# Josh Price

> Software engineer, fractional CTO, founder, and conference speaker based in Sydney. Helping teams build better software by fixing architecture, incentives, and technical foundations.

Josh Price is the founder of Alembic, a consultancy focused on helping companies build simpler, more scalable systems. He provides fractional CTO services for founders who need experienced technical guidance without full-time commitment. He is a keynote speaker at major tech conferences including ElixirConf US, ElixirConf EU, and Code BEAM.

## Core Beliefs

- AI changes the calculus on just about everything
- Good software is the art of optimising what not to build
- Small teams with the right tools and constraints massively outperform large ones
- Simpler systems last longer
- Most software problems are systems problems in disguise

## Areas of Expertise

- Elixir and the BEAM ecosystem
- Ash Framework and declarative domain modelling
- High-concurrency systems architecture
- Infrastructure cost optimisation
- Technical leadership and team building
- AI/GenAI integration strategies

## Investment Thesis

Software approaches free as AI drives production costs toward zero. Pure software companies lose their moat - value shifts to distribution, data, relationships, taste, and speed of iteration. Most SaaS is up for grabs. Personalisation becomes the default. Every software market is basically contestable.

## Pages

- https://joshprice.com/
- https://joshprice.com/ventures
- https://joshprice.com/fractional-cto
- https://joshprice.com/ash
- https://joshprice.com/speaking
- https://joshprice.com/ideas
- https://joshprice.com/now
- https://joshprice.com/about
- https://joshprice.com/community
- https://joshprice.com/reading
- https://joshprice.com/work
- https://joshprice.com/contact

## Talks (YouTube)

### Keynotes
- A New Case for Elixir (ElixirConf US 2025, with Bruce Tate): https://youtu.be/Q34e3jLWYLU
- A Survival Guide for the AI Age (Code BEAM Europe 2025): https://youtu.be/C7BWgWdhZwE

### Ash Framework & AI
- Smarter Applications with Ash, LLMs and MCP (GigCityElixir): https://youtu.be/ZwPxhBEJoIA
- Better Elixir Applications with the Ash Framework (Elixir Sydney): https://youtu.be/duSq-lKMCqs
- Self Aware Applications with Ash (Elixir Sydney): https://youtu.be/zf4kyBcOdNE
- Working with OpenAI APIs in Elixir (Elixir Sydney): https://youtu.be/9d1y1x8Ezpw
- Building Advanced Elixir DSLs with Spark (Elixir Sydney): https://youtu.be/b-49Uf1pHjI

### Elixir & Phoenix
- Ambitious Applications with LiveView (The Big Elixir 2022): https://youtu.be/1vvvJkwzf5I

### Community
- The Global Elixir Community (Elixir Sydney): https://youtu.be/PexJNENRSq0
- Highlights from Elixir Conf and Gig City Elixir (Elixir Sydney): https://youtu.be/mvQ2AEU-ats

## Articles (Alembic Blog)

- The Essence of Ash Framework: https://alembic.com.au/blog/essence-of-ash-framework
- The Infrastructure Cost Crisis Nobody's Talking About: https://alembic.com.au/blog/how-elixir-solves-the-infrastructure-crisis
- Ash Summit 2025: https://alembic.com.au/blog/ash-summit-2025
- Erlang Ecosystem Foundation Board Elections 2025: https://alembic.com.au/blog/erlang-ecosystem-foundation-board-elections-2025

## Communities & Events Organised

- Elixir Sydney (monthly meetup): https://lu.ma/elixir-sydney
- GraphQL Sydney: https://graphql.sydney/
- Elixir Camp (unconference): https://elixir.camp
- Ash Summit 2025 (Varberg, Sweden)
- Alembic Community Days: https://lu.ma/alembic
- ThoughtWorks Alumni: https://lu.ma/afterthought

## Ash Framework Workshops

Full-day hands-on workshops run with Zach Daniel:
- ElixirConf US: 2023, 2024, 2025
- GigCityElixir: 2023, 2024
- Alchemy Conf Braga: 2025

## Projects

- Clarity: Interactive visualiser for Ash domain models - https://github.com/team-alembic/clarity
- Alembic: Consultancy - https://alembic.com.au

## Social & Contact

- LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/joshcprice
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/joshprice.com
- X (Twitter): https://x.com/joshprice
- GitHub: https://github.com/joshprice
- Sessionize: https://sessionize.com/josh-price/

## Recommended Reading

### Software & Systems
- Designing Data-Intensive Applications by Martin Kleppmann
- A Philosophy of Software Design by John Ousterhout
- Domain-Driven Design by Eric Evans
- Release It! by Michael Nygard

### Teams & Organizations
- Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais
- An Elegant Puzzle by Will Larson
- The Manager's Path by Camille Fournier
- Accelerate by Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, Gene Kim

### Strategy & Thinking
- Good Strategy Bad Strategy by Richard Rumelt
- The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt
- Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows

### Elixir & BEAM
- Designing Elixir Systems with OTP by James Edward Gray II & Bruce Tate
- Programming Elixir by Dave Thomas
- Elixir in Action by Saša Jurić
- Ash Framework: Create Declarative Elixir Web Apps by Rebecca Le & Zach Daniel: https://pragprog.com/titles/ldash/ash-framework/