The emergence of the "software creator"
The roles of Product Manager, Engineer, and Designer have historically made up the core "product trio" that drive software development. But as new tools allow an individual to contribute in domains outside their core competency, we'll see these roles merge into something akin to "Software Creator."
A better term for this empowered individual might emerge, but "Software Creator" works for me for two reasons.
- First, it's accurate. What this empowered individual will be doing is conceiving, designing, executing, testing, and deploying software themselves. They create the whole thing end-to-end.
- Second, it draws a parallel to existing online creators. In the early 2020s, much was made of the "creator economy" in which independent media creators drew large audiences and monetized their influence on platforms like YouTube, Patreon, and Substack. Just as new publishing tools allowed individual media creators to compete with incumbent media companies, new software development tools will allow individual software creators to compete with incumbent software companies.
The culmination of this trend might be more software creators go independent. Sahil Lavingia, who's great at living in the future of software and startups, recently tweeted something to this effect:
— Sahil Lavingia (@shl) April 18, 2025