I have two working MVPs:
1. Used on any website: VE enforces budget logic on Amazon.com right now (could be any web-based site). If you’re over your budget, the Buy button is blocked. If you're below your budget — or raise the budget — the purchase is allowed. All logic updates happen in real time.
2. Installed on your own site: VE is dropped in via a single <div> and <script>, and mapped in under a minute. If your site were selling computers, you could define: - computers = teams * 4, teams = 10 - 1 motherboard per computer - 4 sticks of RAM per computer - 1 power cord per computer Update the number of teams or computers, and the parts logic updates cleanly and instantly — without touching your backend. These are lightbulbs built with VE — but VE is the electricity and the grid behind them — logic overlays that run independently of app code or APIs, using a simple, AI-usable syntax.
VE is integrated with GPT-3.5-turbo today, but it doesn’t break if AI goes down.
Your logic is enforced on both third-party sites and websites that VE is installed on.
What inspired this post? Around minute 24 of a conversation between @sivers and @michaellynch, Derek says the best ideas help valuable people inside companies build what they need — and how the market for that is infinite. Michael mentions Retool. I believe that VE has that type of potential. VE helps any user inject logic — budgets, allocations, constraints — into any interface using simple rules for simple situations all the way up to and including tying into HR and AAD (RBAC anyone?) And it installs and activates in seconds.
I’m not showing the full system publicly yet, but as a solo developer, I’d love to walk a few thoughtful folks through it. Derek and Michael are at the top of my list, but if this resonates with you, I’d be glad to talk.
I’m asking: - Is this a real pain you’ve felt before? - Would you use a logic layer like this — even on apps you don’t own? - Where’s the line between helpful logic enforcement and overreach?
About me: I got my start at Microsoft as a freshman — still no degree. I’ve been an SCO Unix SA, a System Architect at Boeing, a web developer for multimillion-dollar ecommerce systems, and a Delivery Engagement Manager / Jr. Consultant for Oxford Computer Group, NA. I’ve also worked retail, driven transit buses, and rebuilt after bankruptcy.
Now I’m here — and I’ve filed multiple provisional patents covering all aspects of Variable Engine.
Thanks in advance for your time. Happy to answer questions.
crop_rotation•7h ago
This is a pain in most companies, and several companies end up building a non generic version of it. I believe retool and other internal tool builders are kinda similar.
bTal•6h ago
Tools like Retool are great for internal dashboards and form-based workflows. But they still assume you control the app — the UI, the APIs, the data layer.
VE is intentionally not internal. It rides above — not inside — systems. It enforces logic at the interface level, even on platforms you don’t own (like Amazon, Salesforce, Shopify, etc.).
Where Retool helps you build tools for your team, VE helps you enforce rules and business logic wherever your team already works — including third-party apps, public sites, and vendor portals. You don’t need the source code or API access. You just inject VE.
So instead of “rebuild it in Retool,” you can say:
“Just apply the logic layer to what already exists.”
And because the rules are external, explainable, and versioned (.vlg), non-technical users can safely edit and reason about them, while AI assists when needed.
Happy to go deeper if you're curious