DARREN NEESE
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About

Hi, I'm Darren

Engineer, writer, and occasional over-thinker of things that should be simple.

Darren Neese

I build software that gets out of the way. Tools that do what they say, store what you give them, and do not make themselves the center of attention. I care about the small details that make things feel obvious when they work.

What I do

I have been building software since 1998, starting with Windows desktop apps and growing into full-stack .NET, SQL Server, and the infrastructure around them. For most of that time I have also been a teacher: a Microsoft Certified Trainer who set up classrooms and taught VB, SQL Server, and .NET, often while the tools were still in beta.

These days I build on the Microsoft Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, Dataverse, SharePoint, and SQL Server) and teach it on YouTube, and I am Lead Trainer at Super Power Labs. Lately a lot of that teaching is about building real software with AI assistance.

How I work

I tend toward the simple solution first. Not simple as in easy, but simple as in the version that does not contain anything it does not need. Extra moving parts are extra things to break. Extra abstractions are extra things to understand. The goal is software that a person can read and reason about.

I prefer to own the infrastructure where practical. Self-hosted, local-first, open formats. Not because cloud services are bad, but because knowing exactly where your data lives and what is happening to it is a reasonable thing to want.

Things I keep coming back to

  • Software should be honest about what it does. No hidden behavior, no dark patterns.
  • Local-first is not just an architecture. It is a relationship with the user's data.
  • Boring tools compound. The one you know deeply is usually better than the new one.
  • The second user matters. Write code for the person who maintains it, not just the person who runs it.
  • Fast is a feature. Slow software is disrespectful of the user's time.

The path

A long route from VB6 and SQL Server to the Power Platform, with a lot of teaching along the way.

  1. 1998
    Started building software

    Windows desktop apps in VB4, VB5, and VB6, with Microsoft Access and SQL Server 7 behind them. Earned an MCSD in VB6.

  2. 2001
    Microsoft Certified Trainer

    Taught VB6, SQL Server, and .NET while .NET was still in beta, before its February 2001 release. Ran my own classrooms and worked alongside Microsoft trainers on infrastructure and networking, picking up DNS, DHCP, Windows Server, and Active Directory along the way.

  3. Early 2000s
    The web, then .NET

    Classic ASP with VBScript and JScript, then C#, ASP.NET, and XML Web Services over SOAP in Visual Studio .NET. Worked with COM, DCOM, and ActiveX, and started managing dedicated IIS and SQL Servers for other developers.

  4. Mid 2000s
    Rescued a campus network

    Took a large church and school off a 100-node Windows XP Home network running through a home Linksys router. Stood up a Windows 2003 domain controller with DNS, Exchange, IIS, SharePoint, and SQL Server, replaced the router, switches, and cabling, moved everyone to XP Pro, and put real file shares, backups, and a ticketing system in place. Ran the site on DotNetNuke, and wrote a book on it.

  5. 2005
    Database administration

    Became a Microsoft Certified Database Administrator on SQL Server 2005 and refreshed my .NET MCSD.

  6. Late 2000s
    Enterprise .NET and SharePoint

    Built a full SharePoint intranet and trained an organization to maintain it themselves. Wrote HR systems for a large hospital in C#, ASP.NET, and SQL Server. Developed on Azure and helped install, upgrade, and migrate many IIS and SQL Servers.

  7. 2010s
    The Power Platform

    Moved into Microsoft Power Apps, building apps on Power Automate, SharePoint, Dataverse, and SQL Server, and started freelancing with Power Apps on Fiverr.

  8. Recent
    Teaching on YouTube

    Started a YouTube channel teaching Power Apps, which grew into a full library of tutorials and walkthroughs.

Now

I am Lead Trainer at Super Power Labs, teaching the Microsoft Power Platform and, increasingly, how to build real software with AI. You can find that work on my YouTube channel and in the writing here.

Uses

My setup and tools, coming soon.