Founder & software engineer · Richmond, Virginia
Software for the people next door.
Hi, I’m Anthony. I build useful, thoughtful products that help real people, from AI tools like RelayLink to CollectiveCrop, a local food club for growers and good eaters.
Like your grandmother.
And the guy who sells you eggs.
- Products
- 8products, each built for a real need
- Nonprofits
- 1nonprofit in the family, People Health
- Films
- 9short films about Richmond and the places around it
01 · Things I’ve made
Eight products. Eight real problems.
Some grew out of community needs. Others started with everyday problems I thought technology could make easier. Pick up a sticker, or choose a name from the list.
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Conversations for the AI era.
Think something through with your own AI, and RelayLink turns part of that thinking into a short briefing for someone else. Their AI helps them think it over and carries a reply back, on a thread the two of you own.
Works byAI assistantEmail
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Community health, powered by simple tech.
A nonprofit that brings simple health tools to underserved communities and local governments. Its WAVE system checks in on people by phone, text or email, and lets family or an organization know when someone doesn’t answer.
Works byPhone callTextEmail
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Keep the voice of someone you love.
Call a number and tell a story. LifeEcho records it, writes it down, and keeps it in a private place the family can share. Any phone will do.
Works byPhone call
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A few words each morning. A lifetime of reflection.
Every morning you get an email with a link to today’s private journal page. Open it and write. It works in any browser, on any device.
Works byEmailWeb page
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Speak up without giving your name.
Anyone can file a report. Each one gets a private case ID, so the conversation can continue without anyone learning who sent it.
Works byWeb page
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Take the personal data out before you share it.
An API that masks, tokenizes or pseudonymizes sensitive fields before data is stored or shared. The rules are written so a person can read and audit them.
Works byAPI
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A two-minute breathing reset.
Pick Calm, Reset Timer or Deep Focus, press start, and breathe for two minutes. Add soft ambient sound if you like. You can start right away.
Works byWeb page
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The local food club for growers and good eaters.
Backyard growers, homesteaders and small farms list what they have, even if it’s a dozen eggs. Neighbors find it and buy it. It works like a co-op, online.
Works byWeb page
02 · How I decide
Four house rules. Still learning.
A few principles I try to stick to. They guide what I build, and I’m always learning.
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Rule 1
Community first
Software should make a neighborhood stronger. It should never stand in for one.
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Rule 2
Purpose over profit
I want what I build to be sustainable. What matters most is whether it actually helps someone.
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Rule 3
Simple solutions
Start with what people already use: a phone call, an email, a web page. Add more only when it earns its place.
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Rule 4
Grow slowly
A product should grow at the speed of the people who use it. Rushing breaks the thing they came for.
03 · The writing
Letters from the Stoop
Notes on building software for real people, written while the lesson is still fresh.
Meanwhile, there’s plenty on the stoop.
04 · On video
Stories from around Richmond.
I also make short documentaries about Richmond and the places around it, the stories hiding in plain sight. Each one is built from the newspapers, maps and records of the time, and checked before it goes out.
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Richmond Raised Edgar Allan Poe. Then It Lost Him.
Poe was born in Boston and is buried in Baltimore, yet Richmond holds his mother's grave, his first love, his wedding and his hopeful last summer of 1849.
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Why This Richmond Church Was Built Over a Grave
On December 26, 1811, fire swept the Richmond Theatre, killing Virginia's governor and dozens more. Monumental Church was built over the common grave.
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The Richmond Vampire Is Younger Than You Think
Richmond's vampire legend begins with the 1925 Church Hill Tunnel collapse. The earliest written version of that story we could find is from 2001.
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Skeletons Dig for Lord Dunmore's Treasure. He Left Behind 130 Graves.
A Mathews County ghost story says skeleton sailors dig for Lord Dunmore's treasure. Dunmore was real, and in 1776 his fleet left graves on Gwynn's Island.
All 9 films →YouTube@RvaAnthony
05 · Say hi
Pull up a step.
Email is the best way to reach me, and I’d love to hear what you’re working on. If you run a clinic, a county program or a nonprofit and something here could help, tell me about it.
Or on X: @rvaanthony · TikTok: @rvaanthony