ABOUT ME

From Construction Sites to AI Systems

I'm Coleton — a self-taught engineer who builds mobile apps and AI tools. I share everything I learn along the way.

MY STORY

The Path Less Traveled

The Construction Site

Before I wrote my first line of code, I was swinging hammers on construction sites in Arkansas. Physical work taught me something that stuck: you build things one piece at a time, and shortcuts always come back to haunt you.

Teaching Myself to Code

I started with YouTube tutorials and free courses. No CS degree, no bootcamp. Just relentless curiosity and a refusal to quit. Flutter was my gateway — I could build for iOS and Android from day one.

The best engineers I know are the ones who never stopped being students.

Going Pro

Landed my first role through an apprenticeship at First Orion. Within months I was leading iOS features, building internal frameworks, and shipping to the App Store. The self-taught hustle translated directly into professional velocity.

The AI Shift

When LLMs arrived, I didn't just use them — I built systems around them. ProAct was my first AI-native app. Now I split my time between shipping mobile apps and building AI tooling. Not AI as a gimmick, but as core infrastructure.

Ship it, learn from it, ship it better.

Teaching What I Learn

I started sharing my tools, systems, and workflows because I remember how hard it was to find real, practical guidance. No hype — just what works, what doesn't, and why. If I figured it out two weeks ago, I'm writing about it today.

PRINCIPLES

What I Believe

Ship Real Things

Ideas are cheap. Shipped products are proof. Every project in my portfolio is something real people use.

Learn in Public

Writing about what I learn forces clarity. Teaching is the best way to master something.

AI-Native, Not AI-Dependent

I build with AI at the core — not bolted on. Understanding the fundamentals is what makes AI tools a multiplier instead of a crutch.

Build for People

Technology is a means, not an end. The best code solves real problems for real humans.

NOW

What I'm Working On

ActiveBuilding

ProAct

AI-powered migraine prediction for iOS. Shipped v1.0, now finding product-market fit.

ActiveWriting

ColetonCodes Newsletter

One email per build: mobile development, AI tools, and engineering workflows.

ActiveBuilding

FamilyQuest

Gamified family task management. In early development.

THE JOURNEY

Seven Years in Fast Forward

2019

Construction Sites, Late Nights, and a Laptop

Working construction during the day. Raising a family. Teaching myself to code in the evenings. No CS degree, no bootcamp, no safety net. Just YouTube tutorials, free courses, and the stubborn belief that if other people could build apps, I could figure it out too.

Self-taughtEvenings & weekendsFirst lines of code

2019 -- 2021

Building Free Apps

Shipped indie apps to learn by doing. Flutter was the gateway -- build once, run on iOS and Android. Every app was free, every app was a lesson. The goal wasn't revenue, it was reps.

FlutterDartIndie appsCross-platform

2021

Freelancing on Upwork

Turned the indie reps into client work. Built Flutter MVPs for startups -- real deadlines, real users, real constraints. Learned what it means to ship for someone else.

UpworkFlutter MVPsClient work

2021 -- 2024

First Full-Time iOS Role

Apprenticeship at First Orion. Within months, leading iOS features, building internal frameworks, and shipping to the App Store. The self-taught hustle translated directly into professional velocity.

SwiftSwiftUIApp StoreCI/CD

2024

Founded ColetonCodes, LLC

Went independent. Indie apps, contracting, freelancing -- all under one roof. Shipped production systems across 8 industries, from IoT pet tracking to spacecraft interfaces.

IndependentContractsIndie apps8 industries

2025 -- 2026

ProAct: Zero to App Store

Nine months from first commit to the App Store. AI-powered migraine prediction -- on-device Apple Intelligence with a Claude fallback -- shipped February 2026, then eight releases in the next six months. The first indie app with real paying users.

SwiftUITCAHealthKitAI predictionShipped Feb 2026

2026

The AI-Native Stack Goes Live

Built the system that lets one person ship like a team: agent orchestration, shared memory, and content ops running daily. Not AI as a gimmick -- AI as the infrastructure that makes everything else faster.

AgentsAuroraTrueSourceAutomation

MID-2026

Intent: Rebuilding a 4.6-Star App Server-First

PrioriPlanner earned 4.6 stars on the App Store. Intent is its successor -- same listing, rebuilt from scratch server-first: zero backend SDKs in the binary, generated API clients, nightly TestFlight builds. In hardening for public launch.

Swift 6TCANext.jsServer-firstTestFlight

NOW

Building in Public

A one-person shop with two apps live, Intent in TestFlight, and the whole process documented: the architecture decisions, the AI workflows, and the parts that break. This site and the newsletter are where it gets written up.

Indie appsAI-nativeNewsletterTeaching

Newsletter

Thesystems,decisions,andcodebehindeachbuild.

One email per build. What I designed, what shipped, and what I'd change. Architecture decisions from systems running in production, including the ones I got wrong.

✦ iOS & SwiftUI✦ Building with AI✦ Shipping Solo