.

The past few decades, I have been hustling, exploring meetups, events, startup hackathons - I had also mentioned the countless check-ins I had done on this very blog - in hope to find at least one innovative, real-world impact idea/startup.

In 2009, As a part of a contest, I designed a vending machine that accepted waste-bottles as token/currency and dispensed condoms and sanitary pads. Not that I want to brag. I am simply proud of it today, for it was a simple change that could make the world a better place. And, the world today needs your IMPACT! - And in my years onward, I never could find any ideas pitched in events convert to a real-world problem solving startup.

That leaves me wondering - Where are the builders?

Almost 2 decades, now and lesser said, I feel miserable that people are still building for the web! Note to all my readers -- STOP BUILDING FOR THE WEB! - UI/UX is not #1 priority. It's rather embarrassing 80% of builder's understanding of product development, or ideation is never beyond the colors, icons, logos, and fonts. REALLY? The avenues for growth in sectors like robotics are huge! And, I lesser witnessed people moving towards hw-integration.

And, enter AI - this is a new age toy. People have grown obsessed spending their dime on useless means to acquire/target engagement. In my accordance, AI is a great plagiarism machine, and the potential use of it has already caused a lot of joblessness! Thank you for those who are busy trying to TAME the algorithm. This one goes for you too!

Observed Dark-patterns -- Software firms are promoting design thinking kool-aid specifically in INDIA. Firms want to outsource the design part to off-shore, and focus the integration aspects to themselves. A growing dark-pattern I spotted was this… And, makes every employee expendable! On a scale of pan-India, rising demand for developers is something worrying. A continuation of the past is not an option - the world wants to see more of open communication and collaboration!

The key aspect I wanted to stress here is lack of technology transfer. People with skills, rarely are rewarded for their knowledge in corporate structure. Coming to startups, the hiring is skewed - and unable to hire decent developers. And, larger sharks don't wish to share their technology. Ask this - When data, consensus is missing - how do you decide? Time to build indegenous technologies.

People have to be adept in vertical markets. This is a real miss because as pattern of design thinking changes. A growing demand for industry expertise exists where communication in business wants is more important than any technical skills. Ask this -- Are you capable of seeing a broader picture!

People end up being myopic - they focus more on one part of the product journey, and less focussed on the impact. Least, I write content for my team - helping development teams understand what works and what doesn't. "Powered by AI" is not the flex tech companies think it is. It simply has become a fancy jargon to woo investors!

Ps. I am doing vibe-coding. As a developer I loved stackoverflow. And, after these years, my new love for coding has greatly increased after using AI. I am never against AI, but just sad that tools are the wrong hands! Rich kids are getting funded for their vibe-coded startups. And, that's really sickening! And, with crazy amounts of sharktank-alike shows in 2026, everyone wants to be a VC!… But, why?

And, someone goes in every line to bombast - Attention is the new currency. Please grow up! What's disappointing is how crazy everyone wants to garner attention in hopes of getting funded with metrics that lesser concern a real-impact! Ps. Your product can be boring. Accept that fact! Business should be boring in my opinion.

Talent Acq. - Thanks to the cancel culture. GenZ don't want to work. Millennials don't want to coach. People are too honest with what they need - MONEY and more money. The other day, some bozo asked me if my startup is VC funded? Why on earth would I take a loan to prove everyone? The definition of success in their heads is getting funded - FACEPALM!

Thanks to "social" media, where everyone secretly sells you something! This may come as a surprise to many - I have no facebook, linkedin, IG/TikTok or YT channel. For sake of mental clarity, I decided to never use these apps in my life. I occasionally tweet, and do use X/Twitter, and successfully run several blogs and dozen websites.

Notes about fellow builders

  • Saksham Chaudhary FindCoder evaluating projects with AI agents
  • Chintan Thakkar introduced Fintellect, a personal finance app with MVP completed.
  • Bimal Poudel and Chitra Poudel introduced Barnaa, a wellness beverage brand
  • Aishwarya of IdealTummy, a lactose-free gut health platform seeking pre-seed funding.

Happy hustling!

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