In late 2019, my family embarked on an ambitious project: the construction of a net-zero homestead. As you can imagine, this involved learning about a myriad of energy systems and technologies. Grasping the intricacies of solar panels, ground-source heat pumps, and wood stoves wasn't too arduous. However, understanding how these systems interacted, how changes in one would impact the others, or even predicting our energy consumption on a frigid winter day in northern Minnesota was a complex puzzle. We were fortunate enough to have experts crunch the numbers for us, but I was still having trouble wrapping my head around how all of the pieces fit together.

Also back on homestead, we had another question we found particularly vexing was, "how many chickens is too many chickens?" When factoring in feed prices, egg prices, broody streaks, and predation, finding the sweet spot seemed elusive. Traditional spreadsheet models didn't seem to capture the full complexity of the problem.

Around this time, I discovered the video game Factorio, which was all about fitting pieces together. Its effortless gameplay and interactive environment made sizing co-dependent systems fun. It sparked an idea: could I apply this gamified approach to our homestead's challenges?

Fast forward three years to 2022, I had just left Trello, my father was undergoing cancer treatment, and I was in desperate need of a problem to sink my teeth into. It was then that I revisited the conundrum that had been quietly waiting in the wings. With a copy of "Computer Simulation Techniques: The definitive introduction!" in hand, I set to work. A product took shape:

It was at this stage when I remembered a former coworker, our very own Levin, saying that if I ever needed any design input on any side projects or anything, he’d be happy to help. So I got a hold of him. And he helped out a lot to move forward the user interface and experience:

Levin was using his free time to spruce up this project. He was genuinely enthusiastic about it. He made me genuinely enthusiastic about it. To embellish a little bit: we spit in our palms, shook hands, and now we are bringing Simily to market.