Building Bespoke: Why Ownership is the Ultimate Feature
Details
From MSDOS to Monnette’s: A Journey in the Software Craftsmanship Mindset
In an era of "off-the-shelf" subscriptions and generic software, what does it mean to be a software artisan? Join Jeremy Schroeder—software developer, former Mayor, and co-founder of OJ Tech—for a 45-minute deep dive into the philosophy of "Building Bespoke."
Jeremy will trace his unconventional path from 11-year-old QBasic hobbyist to graphic designer and, eventually, creator of the Denizen scripting language and the Spaceport web framework. The heart of the talk focuses on the Monnette’s Market Kiosk project: a custom-built hardware and software ecosystem designed specifically for a local Toledo institution.
You’ll hear the "unfiltered" side of bespoke development, including:
Hardware vs. Humanity: Why a lack of an "autocut" printer changed everything.
UX in the Wild: How real customers interact with screens (spoiler: they don’t just "click").
The Full-Stack Duo: How the intersection of design, fabrication, and hardware soldering (with his son, Ollie) made the project possible.
The Artisan Mindset: Why building from scratch—despite the troubleshooting—makes you a better problem solver.
Special Guest: Ollie, 15, Co-Owner of OJ Tech
Whether you're a seasoned developer or a tech enthusiast, this talk is a celebration of building the things you’re interested in, building them yourself, and choosing authenticity over "standard" solutions. There will be refreshments and pizza supplied, as well as ample opportunity for networking before and after the talk.
Agenda
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Hosted By
Greg Miller, GDG Organizer
I build equitable apps and websites. I love designing and building interfaces where our implementation and use are planned with no ambiguity. I am a proactive member of teams and tech event organizer for the Toledo GDG.
Vagish Vela, GDG Organizer
Jeremy Schroeder, GDG Organizer
Jeremy is a well-rounded developer who enjoys programming for the web. At work, he's developing next-generation Next.js applications for Fortune 500 companies—offering over 20 years of marketing knowledge, and over 15 years of developer experience (if you don't include his days with Visual Basic for MS-DOS as a 13-year old in the 90's).
Apart from his full-time gig, Jeremy has been working to develop Spaceport, a full-stack web framework that embraces modern JavaScript, CSS, and HTML—wrapped into a server-side workflow that uses Groovy to manage the business logic. He's also developing several SaaS solutions, all using Spaceport.
Justin Beaudry, GDG Organizer
I am a Toledo boomerang. I spent a decade building for high-growth startups and large enterprise in the SF Bay Area and Austin before making the deliberate choice to move back home. I’m here to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley scale and the talent in Northwest Ohio.
What I am doing now:
Directing Engineering: Leading teams at Actual Reality Technologies and EmpoweredAI to build generative AI solutions and high-throughput data systems.
Building Community: I founded Toledo Codes and the AI Collective Toledo Chapter. While I have transitioned out of leading the local chapter, I am now focused on expanding the AI Collective across the Midwest.
I’m always down to talk about the transition from legacy dev workflows to AI-first systems, how we continue making Toledo a destination for world-class tech, and what happens to our relationship with code as we move toward orchestrating complex language and world models.
Complete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-toledo-presents-building-bespoke-why-ownership-is-the-ultimate-feature/.