Startups
These are companies I've founded or co-founded. Each represents my attempt to solve meaningful problems and create value.
Rurallink AI 2024 - Present
The journey of Rurallink AI is quite unique. It all started when I followed one piece of advice from Y Combinator's videos: for the project you're building, don't worry about the website design - just establish an online presence with a domain, logo, and waitlist. That's exactly what I did.
I also designed my project to work independently because I never imagined involving other people in it - or so I thought at the time.
The initial version was a bare minimum implementation. I didn't set up a database because I couldn't see the need to store my own data, there were no logs, and all I had were basic print statements for debugging.
I started posting about it on my WhatsApp and Instagram profiles. As an introvert, I don't have a large following, but two of my friends signed up for the waitlist. This created both motivation and pressure for me to continue developing it since people had shown interest.
I began saving money to purchase an SMS header service so I could communicate with the users on my waitlist. At around 8,000 Kenyan shillings, it felt quite expensive at the time.
To be continued...