About B-59

We design and build civic software that actually works — for voter access, courts, administrative processes, and public transparency. We do it with care, neutrality, and technical competence, for the long term.

Democracy isn't something you improvise. It's something you design. We help institutions and the people they serve get tools that fit how things really work, not how they look on a slide deck.

B-59 exists to modernize civic infrastructure thoughtfully. We're not here to advocate a political ideology, "disrupt" democracy for its own sake, or build flashy consumer apps. We're here to make the systems that underpin democratic life — voting, justice, administration, transparency — more trustworthy and usable.

We take responsibility for what we build. We resist hype. We bring a public-interest mindset without the weight of big institutions. Our job is to help you see clearly, decide well, and ship things that last.

We work with leaders and teams who operate in high-stakes, uncertain environments. We help them understand the systems they're in, see where those systems fall short, and make clear, defensible choices when the "right" answer isn't obvious.

We don't chase trends or attention. We aim for clarity, accountability, and results that hold up over time.

In 1962, Soviet submarine B-59 was pursued off the coast of Cuba by the US Navy. Cut off from communication and operating on faulty assumptions, the crew came close to launching a nuclear weapon. Vice Admiral Vasili Arkhipov chose restraint.

That single act of judgment changed the world. We took the name to honor him and to remind ourselves: systems fail, information is incomplete, and the most important decisions often happen under stress. Someone has to be the one who doesn't overreact — and doesn't look away.

Being human-centered isn't a design aesthetic. It's a commitment. We build for the people and institutions who depend on these systems, and we do it so the work holds up when it matters.