Your idea, built and shipped
You have an idea for software that should exist. You want someone who can take it and turn it into a real, working product your customers can use, and handle everything it takes to get there.
I’m Ivan Tse. I learn your business, figure out what to build, design how it works, and write the code that ships it. Already have a prototype, or a product another team started, that needs to become something your customers can rely on? That’s covered too.
What I build
iOS apps
Native apps for iPhone and iPad, from prototype to App Store.
Web apps
Software your customers use in the browser, and the API and infrastructure behind it, built to hold up when they show up.
An existing product
Stalled or outgrown its first developer? I take it over, steady it, and move it forward.
Not sure whether you need an iOS app or a web app? Choosing the platform is part of the work. Here’s how a project goes, from first call to launch.
How I work
I think like your user. Teams deep in their own product stop seeing it the way a new person does. I look at every feature from the outside in. If a flow doesn’t make sense to a real user, I’ll say so and propose what to build instead.
I make it solid and measurable. Software that holds up when real customers use it, with the testing to prove it and tracking built in, so you can ship fixes and features fast and decide from real numbers instead of guessing.
I build with AI agents. AI coding agents like Claude Code help me move fast, and I review and test every line myself before it reaches your customers. I can also build private AI tools and automations into the software I make for you.
I keep your work confidential. When a project needs to stay in-house, I can run the AI on local LLMs on my own hardware instead of sending your data out to third-party services.
What I’ve delivered
Sonato
From 2022 to 2026 I designed and built the iOS app for this hospitality platform serving private member clubs, every feature members use today, including the Apple Wallet pass they tap to get into their club. It holds a 5-star App Store rating across 250+ ratings.
charity: water
I built mycharity: water, the first platform that let anyone run their own fundraising campaign for clean water. In its first two months it raised $500,000 and brought clean water to 25,000 people; within two years, more than 10,000 fundraisers had raised over $11 million, 70% of all charity: water fundraising.
My own apps
As an indie dev I've taken products from nothing to shipped: Little Memory, a diary app Apple featured as a Staff Favorite, and Ready Time, a planning app. Idea to App Store.
I’ve also grown Bebo’s mobile site to 4 million daily users, built the system that feeds live streams into search on Twitch, consulted on web and iOS for the LOOKBOOK fashion community, and shipped the Hipmunk travel app. I’ve been building and shipping software since 2005.
Testimonials
Ivan is a fantastic product developer who can take wireframe ideas and build an entire product. Not only will the engineering be solid but you will find that the UI/UX is thoughtful, effective, and visually pleasing. People that take pride in their work build better things and that's Ivan.
Ivan is super smart, personable, and great to work with. He's thoughtful and always out to learn new things while staying pragmatic at heart. I'll work with him any chance I can get and you should too.
As head of mobile at Bebo, he was a key player in the rapid construction of a startup that would sell for nearly a billion. I would gladly welcome the opportunity to work with Ivan in the future and highly recommend him for the most demanding roles in the industry.
Ivan's contributions to Magic streamlined our engineering processes and increased the reliability of our mobile and backend software. An excellent engineer -- Ivan is able to communicate and implement solutions that directly support business, user, and team needs.
Let's build it
I'm taking on new projects. Tell me what you're working on and I'll tell you how I'd build it.
Get in touchI read every message myself.
Want the full picture? See everything I've shipped since 2005.
Sponsorships
Nerd Tower is a proud sponsor of LUMA Ice.
