Stop Using AI. Start Building With It.

Two weeks ago I bought an Umbrel. $500. Plugged it in. Opened OpenClaw. Connected it to Claude. And started building.

I didn't know what I was making. I just started.

Two weeks later: an AI agent running coaching bots for our whole team at Bitcoin Ekasi and the Surfer Kids. 17 people. Tailored coaching. Group chats and one-on-one. Tracking goals, struggles, progress. Adjusting per person.

That was my job before. Me. One person at a time.

The system lives on hardware I own. I built the architecture. It didn't exist. Now it does.

Most people use AI like a fancy search engine. Ask a question. Get an answer. Useful. But transactional.

That's not what this is.

When you stop using AI as a tool and start using it as a collaborator — you see the whole thing differently.

I couldn't coach 17 people simultaneously, remember everything about each one, and be available 24/7. It can.

The risks are real. The disruption is real. But you only see the other side when you actually build something.

https://vryfokkenou.com/2026/05/08/i-built-an-ai-coach-in-two-weeks/