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Thoughts on AI, automation, building in Africa, and lessons from the field.

Self-Hosting n8n on Google Cloud for Free: The Domain and Card You Need Before You Start

Cross-cutting

Featured
self-hostingFreen8n

Self-Hosting n8n on Google Cloud for Free: The Domain and Card You Need Before You Start

You can run n8n for free on Google Cloud's e2-micro tier, but two things aren't optional: a real domain name and a valid Visa or Mastercard. Here's the full command-by-command setup, and why those two requirements trip up more Kenyan founders than the actual Docker config does.

Jul 27, 2026

A Motivational Speech featuring Steve Jobs clips about discipline, focus, hard work, and success.

Personal

Featured
Jacob RockefellerSteve JobsApple

A Motivational Speech featuring Steve Jobs clips about discipline, focus, hard work, and success.

My parents worked themselves to the bone and still struggled. I was headed down the same path until I decided to look for some answers outside of standard advice.

Jul 22, 2026

WhatsApp has Hiden Your Customers' Phone Numbers. Here Is How to Fix Your CRM and n8n Workflows

Startup Life

whatsappWa-BaAPIs

WhatsApp has Hiden Your Customers' Phone Numbers. Here Is How to Fix Your CRM and n8n Workflows

Meta is replacing the phone number as the identity anchor on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Here is the schema change, the n8n lookup logic, and the migration steps to make before your automations start dropping customers.

Aug 12, 2026

Passion

Personal

career

Passion

In form four I was told to pick a course I was passionate about. I wanted medicine. I ended up building AI agents. Here is what that detour taught me about how passion actually works.

Aug 4, 2026

Adding the n8n AI Assistant to a Self-Hosted Instance (Docker + Traefik)

Automation

n8n AI AssistantVibe code n8n workflowsn8n

Adding the n8n AI Assistant to a Self-Hosted Instance (Docker + Traefik)

If you're already self-hosting n8n on Google Cloud with Docker Compose and Traefik, enabling the new AI Assistant is a five-step config change, no rebuild required.

Jul 28, 2026

You Don't Need an AI Automation Roadmap. You Need to Fix One Process First.

Automation

AI Automationno fluff

You Don't Need an AI Automation Roadmap. You Need to Fix One Process First.

ai-automation-roadmap-kenyan-smes

Jul 27, 2026

What the Streets Take, and What They Don't

Personal

personal essayresilienceNairobi

What the Streets Take, and What They Don't

A personal account of loss, exhaustion, and rebuilding, written from inside a hard season rather than after it.

Jul 22, 2026

Deep Work

Cross-cutting

Deep Work

Everyone is chasing the next AI tool. The real advantage might be simpler: the ability to focus on one hard problem without flinching.

Jul 9, 2026

From MERN Stack to n8n: How I Backed Into Building AI Automation for Kenyan SMEs

Cross-cutting

From MERN Stack to n8n: How I Backed Into Building AI Automation for Kenyan SMEs

A developer's journey from writing code to fixing real problems for law firms, dental clinics, and furniture shops across Kenya, and why local businesses need builders who understand local realities.

Jul 2, 2026

Stop Renting Your Automation: Why Kenyan SMEs Need to Own Their Workflow Stack

Cross-cutting

Stop Renting Your Automation: Why Kenyan SMEs Need to Own Their Workflow Stack

Most Kenyan SME automation is rented from an agency, priced per message, and gone the day you stop paying. Here is why ownership matters more than convenience.

Jul 2, 2026

What AI Automation Actually Costs a Small Business in 2026

Cross-cutting

n8nmake.comzapier

What AI Automation Actually Costs a Small Business in 2026

Real, current numbers, not a "prices vary" cop-out. The tools, the build, the hidden costs, and the one decision that can cut your monthly bill by ninety percent. Includes Kenyan shilling figures for local businesses.

Jul 1, 2026

Stop Automating the Wrong Thing First: A Simple Filter for Small Businesses

Cross-cutting

automation

Stop Automating the Wrong Thing First: A Simple Filter for Small Businesses

Most owners automate the exciting task instead of the expensive one, then wonder why nothing changed. Here is the scoring filter I use to decide what to automate first, plus the categories that almost always pay back before anything else.

Jul 1, 2026

The Honest Math on How Much Time AI Automation Saves Your Business

Cross-cutting

The Honest Math on How Much Time AI Automation Saves Your Business

Excerpt: Most time-savings claims about automation are guesses dressed up as facts. Here is how to calculate the real number for your own business, using a method you can run in fifteen minutes and examples from systems I have actually built and kept running.

Jul 1, 2026