23 Days of Building: Behind the Bugs, the Builds, and the Belief

Hi, this is G.

It’s been 23 days since my last post not because I ran out of ideas, burned out, or gave up. But because I was deep in the trenches: writing scripts, mentoring founders, debugging workflows that betrayed me at the worst possible times, and learning more from failed builds than from wins.

I wasn’t away. I was in it. That raw, chaotic, sometimes-late-night-ramen-fueled kind of building. The kind that doesn’t always look good on LinkedIn but rewires how you show up.

This isn’t just a recap. This is the builder’s confessional. What I built, what I broke, what made me laugh, what made me spiral — and why I still believe in this work, even on days it feels invisible.

To those who fell off the content train but kept pushing backend commits and quiet drafts? This one’s for you.

Let’s catch up. Let’s go.

Nanatech MVP

I joined the Bolt.new Hackathon last June 1, 2025 and semi-launched an AI-powered, senior-friendly reminder app called Nanatech. Kaya Nanatech.. kasi di magets ng mga tao if lola tech. Nana is like lola for foreigners. Tama ba?
It’s designed for Filipino grandparents, with bilingual UI, Tagalog voice guidance, and large, high-contrast buttons for accessibility. Every design decision was made with empathy: from voice narration in a familiar tone to intuitive navigation suited for older eyes and slower hands.

Kaya ko naisip eto yung use case for the hackathon is because my mom keeps asking me the how to pay bill, or how this works? And I also keep reminding her of her medicines. I figured just make an app for that can remind her using my voice.

During the build, I imagined si Mommy trying to use the app. That single image of her squinting at the phone, trying to remember her next medication anchored me during long debugging sessions. It reminded me that this wasn't just a project. It was a service for someone’s real-life Lola. And maybe, one day, for mine.

I was able to deploy a live waitlist for this using nextjs and for the app I integrated Supabase for secure auth (with RLS), and created workflows for reminder creation, daily notifications, and upcoming expansion to voice recording features. I even did a small design sprint where I prototyped a Tagalog-first voice instruction UI.

If you want your parents or lola to use this soon, join my waitlist - https://nanatech.today/

AgentCamp Waitlist Page: My Side Quest Turned Main Quest

What started as a fun idea — "what if AI learning was an RPG?" — became AgentCamp: a gamified AI education journey.

It has:

• Voice-enabled NPCs ("Greetings, Adventure!" still makes me giggle)
• Animated quest l proga
• Waitlist logic powered by n8n — each user tagged based on their chosen class
• Progressive onboarding quests that unlock more advanced AI workflows

No viral moment. Just one signup on launch day. But that hit deeper than 1,000 claps.

"The build didn’t go viral, but it lit something in me."

It’s the kind of platform I wish existed when I started. Check it out here: www.agentcamp.co and talk to Arcus, the AI Wizard Guide.

Launched it publicly on Day 28. I thought I’d get a handful of shares, maybe some likes. I didn’t. But one person signed up — and that quiet moment felt bigger than any public applause. It meant someone got it.

Blog-to-Social Automation

This one changed my entire content system. I built a modular pipeline that detects new blog posts and turns them into:

• Reddit-friendly summaries
• X/Twitter threads
• LinkedIn carousels
• Skool updates

All done using OpenAI’s text transformation, n8n flows, and data capture in Google Sheets. It’s not just a time-saver — it’s a sanity-saver.

The most challenging part? AI's unpredictable output structure. I had to build robust fallback logic into my n8n code nodes so that if "post_title" or "post_text" were renamed or missing, the automation wouldn’t break.

Veo 3 x n8n

I was deeply curious about Google’s Veo 3 — their cinematic-grade text-to-video model. So I connected Fal.ai and Replicate APIs inside n8n, triggering video generation using prompts tied to real user input.

My favorite part? Publishing a demo where Nanay is the main character, reminding viewers to take their meds. ElevenLabs provided the voice. Watching it come together made all the late nights worth it. The build didn’t just work. It spoke.

Other Builds

• Learned how to configure Supabase security properly — set up email auth and fine-tuned RLS policies for user-level data isolation.
• Installed Claude Code (Anthropic) locally to compare against GPT-4’s code writing for agent pipelines.
• Built a webhook-based waitlist system that logs user stages into Airtable and Sheets.
• Prototyped an automated IG reservation chatbot using ManyChat + n8n — tailored for a Filipino private dining client. Full demo is set this Sunday (June 30)!

Every build had its own tiny war. But each one brought me closer to what I’ve been trying to do all along — make AI more human, more helpful, more real.

