Middle Mann  /  About  /  Gavin Washburn

Thirty years of building.

Gavin Washburn is the founder of Middle Mann. Started as a carpenter in the mid-nineties, built over 500 homes across eight years, then moved into software and delivered 300+ websites, web apps and mobile apps over the next twelve. Co-founded Fare, a rideshare app that generated $17 million in first-year revenue after launching in Phoenix and Austin in 2016. Now runs Middle Mann out of Phoenix, Arizona, building custom AI agents, automation, web applications and mobile software for operators who would rather own their infrastructure than rent it.

500+
Homes built between 1995 and 2003
300+
Websites and apps delivered
$17M
Fare first-year revenue (2016)
The Story

Three careers. One discipline.

1995 – 2003
500+
New homes built
  • Foreman
  • Superintendent
  • General Contractor

Learning to build by building.

Gavin started as a carpenter in the mid-nineties and moved into homebuilding almost immediately. Between 1995 and 2003 he built over 500 homes, coordinating dozens of trades on strict deadlines, seeing the finished house in his mind before the foundation was poured and consistently honoring his commitments to vendors and buyers alike.

Every house was a study in the same discipline software work would later demand: understand the operator, sequence the work, manage the people, ship on time.

2003 – 2015
300+
Websites and apps delivered
  • Graphic Designer
  • Web Designer
  • UI / UX Designer
  • Brand Consultant

Same discipline. New medium.

In 2003 he pivoted to web technology and never looked back. Over the following years he marketed, designed, built and delivered more than 300 websites, web applications, progressive web apps and mobile apps for clients across almost every industry.

Custom CRMs, e-commerce platforms, content management systems, native mobile builds, branding, logos, style guides, pitch decks. The through-line was always the same: bespoke systems built to the operator's spec, delivered on time, owned outright by the client.

2016
$17M
Fare, first-year revenue
  • Co-Founder
  • UI / UX Designer
  • Head of Marketing

Building his own from scratch.

In February 2016 Gavin and a co-founder launched Fare, a rideshare app, in Phoenix, Arizona and Austin, Texas in April. In its first year Fare generated $17 million in revenue, a hard result in a market where every incumbent had more capital, more headcount and more brand.

Building a consumer mobile product against Uber and Lyft in 2016 was not a safe bet. It shipped anyway and it moved real money.

Ongoing
30yrs
Performing and recording
  • Songwriter
  • Drummer
  • Programmer

Music, three decades and counting.

Gavin has written and played music his entire adult life. Three decades as a performing and recording artist. Named Drummer of the Year at the 2010 LA Music Awards.

The same instincts that make a good drummer, timing, restraint, listening for what the room needs, show up in every system he ships.

Now
Your Sovereign Software Studio.
  • Founder
  • Developer
  • Marketing

A studio built on thirty years of shipping.

Middle Mann is built around the discipline that shipped 500 houses, 300 web projects and one rideshare app. Every engagement ends with the client owning the code, the database, the domain and the customer data outright.

Middle Mann is a builder, not a hosting company. Clients pick their own hosting on their own account and Middle Mann helps them land on the right shape for their sovereignty needs: managed hosting for low-lift projects, VPS for most builds, or a bare-metal rackmount system for clients who want the full distance.

No vendor lock-in. No platform risk. No middleman.

What We Build

End-to-end sovereign systems.

Every engagement covers the whole stack. Frontend, backend, database, infrastructure, security, deployment and handoff. No handing the client a half-finished repo. The build is done when the platform is running on the client's own server under the client's own domain with the client's own credentials, and every piece of it is documented and owned outright.

AI Agents
Self-Hosted

Custom AI Agents

Agents that read your data and take action, running on your own hardware with your own API keys.

BYO API key. No data sent to third parties unless the architecture requires it. Provider-agnostic across OpenAI, Anthropic, Grok and local models.

What comes with it
  • Real-time and scheduled agents
  • Human-in-the-loop approvals
  • Per-action audit log
  • Provider fallback and retry
Who it fitsOperators drowning in tasks a machine could do overnight.
Automation
Owned Rails

Business Automation

Replace rented SaaS workflows with owned systems the client controls end to end, no per-seat fees.

Every Zapier, Make or hosted-CRM workflow is a lease that could be revoked or repriced. We replace the lease with software you own outright.

What comes with it
  • Webhook and cron orchestration
  • Custom connectors, any API
  • HMAC-signed callbacks
  • No per-task metering
Who it fitsOperators tired of watching subscription costs climb every quarter.
Web Apps
Ships Fast

Web Apps and PWAs

Web applications and progressive web apps that live on your domain and ship updates without app store approval.

Custom CRMs, dashboards, member portals, marketplaces. Whatever the business calls for, built on a stack chosen for ownership and longevity, not resume-driven trend chasing.

What comes with it
  • Next.js, React, TypeScript, PHP
  • Postgres or SQLite, per workload
  • Offline-capable PWA installs
  • Instant updates, no gatekeeper
Who it fitsFounders who need a real product, not a rented shell.
Mobile
Bespoke

Custom Mobile Software

Bespoke Android APKs and iOS builds for clients who need distribution independent of the major app stores.

