Tate Hertel

About

Engineer. Builder. Problem solver.

I'm a full-stack engineer who builds complex, production-grade web platforms. My work spans real-time financial data systems, AI-powered creative tools, and custom applications for content creators. I focus on clean architecture, great user experiences, and products that actually work at scale.

I started building because I was frustrated by the gap between what software promises and what it actually delivers. Most web platforms are either beautiful but shallow, or powerful but unusable. I build things that are both — engineered to handle real complexity, designed so real people can use them.

My work lives at the intersection of hard engineering problems and real user needs. TheMarketBug required building a custom charting engine from scratch because no existing library could handle the rendering speed and data throughput. CodingBugLabs required abstracting three completely different ML pipelines into one cohesive interface. These aren't problems you solve with a framework — they require understanding the domain deeply and building the right thing.

Beyond my own products, I work with content creators to build white-label applications for their audiences. The model is simple: I build and maintain the app, they promote it, we split the profit. It's a way to apply engineering skill to help creators build lasting revenue streams beyond merch and sponsorships.

Philosophy

How I approach building

I believe in building things right. That means understanding the problem deeply before writing a line of code, choosing the right tools for the job (not the trendiest ones), and shipping software that's fast, reliable, and a pleasure to use.

01

Understand before building

I spend time understanding the domain and the user before making architecture decisions. For TheMarketBug, that meant understanding how financial data flows, why existing charting libraries fail at high update frequencies, and what traders actually need to see on screen.

02

Build what's needed, not what's trendy

I choose tools based on the problem, not what's on the front page of Hacker News. Sometimes that means Next.js. Sometimes it means a custom Canvas rendering engine. The right tool is the one that solves the problem reliably.

03

Ship, maintain, iterate

Shipping is the beginning, not the end. Both of my platforms are live, serving real users, and I continue to improve them. That means real monitoring, real error handling, real performance optimization.

Skills

What I work with

Languages & Frameworks

  • TypeScript
  • React
  • Next.js
  • Node.js
  • Python

Data & Infrastructure

  • PostgreSQL
  • AWS
  • Real-Time Systems
  • WebSocket Pipelines

Specialties

  • AI / ML Integration
  • API Design
  • Custom Rendering Engines
  • Data Normalization

Currently

Currently focused on scaling CodingBugLabs' GPU workload management and exploring new partnership opportunities with content creators in the fitness and productivity spaces. Always interested in hearing about new problems worth solving.

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