I'm Quentin Kasseh. I build production-grade data systems and write about what I learn.
Why I write this
There's a gap in how the data industry talks about problems.
Vendors sell tools. Consultants sell frameworks. But the hardest problems I've seen in my experience of building systems aren't tool problems. They are clarity problems. Architecture problems. Problems that require understanding the system, not just adding another layer to it.
I started Against Entropy to share the analysis I wish I had when I was leading data teams and advising executives. Practical breakdowns. Real numbers. The kind of thinking that helps you make better decisions about your data stack, your costs, and your roadmap.
If you're a tech founder making infrastructure decisions, a data engineer solving hard problems, or an entrepreneur trying to understand the technical landscape without the jargon, this is for you.
What you'll find here
Weekly newsletter (free)
Most writing about data and AI stays abstract. I don't like that. So, every week, I publish analysis on data infrastructure, AI in production, and the decisions that separate systems that hold from systems that break.
No vendor pitches. Just practical insight you can use.
I focus on three things:
- Practical analysis. Breakdowns of real problems with concrete solutions. Not theory. Not opinion pieces dressed as insights.
- Systems thinking. How to design architectures that hold up, and how to spot the ones that won't.
- The craft. What it actually takes to build reliable data infrastructure, including the parts that aren't in the documentation.
Monthly deep dives (paid)
Once a month, I publish a comprehensive breakdown of a specific problem: a cost optimization playbook, an architecture teardown, a migration framework.
These are the documents I build for clients, adapted for a broader audience.
Paid subscribers also get:
- Exclusive access to premium content
- Subscriber-only threads and Q&A
- Frameworks with real numbers, not theory
- 1-1 sessions
Membership tiers
Where I come from
I was born on the island Homer wrote about in the Odyssey, where Ulysses washed ashore and met the Lotus Eaters.
I was raised between cultures, eventually landing in the United States.
I spent time in a military academy. It taught me how to show up when you don't feel like it, how to commit before you're ready, and how discipline makes freedom possible.
For over fifteen years, I've been designing software architectures, leading engineering teams, and founding companies. I started Syntaxia to help organizations cut through data chaos. Before that, I built Sentinel Data and Data Tyr. Along the way, I've shipped distributed systems that handle millions in operational savings, advised executives on technical strategy, and led teams that turned ambiguous problems into running code.
The through-line across everything I do: I'm drawn to reducing entropy. Systems decay. Organizations drift. Data rots. The work I care about is building structures that hold, and building teams that maintain them.
I live in Atlanta now. You'll find me at a cigar lounge in Buckhead or in the gym. If you're local, reach out.
No AI
Everything here is human-made. The writing, the illustrations, the thinking. That's the point.
I use AI for research and pressure-testing ideas. I don't use it to write or illustrate.
Writing is how I discover what I think. Drawing is how I discover what I see. Outsourcing those acts defeats the purpose. The work is the product.
Read about the process here.