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Mainsail WorksOpen to projects

Independent software practice · Est. 2026

Software small enough to care about.

Mainsail Works is the independent practice of Matt Howe. I design and build products end to end - my own, and a small number for other people.

Practice
Independent · one person
Focus
Product design & full-stack engineering
Status
Open to select projects

Things I've made

Own products · 02

01 / Shipping

Sidenote

A quiet place for the things worth keeping - notes, lists, and the small details that would otherwise get lost in a group chat.

Explore the app

Where it's up to

  1. Sketch
  2. Building
  3. Beta
  4. ShippingNow

02 / Building

Detour

A pocket field guide for saving good places, slow mornings, and the routes worth taking twice.

Follow along

Where it's up to

  1. Sketch
  2. BuildingNow
  3. Beta
  4. Shipping

In the works

A few more small tools are taking shape. No launch theatre - just patient making, one useful idea at a time.

About

Built by one person, on purpose.

I design, build, and ship every product myself - which means fewer meetings, fewer handoffs, and a much shorter distance between an idea and something you can actually use.

Some of that work ships under the Mainsail name. The rest is done quietly for a few clients a year who want the same care applied to their own products - a fixed-scope build, a stretch of part-time engineering, or a close read of something that already exists.

Product design
Interface, interaction, and the words in between.
Full-stack engineering
The screen, the server, and the unglamorous parts that hold it together.
Mobile & web
Native where it earns its keep, web where it doesn't.
Systems that age well
Written to be read by whoever picks it up next.

Services

A few ways to work together.

  1. 01

    Product builds

    A focused app or feature, scoped and shipped end to end - from the first sketch to something real in people's hands.

    Good forFounders and small teams with a defined idea

  2. 02

    Part-time engineering

    Ongoing senior help on a set number of days a month, for teams who need steady hands without committing to a full-time hire.

    Good forTeams between hires, or without a senior lead

  3. 03

    Audits & second opinions

    A close look at an existing product or codebase, with clear, honest notes on what to fix first and why.

    Good forAnyone inheriting something they didn't write

Something else in mind? Tell me about it ↗