Hey Reader,

I just got back from MacStock, where Brett Terpstra mentioned something that inspired me to create my very first Mac app.

He mentioned TableFlip, an excellent Mac app for just $10 that allows you to work with tables in Markdown.

If you know Markdown, you know how awful tables are to work with. I've spent years creating them by hand. Getting them to look right takes a lot of time (and hope).

Now, I didn't buy TableFlip. I actually decided to see if I could code my own version of this app using a new AI-based Mac app builder called Glaze, from the makers of Raycast.

I fired up Glaze, gave it a pretty sparse prompt, and watched it go. I added some extra features, like CSV import, and copying from Google Sheets and pasting directly into the app. It all worked super well.

I now have an app called Easy Markdown Tables. All for 19 credits.

And honestly, I was very unlikely to buy TableFlip, so no one lost a sale. I don't intend to sell or otherwise support my app.

Building the app is no longer the hard part...as long as you know the process cold before building anything.

In fact, this isn't my first (what I call) single-purpose app. I also made Daily Three, an iOS app for my own process of task journaling. Same with several Obsidian plugins and websites.

All because they are based on processes I can easily describe.

Most people can't describe their manual work well enough to hand it to anything — a tool, a contractor, or a system.

That's the whole job of a Systems Roadmap call.

​You can book one here.