Sideloadable APKs for Android, TestFlight and direct-distribution builds for iOS. Cross-platform React Native and Flutter where it fits the audience and the operator's roadmap.

What comes with it
  • Direct APK, no Google Play
  • Cross-platform, one codebase
  • Your own signing keys
  • OTA update channels you own
Who it fitsOperators who've been burned by app-store policy shifts.
Data
One Warehouse

Data Warehousing

Custom warehouses aggregating every source system into one owned database, ready for reports and AI agents.

One local database. Every source pulled in via webhook or scheduled sync. Dashboards, reports and AI agents on top, shaped to the operator's workflow.

What comes with it
  • Any API, webhook or DB source
  • Real-time or scheduled sync
  • Live custom dashboards
  • AI agent framework on top
Who it fitsBusinesses with data trapped in six different rented tools.
SEO
Owned Channels

SEO and Distribution

Search visibility, content systems and audience infrastructure built on channels you own, not channels you rent.

Structured data, AI-search readiness, technical SEO and content architecture wired directly into the platform. Traffic and audience infrastructure that belong to you.

What comes with it
  • Full JSON-LD for AI citations
  • llms.txt, sitemap, RSS, robots
  • Owned email and RSS lists
  • Publishing on your own stack
Who it fitsFounders done paying rent on their audience.
Selected Work

Custom platforms that shipped and are running.

Every case study below is a bespoke system designed and built end to end. Real code. Real deployments. Real operators using them today.

01AI Workspace. Self-hosted multi-model AI cockpit. OpenAI, Anthropic, Grok in one owned interface
02Data Warehouse and AI Agents. Custom Power BI alternative with AI workforce on top
03Data Mining and Secure Data Room. Scrape, compose, gate. Owned end to end
04Publishing Automation. Multi-tenant creator publishing on subdomains you own
05Creator Platform. Direct-to-fan membership stack with zero platform take
06And more we can't publish. Under NDA and under contract. Details on request
FAQ

Frequently asked questions.

Who is Gavin Washburn?

Gavin Washburn is the founder of Middle Mann, a software studio in Phoenix, Arizona. Before Middle Mann he spent eight years as a carpenter and homebuilder (500+ homes built between 1995 and 2003), then twelve years as a full-stack web developer and digital producer (300+ websites and apps delivered from 2003 onward), then co-founded Fare, a rideshare app that generated $17 million in first-year revenue after launching in Phoenix and Austin in 2016.

What was Fare?

Fare was a rideshare mobile app Gavin co-founded and launched in Phoenix, Arizona in February 2016 and Austin, Texas in April 2016. Fare generated $17 million in revenue in its first year competing directly with Uber and Lyft. It stands as proof that Gavin can ship consumer mobile software at scale in a hyper-competitive market.

What does Middle Mann do?

Middle Mann designs and builds bespoke software systems from the ground up: custom AI agents, business automation, data warehouses, multi-tenant publishing platforms, direct-to-fan membership platforms, secure data rooms and mobile applications. Every engagement ends with the client owning the code, the database, the domain and the customer data outright.

Does Middle Mann host the software it builds?

No. Middle Mann is a builder, not a hosting company. Every project is deployed on the client's own hosting account so nothing routes through Middle Mann and there is no dependency on the studio to keep the software online. Middle Mann helps the client pick the right hosting shape for their sovereignty needs: managed hosting (SiteGround and similar) for low-lift projects, VPS for most custom builds, or a self-hosted bare-metal rackmount system for clients who want the entire stack down to the hardware under their physical control. The recommendation is scoped to the workload, the budget and how sovereign the client actually wants to be.

What technologies does Gavin work with?

Node.js, TypeScript, React, Next.js, PHP, Python, PostgreSQL, SQLite, Redis, MinIO, Nginx, Meta Graph API, Anthropic Claude, OpenAI, browser extensions under Manifest v3, Android APK development and iOS. The stack for any given project is chosen to optimize for ownership, longevity and operational sanity, not resume-driven trend chasing.

Where is Middle Mann based?

Phoenix, Arizona. Address: 3218 E Bell Road, Suite 116, Phoenix, AZ 85032. Engagements are global; the studio serves clients worldwide.

How do you engage Gavin for a project?

Start a conversation via the contact form on middlemaan.com or email [email protected]. Middle Mann responds within one business day with honest thoughts on whether the project is a fit. Engagements are scoped as fixed-scope builds. Typical range is $1,500 for small automations to $250,000 for complete platform builds.

Does Middle Mann take equity or ongoing revenue share?

Occasionally, under the right circumstances. The default engagement is straightforward work-for-hire: the client pays for the build and owns everything that ships. On the right project, with the right founder, Middle Mann will consider a hybrid deal that pairs a reduced cash component with equity, revenue share or some blend of both. Pure equity or pure revenue share alone is not on the table; there is always a cash component so the build stays properly resourced. If a hybrid arrangement fits your project, mention it in the first conversation.

Has Gavin won any notable awards?

Named Drummer of the Year at the 2010 LA Music Awards. Gavin has been a performing and recording artist for three decades alongside his software career.

Start a Conversation

Let's build something they can't take away from you.

Tell us what you're working on. We'll respond within one business day with honest thoughts on whether it's a fit.

[email protected]