inPulse Interview with Ilya Lehrman, CEO and Founder of inWorks LLC
IT isn't a clean white labcoat — it's a damp basement, sparking spheres, and the occasional singed robe. A conversation about what the industry gets wrong and what's changed about his work this year.
Welcome back to inPulse at inWorks LLC. Each week, we sit down with a member of our team to check in on their work, their recent wins, and what is motivating them as the week moves forward!
This week we’re catching up with our CEO and founder, Ilya Lehrman.
Claude and Copilot Helping to Make Strides in Development
Q: What are you doing differently than you were six months ago, and why
Six months ago, development was a continuous, onerous task for any team. inWorks LLC, in particular, is unique because none of our IT professionals went to school or have formal education in computer science, coding, or app development. However, it doesn’t slow us down. If anything, it helps our leaders and support professionals to approach roadblocks in outside-the-box ways that traditional IT and TSS specialists wouldn’t consider.
Thus, Ilya has transferred all of his rote Power Platform development to Claude and Copilot.
In practice, this means he relies on these tools to handle repetitive, rules-based build work, allowing him to focus his time on higher-value design decisions, problem solving, and oversight.
They’re better at it and faster, and I just need to make sure they get architectural decisions right and do the “dumb” developer work for me.
Why [do I do it]? It’s way faster, with better results.
What’s a project you’re currently working on that excites you?
Ilya is currently most excited about the Link Redirector project—a home-grown app for shortening URLs and creating secure one-time use links, all hosted in your own data center with encryption and minimal infrastructure cost.
Why Link Redirector?
Security-first design: One-time-use links ensure that sensitive information is only accessible once, reducing the risk of credential exposure. If a link is clicked, it expires and cannot be reused, keeping secrets out of email or Teams threads.
Internal hosting: All links are managed within the organization’s infrastructure, avoiding reliance on third-party services and maintaining control over data privacy.
Branded experience: The tool allows for custom landing pages and branded templates, making every shared link a professional touchpoint.
As Ilya explains:
“If you share something by email, chances are it’s going to stay in that person’s mailbox forever. If somebody gets access to that mailbox, they get access to your secret that you shared with them. If you’re using link redirector, one-time password feature, your secret is safe because one, that link’s already invalid and two, it’s not just available in somebody’s email for people to scan when they’re, you know, compromising mailbox.”
Are you sending sensitive information in emails? Don’t want credentials to live in someone’s inbox forever? Link redirector is available for external partners now! Click here to learn more!
Key Features & Use Cases
One-time-use links: Perfect for sharing credentials or confidential documents—links expire after use, reducing risk.
Shortened URLs: Convert long URLs into manageable, easy-to-share links for emails, documents, or print.
Custom landing pages: Add branded messages or information gates before redirecting users to their destination.
Usage visibility: Track when one-time links are used, confirming delivery and reducing uncertainty.
These features empower teams to securely share sensitive information, create onboarding or announcement pages, and manage link branding—all with minimal infrastructure overhead.
Martial Arts and Embracing Failure
Q: Who or what shaped how you approach your work? Could be a person, a book, an old job, anything.
Ilya points towards martial arts as a guiding light in how he approaches his work and life as a whole. He identifies martial arts as an ongoing journey that is informed more by his failures than his successes.
“Your work approach should reflect what you learn from others and from yourself, but also incorporate your own failure modes - that is, ways in which you know yourself to fail consistently. Understand that you can’t correct your failure modes through sheer will - you’re likely to just create more stress for yourself and fail more spectacularly later.
Instead, treat your failure modes as rocks in a river - flow past them, and maybe erode them over time such that they’re no longer obstacles.
Be patient with yourself, and by extension, with others. They are you, just in a different way.”
Appreciating the Spectrum of Personalities: Aaron’s Standout Client Rapport
Q: What’s something a teammate did recently that you wouldn’t have thought of yourself?
“Aaron had a homeIT visit and built rapport with our client in a way that my introverted self would have had a hard time doing. I definitely appreciate the spectrum of personalities that make up our team!”
This moment highlights how Aaron’s natural ability to connect with clients—especially during in-person visits—brings a unique strength to our group. While some of us may find it challenging to break the ice or build quick trust, Aaron’s approach demonstrates the power of authenticity and adaptability in client service. It’s a reminder that our collective success is built on the variety of strengths, temperaments, and perspectives each team member brings to the table.
IT: More Art Than Science?
Q: What’s something about how the industry talks about IT that you disagree with?
IT is often presented as clinical and dry—more science than art. But as Ilya points out, this is a misconception. While executives may picture IT as a world of brightly lit datacenters and lab-coated technicians, the reality is far more human, unpredictable, and creative.
“I find it odd as everyone in IT also knows that it’s messy and full of mysteries that naturally arise as the result of complexity and inclusion of human interaction and decisions over time. I think when executives picture IT they think of brightly lit datacenters and begoggled nerds in clean white labcoats; I picture it more like a damp basement with sparking spheres, dripping pipes, and an occasional zap with a whisp of smoke escaping into the ceiling, all constantly saved from disaster by ratnest-haired mad wizards in singed robes. The reality isn’t quite so disheveled, but if you start there you’d be a lot less surprised when things end up going wrong 🙂.”
This philosophy runs through inWorks LLC’s approach: ethical, human-centered, and built to last technically and culturally. It’s a call to see IT as a craft and to value the people who keep the sparks from turning into fires.
Thank You, Ilya!
Explore Past inPulse Interviews
Stay connected with the pulse of our organization by exploring previous inPulse interviews. Each week, we spotlight a different team member, sharing their achievements, perspectives, and advice. Whether you’re looking for inspiration, practical tips, or just want to catch up on what’s happening across inWorks LLC and Longview Farm, our inPulse archive is your go-to resource.
Browse the full collection and revisit highlights from team members past, and present in our inPulse tab!