A New Chapter
After years of client work, Caydev is returning to its original mission: to build, innovate, and create meaningful technology for the community. With the rise of AI, the spark that started it all has been reignited.
Leonard
Leonard is Director and Builder at Caydev.
Caydev was founded 12 years ago with an ambitious vision: to create life-changing products that would benefit not only our local community but potentially the wider world. We were four starry-eyed young Caymanians who believed we could build something that would spark a wave of innovation and help propel Cayman, and the region, into the digital age.
As we brainstormed, debated, and sketched out ideas, we began to understand the magnitude of what it really takes to build something truly groundbreaking. Still, the excitement of navigating uncharted territory was motivation enough to dedicate our free time and countless sleepless nights to the mission. Every small step forward came with valuable lessons in business, product design, and entrepreneurship.
We launched a couple of products during the mobile app boom and experienced the full cycle: design, develop, distribute. However, with scope creep and limited funding, we soon found ourselves stretched thin and eventually had to sunset those ventures. But the knowledge gained in the process became our greatest asset. We shifted gears, began consulting, and started building digital platforms for clients.
The consultancy work was good to us. It provided enough revenue to keep the lights on and gave us hope that we could eventually reinvest in our own R&D efforts. But as time passed, client work slowly became our entire focus. We were delivering, yes, but deep down, we knew we were just going through the motions. The original spark was fading.
Then came 2024 and the rise of artificial intelligence into the mainstream. Practically overnight, a new era of technology began, and suddenly the door was open for creators, innovators, and dreamers like us. For the first time, the tools to bring our ideas to life felt within reach, without the traditional barriers of funding or large teams. This was the breakthrough we had been waiting for.
So, we made a decision.
We are stepping away from client work and choosing to build again, experimenting, prototyping, and embracing the AI revolution head-on. Yes, a steady income is comfortable, but that was never the reason Caydev was born. We are here to innovate. To create something meaningful. To build something cool that makes a difference for our community and beyond.
As part of this renewed mission, we're refreshing our brand and rethinking how we communicate. We want to be active contributors in the builder movement, sharing insights, lessons, failures, and wins in real time. Our journey will be transparent, community-driven, and open to peer review throughout the process.
We’re reactivating our presence on social media, so if you want to follow a small Caribbean team taking on the AI landscape, connect with us on LinkedIn, Meta, Bluesky, and X.
We’re energized, focused, and ready to build again. And when we look back on this moment in the future, we believe we’ll say with confidence that this was the best decision we could have made.