People, Coaching, and Moments of Connection

KMME Coaching

I mentored over 10 SMEs across Region 1 and Region 10 under the DTI KMME Program — a project close to my heart. These weren’t just casual check-ins. These were deep, 1-on-1 coaching sessions where I got to listen to the stories behind each business:

• Jewelry makers navigating pricing and customer perception
• Farm operators tackling logistics and market access
• Spa owners wanting to automate bookings and upsell wellness packages
• Beauty brand founders pushing representation and identity

Lahat may pinagdadaanan. And every challenge reminded me why I build with empathy. Not everyone talks about AI, automation, or chatbots — but they all talk about time, trust, and totoong resulta. That’s the real currency.

Corporate Workshop

I also had the chance to co-facilitate an SDG x AI ideation session with powerhouse teams from:

• BPI
• PLDT
• Megaworld

We weren’t just talking tech. We were reframing sustainability problems into automation opportunities. It wasn’t easy — but it was the kind of work that fills your creative cup. Watching them light up when AI and impact aligned? Goosebumps. For real.

Internet Serendipity

One of the coolest things? I finally had a virtual face-to-face moment with Frank Nillard — a creator I’ve quietly followed since 2024.

For the longest time, I felt like people like him were light years ahead. But in that call? Parang sabay lang kaming naglalakad. Different paths. Same hunger to build. That short exchange made me realize that maybe I’m not “catching up” — I’m exactly where I need to be.

What Broke

Day 37: Nanatech Meltdown

I thought I was doing something simple: add a voice handler to Nanatech. Just one extra component — how hard could it be?

Turns out, very hard if you forget the golden rule: save a working version first.

One tweak led to another. The dependencies started acting up. Bugs I hadn’t seen before appeared like mini-bosses in a game I wasn’t ready for. Before I knew it, the whole thing went down. Total meltdown. Not even a rollback point.

So yeah, I rage-ate two giant bowls of katsudon. I deserved it. 😂

Lesson learned (the hard way): Always. Save. A. Working. Build. Kahit draft lang.

Pricing Resistance

This one stung differently. I lost two potential clients. Not because the automation or agent wasn’t helpful — they even said it was solid.

But I couldn’t clearly articulate the value.

It made me pause:

• Was I pricing too high?
• Or was I not connecting the dots between features and ROI?

Sometimes, being too close to your own build makes you forget how to explain it to someone new. A reminder to speak outcome, not just input. Work in progress pa rin dito.

Silent Launches

I shared AgentCamp with my communities — Reddit, X, Skool, Discord. It felt like a big deal to me. I was proud.

But the response? Crickets. Walang reaction. No comments. Not even a hate message. Just... quiet.

Honestly, it hurt. I questioned whether all the effort was worth it.

But then a day later, I got a DM from someone who signed up and said, “I’ve been waiting for something like this.”

And that’s when it hit me: validation doesn’t always wear applause. Sometimes, it’s subtle. Sometimes, it’s slow. And sometimes, it’s just one quiet person who needed it — and that’s enough to keep going.

Still hurts a bit, not gonna lie. But the silence taught me patience. And patience is part of building.

What I Learned

• Save a working build. Obvious. Crucial. And yet, we always forget until we don't have a rollback point and find ourselves screaming into the terminal. Lesson burned into my soul.
• Marketing is a numbers game. You want 1 client? You might need to pitch 100. Or 500. Hindi siya sexy, pero totoo. It's not about chasing virality — it's about putting in the reps, over and over again.
• Rest matters. I missed days. I hit creative walls. May mga araw na literal wala akong gana. But the key was not in being perfect — it was in returning. In showing up again, kahit late, kahit pagod.
• Celebrate small wins.
  • AgentCamp’s first user felt like my first RPG quest reward.
  • Nanatech’s first spoken reminder — hearing "Huwag kalimutan ang gamot" in a soft Tagalog voice? Literal goosebumps.
  • A DM that read: “Your workshop changed how I ask questions at work.” That one hit different. Parang, "Okay G, keep going."

Human Moments

• While designing Nanatech, I imagined my own mom — squinting at her phone, trying to remember kung alin sa mga gamot ang iinumin. That vision kept me anchored. Made every UI decision feel personal.
• I laughed like a kid — like batang G in an internet café — when my AgentCamp NPC said: “Greetings, Adventurer!” using ElevenLabs’ voice. The tone, the cadence — sakto. It felt like the game I always wanted to build.
• One day, I posted something with zero likes. Zero comments. Nakakababa ng morale, 'di ba? But then I got a private message:

“Hey G, that workflow guide helped me onboard a client faster.”

That reminded me: not all wins are visible. Some arrive in silence. But they matter just as much.

Final Thought

I didn’t post for 23 days. But I built more in those 23 days than in the last 90.

The silence? It wasn’t failure. It was fermentation. Refinement. The work was working, quietly.

If you’re building something and it feels like no one’s watching — keep going. If you’re doubting because the likes don’t match the labor — keep going.

We’re not just building apps. We’re building resilience.

To the quiet creators, the exhausted optimists, the stubborn dreamers — I see you. Let’s keep building.

— G