Something is brewing, and I don't want to let the moment pass without writing about it. I'm in early discussions with a Lebanese company that specializes in pharmaceutical distribution. Nothing signed yet โ but the conversations are going well, and I'm genuinely excited. Two things are happening at once, both worth naming.
Local work hits differently
There's a version of this business where I focus exclusively on international clients โ the Gulf, Europe, wherever the budget is largest. It's a real option. Some months I lean into it. But every time I land a local Lebanese client, something else happens.
It doesn't feel like just another project. A Lebanese company, running better software, doing better work โ that's not abstract to me. I see this market every day. I know what it costs a business to operate here, in conditions that would have shut down most companies in most other markets years ago. When I work with a local client, I'm not just building software. I'm putting a small bet on the local economy producing something worth building for.
That bet matters to me. It always has.
A local client isn't just a client. It's a reason.
I have no idea how this industry works. Yet.
Pharmaceutical distribution. I had to stop and actually think about what that means in practice โ the supply chain logistics, the regulatory requirements, the cold storage constraints, the relationships between distributors, pharmacies, and hospitals. Right now I know almost nothing about this industry.
And that is the part I am most excited about.
Custom software development is a crash course in industries you've never studied. You don't get to stay in your lane. You go in, you ask every question โ including the ones that reveal how little you know โ and you read the things that feel dry and technical until they stop feeling that way. By the time you're delivering, you understand how a business actually runs from the inside. Not from a case study. From the inside.
I've done this with trading platforms, logistics systems, real estate tools, education software. Each one left me with a mental model I didn't have before. Pharma distribution is next on that list โ and it's a genuinely complex one. That's the best kind.
What happens next
The discussions are still early. There's nothing formal to announce. But I wanted to write about it now โ before the contract, before the brief, before I know anything about the system we'll be building โ because this is the moment I like most. The problem is still completely open. The possibility space is as wide as it gets.
If it comes together, I'll write more as we go. The learning curve on an industry this specific is going to be steep, and that's exactly the kind of hill I show up for.
Here's to new industries.
๐ก If you're a Lebanese business thinking about custom software: I'd love to talk. The local market deserves better tools than it's been given. Let's see if we can build something that actually fits.
