm not some crazy "local-first" religious zealot. I understand that building applications that use cloud services is important and useful. But I also think that there are many cases where it's unacceptable for your app to require the internet. Today's experience with this app called [Klevio](https://klevio.com/) has boiled my blood and I'm going to rant about it. Hopefully this will spur their developers to rethink their sins and make the app better. Here's what I ran into today. Now I'm sure you know where I'm going with this. ![Klevio Offline](https://maximilianalexander.com/assets/writing/klevio_no_internet.jpg) So I'm in London for a long business trip and I usually like to use [AirBnB](https://www.airbnb.com) to find a place to stay. Most hosts, I never meet and often they give me access to some remote access application that can unlock doors so that I can get in. This particular AirBnB host uses an app called [Klevio](https://klevio.com/) to give me remote access to enter the building. However, when I enter the building to get to the unit, I'm in a long basement that has *barely any internet connection* often times all connectivity disappears. So today, I was unfortunate to have lost all connectivity and I tried to unlock the door to get into the building. I was greeted with the above screen. I was unable to unlock the door and I was completely stuck outside. To make things worse, the application froze with some corrupted cache (god knows what it was doing). Because when I tried to restart the application, it was stuck on the loading screen. So I had to walk around the block to get some internet connection, to reinstall the application, re-login, and then unlock the door from outside the building. I had to run to the unit door to get in before the door locked again! This is completely unacceptable. I'm not sure what the developers were thinking when they built this application. I'm sure they were thinking that they were building a "cloud-first" application. 1. I shouldn't always need an internet connection to open a door. 2. What happens if the Klevio cloud went down? Would thousands of people be locked out of their homes? Luckily the weather was good, but what if it was in the middle of a storm or in the cold of winter? In the developer community we talk a lot about Offline-First, Peer to Peer Connections, Local-First, blah blah blah. These are all developer buzzwords tha we like to throw around and they don't really stick because it's *devoid* of a connection to real people and real problems. # Do not build a cloud-first mission critical mobile app If you are building an app that is mission critical it must not be cloud-first. It *must be able to work without an internet connection*. What other apps are mission critical? - Mobile apps for healthcare workers and hospitals - Apps for pilots and airline crew (flight attendants, security) - Military apps for soldiers and armed forces - Apps for industrial, mining, construction and oil workers - Retail and commerce *No not every app needs to work without the internet*. But if it's mission critical, it is a requirement. Klevio, if you are reading this, please get your act together. Do not be a lock company and lock people out because of a short sighted cloud-first mentality.