Engineer by trade.
Dad, first.

Before every flight, I used to write emails to my boys. Just in case.

I wanted them to know what I thought about them. What I hoped for them. The things I’d want to say if, for whatever reason, I didn’t get the chance.

As I got older, I started thinking about everything else too.

I’m the technical one in our family. I knew where the important documents were. Where our photos were backed up. Which accounts existed. How things worked. Who to call. How to get into the computer or phone if someone really needed to.

My wife didn’t need to know all of it. I was there.

Then I realized how much of our family’s life existed only in my head.

None of it was especially complicated. But if I suddenly wasn’t there, my family would be left trying to piece it together while dealing with something much bigger.

So I started writing things down.

And something unexpected happened: I felt better.

There was comfort in knowing my family would have somewhere to begin. That feeling became If Required.

Most families have one person who knows where everything is. Maybe that’s you.

You know where the documents are. Where the photos live. What accounts exist. Who handles what. The little details nobody else has ever needed to think about.

And there are probably things you want to say too. A letter to your kids. Something your spouse should know. A family story you don’t want lost.

If Required gives you a place to write those things down and choose who should receive them. If something happens to you, the people you trust confirm it before anything is delivered.

Not because you expect something bad to happen. Because taking care of people sometimes means preparing for things you hope never happen.

If Required is the product I wanted for my own family. Now I hope it can help yours too.

I’ve spent most of my career building technology people depend on.

Before that, I served in the Marines and the National Guard. Both taught me the same thing: Preparation matters most when things don’t go according to plan.

I bring that mindset to If Required. Keep it simple. Take privacy seriously. Think through what can go wrong. And build something I’d trust with the people I care about most.

Privacy by default

These may be some of the most personal things you ever write. They should be treated that way.

Keep it simple

You shouldn’t need to complete a giant life-planning project. Write one thing your family should know. Choose who it’s for. Add the rest when you’re ready.

People come first

There’s a real person on both sides of everything in If Required. Someone who wrote it, and someone they care about who may someday receive it. That matters more than any feature.

Useful over complicated

If something sensitive belongs offline, keep it offline. Leave the way to find it. The goal isn’t to put your whole life in an app. The goal is to make things easier for the people you love.