Solo founder spends $20K/month on Devin agents, shares hard-earned lessons

The Gist

• Ryan Carson manages 15 Devin agents with a folder system and paper tracking
• Built a Watchdog playbook to replace customer success across law firm accounts
• Uses LAN PR skill to close 40 daily PRs without QA team review
• Moved off local agents except for specific Codex use cases

• Ryan Carson manages 15 concurrent Devin agents using a handwritten list and folder system instead of a dashboard.
• Ryan emphasizes that producing more AI output does not necessarily lead to a better product.
• Ryan uses Claude Design and Codex to build a technical design system, streamlining his workflow.
• Ryan’s LAN PR skill automates the review and merging of 40 daily PRs without a QA team.
• Ryan shifted from local agents to cloud agents for operational efficiency, except for specific use cases.
• Meeting a real customer changed Ryan’s entire product direction, highlighting the importance of customer feedback.

• Evaluate whether increasing AI output aligns with product quality goals.
• Consider using handwritten lists or folder systems to manage multiple AI agents effectively.
• Automate repetitive tasks like PR reviews using AI tools to reduce reliance on QA teams.
• Engage directly with customers to gain insights that can pivot product direction.

• $20,000 (Monthly expenditure on Devin agents)
• 15 (Number of concurrent Devin agents Ryan manages)
• 40 (Daily PRs handled by the LAN PR skill)