Build Log #
Yesterday I met up with Arav (aravkumar.com / @ai_arav) and two of his friends for a cowork sesh at Founders Inc. I’d been playing around with this idea of a virtual vending machine UI for my website—something flashy and weird with neon signage and synthwave aesthetics. Got a prototype sketch up with CSS grid and SVG buttons that pulse on hover. It doesn’t do anything yet since I haven't set up the payment links yet, but it looks like it should vend a VHS tape, which is half the battle. Michael, one of Arav’s friends, and I also played some Clash Royale matches during breaks. I lost one and won one, and the one I won is definitely not because Michael wasn't paying attention for the first twenty seconds of the game.
After wrapping up at Founders Inc, we hit up Damnfine Pizza and talked about the weirdest foods we've eaten, what we'd do with a billion dollars, and shoegaze rock.
Later that night, I got on a spontaneous call with Audrey Choy (https://x.com/audreyychoy). She’s also attending the YC AI Startup School this summer, and we ended up chatting about the million different paths to deciding to start a startup and the weird excitement you feel when you know you can't do anything else. She’s sharp and funny, and I love that these “we barely know each other” convos keep happening! It's definitely what I came to SF for.
One of the things I appreciate about these SF weekends is that even downtime leads to idea generation. That vending machine concept came from a half-joke in a Discord channel.
I didn’t write or commit anything substantial, but the ideas percolated nicely.
Media Diet #
Honestly? Nothing. No music, no videos, no papers, no scrolls. The day just didn’t vibe that way. I think that’s allowed, especially when the social battery gets plugged in through real-life convos instead. The closest thing to media I consumed was Clash Royale matches and a pizza menu. And, well, I guess I watched the Different by Le Sserafim MV :)
No music even played in the background. Not even a lo-fi stream. I should probably be more worried about that than I am.
Small Wins & Face-plants #
Wins:
- Vending machine UI prototype looks sick.
- Fun trip to Founders Inc.
- Spontaneous call with Audrey.
- Made a Notion board for HackMIT projects with Bill and Mouad.
Fails:
- Literally consumed zero media, which is rare for me.
- Didn’t commit or push anything on GitHub.
- Forgot to eat or hydrate properly until like 7 PM.
Surprises:
- Clash Royale is still kind of fun when you're not rage-queuing.
- Audrey and I had more overlap in our startup experiences than expected.
- Founders Inc has really comfy chairs.
We will be winning HackMIT 2025 :) #
Big news: I’m teaming up with Bill (William Feng, wfeng.dev) and Mouad (tiahi.dev) for HackMIT this year. Bill goes to MIT and has been making absolute art out of frontend lately, while Mouad is a GPU wizard and low-level ML person who works at a computer architecture lab.
We made a shared Notion to toss in project ideas. Nothing locked in yet, but the energy is great. HackMIT is still months away, so we’re not rushing. But there’s something about forming a squad that instantly shifts your mindset. It’s not “what can I build”; it becomes “what’s our style?” That’s a different kind of motivation, and I like it a lot.
We’re also trying to game the judging meta a bit—like how to make a demo that feels impressive and explainable. We want our project to feel like it couldn’t exist last year. That’s the vibe.
More updates on this team as we actually start closing in on a project. For now, just excited that the HackMIT flame has been lit.
SF Coworking Energy Check #
Something about working from places like Founders Inc hits differently than campus lounges or cafes. Maybe it's the architecture. Maybe it's the mental echo chamber of being around people who are all locked in on their own projects. Either way, I’ve started to understand why people say environment design is half the battle in productivity.
It wasn’t a particularly long session—we each worked independently for a couple hours. I think the difference is that people there build as a lifestyle, not as an assignment.
Not sure if I’d work there every day—it’s still a bit too people-dense for deep focus, but as a weekend coworking spot it’s a win. Might try to make that a recurring thing.
And yes, the pizza after was very, very good.
if you press the insert coins button 10 times, you hit the jackpot!