The Story
I've been building things
since dial-up
Over twenty-five years of building websites taught me that the technology is rarely the problem. The problem is building something that doesn't match how people actually work.
I'm Francis Meetze, and I build AI automations for people who've been burned by technology that promised to help but just created more work.
The pattern became obvious after a few decades of building websites: the projects that failed weren't the technically complex ones. They were the ones where nobody bothered to understand how the client's team actually worked before building "solutions."
That observation led me down a rabbit hole. I started reading anthropology, ethnographic research methods, organizational culture studies. Not because I wanted to leave tech, but because I wanted to understand why so much tech fails the people it's supposed to serve.
The night everything changed
In late 2022, I watched AI go from "neat party trick" to "everything I know about my profession just changed overnight." Some people panicked. Some people dismissed it. I saw something different.
The technology was incredible, but the gap between what AI could do and what businesses actually needed was enormous. Not a technical gap, but a translation gap. Someone needed to understand both the technology AND the messy reality of how work actually happens.
That's what I do now. I spend time with your team first: watching, asking questions, understanding why that spreadsheet workaround exists and why nobody uses the expensive CRM. Then I build automations that work with your reality instead of demanding you change to fit the tool.
Beyond the work
When I'm not debugging workflows, I'm usually underwater somewhere. But Finding Tamanawas didn't start with diving. It started with people. Watching the revitalization of indigenous culture in the Pacific Northwest, the reclaiming of place names that most maps have forgotten. It's the same work, really: preserving knowledge that exists in communities, making it accessible, bridging worlds.
I believe in building things that last. That means understanding the context before writing the code, respecting the knowledge that already exists, and leaving systems that can adapt after I'm gone.
The Journey
How I got here
The BBS era begins
Running Wildcat BBS, managing my own FidoNet-style mail network internationally, and bulletin board advertising. Building digital communities before the web went mainstream.
First website goes live
Built my first client site with hand-coded HTML. The client still emails me sometimes.
Agency life
Launched BridgeSense.com in Oregon. After years of building websites, I realized mobile applications were the next technological bridge to scale. Built sites and apps for businesses of all sizes. Learned that the technical solution is rarely the hard part.
The anthropology turn
Started noticing patterns in how teams talk about their work. The words people use reveal what they actually need.
Finding Tamanawas
A passion project born from watching indigenous culture revitalize across the Pacific Northwest. Where technology meets cultural preservation.
The AI shift
Watched AI transform overnight. Realized the gap wasn't technical. It was anthropological. Someone needed to bridge the worlds.
Odyssey Alive
Combining 25 years of building with an anthropologist's eye for how people actually work and communicate. Making AI work for people, not the other way around.
How I Work
Principles that guide everything
Observe first
I don't build based on what people say they need. I watch how work actually happens, then build for that reality.
Respect what exists
Your workarounds exist for a reason. I build around what's working, not over it.
Build to last
No vendor lock-in, no mystery code. You own everything, and it'll work long after I'm gone.
Enough about me.
what are you building?
I'd rather hear about the problem that's keeping you up at night. Let's figure out if I can help.