Hi, I’m David. I started Picksley Labs as a place to build my ideas and show them, a bit like a portfolio.
I keep spotting problems, and things that could work better, and I keep having ideas. This is where I try them out. Some turn into apps, some stay experiments, and I learn something from all of them.
I think anyone can make almost anything now. What we can’t lose is the doing. AI shouldn’t replace people making things, and there’s a lot of slop out there from people who can’t stand behind what they’ve put their name to. I want to stand behind everything on here.
How I work
Most of it starts with me talking out loud. I dictate with Ottex, build in Xcode with Claude, and run local models alongside. I do the design work too.
I’ve worked in Salesforce for about ten years and hold a stack of its architect certifications. I’m also a Claude Certified Architect.
What I’ve made
Decompress was the first one out the door. It’s a private three-minute spoken check-in for the end of the day, and it’s on the App Store.
SheetSight is the big one. I’m an adult beginner at the piano and couldn’t read the page in front of me. Most of my time on it has gone into the recognition engine, which reads a photo of a real book page, curve and shadows included, entirely on the iPhone.
What I care about
Every app has to pass one test. Picture someone at half six after a rough day. Does it help them put the phone down?
A lot of software now is built to keep you hooked and squeeze money out of you, with forced subscriptions, dark patterns and your data sold on. I don’t want to build like that. People should be able to build their own things, privately, and feel they can. That’s a big part of why I like open source. What gets built should be useful and made for people, not for a big company’s profit.
So my apps don’t collect what you put into them. I don’t put analytics in them, and I don’t build data from how you use them. I’d rather hear from you directly than have an app report back on you, and I’d rather you put the app down than get stuck in a loop.
Get in touch
support@picksley.ai, or find me on LinkedIn. It’s one person, so you’ll get a reply from me.