First To Fly

Blog

Notes, perspectives &
industry signals.

Where we share what we're learning, track industry movements, and reflect on building AI-native software for real businesses.

Why Agencies Fail at Building Products

Latest

venture-buildingopinion

Why Agencies Fail at Building Products

Agencies are optimised for delivery, not outcomes. That's why most software built by agencies ends up as shelfware.

KCKelvin Chng/Mar 17, 2026/5 min
Vertical SaaS Will Eat Horizontal Tools
vertical-saasdigital-transformation

Vertical SaaS Will Eat Horizontal Tools

Horizontal software asks you to change how you work. Vertical software changes to fit how you already work. The market is picking sides.

KCKelvin Chng/Mar 16, 2026
5 min
What 10 Years at Carro Taught Me About Building Software
venture-buildingindustry

What 10 Years at Carro Taught Me About Building Software

We built over a dozen internal systems, hired 4,000 people, and operated across 6 countries. Here's what I'd do differently.

KCKelvin Chng/Mar 15, 2026
6 min
The Problem with AI CRMs
aivertical-saasopinion

The Problem with AI CRMs

Adding AI to a generic CRM doesn't make it understand your industry. It just makes it faster at doing the wrong things.

KCKelvin Chng/Mar 14, 2026
5 min
Why We Co-Build, Not Dev-House
venture-buildingvertical-saas

Why We Co-Build, Not Dev-House

We don't take briefs. We sit alongside domain experts and build how they imagine the solution should be. That's a fundamentally different thing.

KCKelvin Chng/Mar 13, 2026
5 min
We Spent a Decade Building Software the Hard Way
companyventure-building

We Spent a Decade Building Software the Hard Way

16 systems, 4,000 people, 6 countries. Here's why we started First To Fly and what we're building next.

KCKelvin Chng/Mar 12, 2026
4 min
AI Didn't Just Speed Up Software. It Changed What's Possible.
aiengineering

AI Didn't Just Speed Up Software. It Changed What's Possible.

Small teams are now building production-grade systems that used to require entire engineering departments. That changes everything.

KCKelvin Chng/Mar 11, 2026
5 min
Your Industry Expertise Is the Product
opinionvertical-saas

Your Industry Expertise Is the Product

The best software isn't built by engineers alone. It's built by people who've lived the problem every day for a decade.

KCKelvin Chng/Mar 10, 2026
5 min
Southeast Asia's SME Software Gap Is Massive
industryvertical-saas

Southeast Asia's SME Software Gap Is Massive

70 million SMEs across the region run on spreadsheets and WhatsApp. The software they actually need can finally be built.

KCKelvin Chng/Mar 8, 2026
5 min

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Operator insights on AI-native software, vertical SaaS, and building for real industries across Southeast Asia.