https://kingallem.com/blog Thoughts on aviation, AI, startups, and building products from zero to launch. en Sun, 31 May 2026 10:09:36 GMT https://kingallem.com/blog/my-tech-stack-in-2026-nextjs-ai-sdk-and-why-simplicity-wins https://kingallem.com/blog/my-tech-stack-in-2026-nextjs-ai-sdk-and-why-simplicity-wins After 18 years and ~20 products, my developer tech stack in 2026 is simpler than ever. Here's what I use, why I stopped chasing new frameworks, and why it ships faster. Thu, 28 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/why-i-built-6-agento-products-instead-of-1-big-platform https://kingallem.com/blog/why-i-built-6-agento-products-instead-of-1-big-platform The startup playbook says focus. I built six vertical AI products in parallel. Here's why vertical beats horizontal, why separate brands beat a unified platform, and when breaking the rules is the right strategy. Tue, 26 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/getting-started-with-allem-sdk https://kingallem.com/blog/getting-started-with-allem-sdk Allem SDK is a collection of React hooks for AI chat, form validation, authentication, analytics, and utilities. Here is how to install and use it. Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/getting-started-with-allem-ui https://kingallem.com/blog/getting-started-with-allem-ui Allem UI is an accessible component library for React and React Native with 44+ components, dark mode, and Tailwind CSS v4. Here is how to install and use it. Fri, 22 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/from-aviation-to-law-why-the-hardest-engineering-problems-are-in-regulated-industries https://kingallem.com/blog/from-aviation-to-law-why-the-hardest-engineering-problems-are-in-regulated-industries Everyone builds AI for consumer apps. The real challenges and opportunities are in industries where mistakes have consequences: aviation, legal, healthcare. Thu, 21 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Startups https://kingallem.com/blog/legalagento-the-first-ai-powered-unbundled-legal-services-marketplace https://kingallem.com/blog/legalagento-the-first-ai-powered-unbundled-legal-services-marketplace 80% of Americans with civil legal problems can't afford an attorney. Unbundled legal services is the solution the industry ignored. We built the AI marketplace. Thu, 30 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/new-pilot-shop-want-to-be-a-pilot-building-for-niche-communities https://kingallem.com/blog/new-pilot-shop-want-to-be-a-pilot-building-for-niche-communities I built an aviation e-commerce store and a pilot mentoring platform for tiny markets. Small communities with deep needs are more valuable than large, shallow ones. Wed, 29 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/the-agento-suite-building-6-ai-products-in-parallel https://kingallem.com/blog/the-agento-suite-building-6-ai-products-in-parallel In 2026, I launched six AI products across legal tech, travel, healthcare, and developer tools. Here is the architecture and playbook for building in parallel. Thu, 09 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/surfyx-what-building-a-surf-app-taught-me-about-distribution https://kingallem.com/blog/surfyx-what-building-a-surf-app-taught-me-about-distribution Surfyx is a surf tracking app and social network. Building it taught me that distribution, not features, determines whether a product succeeds in a niche market. Wed, 01 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/what-building-for-33-aviation-authorities-taught-me-about-regulated-ai https://kingallem.com/blog/what-building-for-33-aviation-authorities-taught-me-about-regulated-ai Most AI startups avoid regulated industries. Here is what a decade inside aviation, legal, and healthcare taught me about building AI that must be right. Thu, 19 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/how-i-use-ai-to-run-a-one-person-product-studio https://kingallem.com/blog/how-i-use-ai-to-run-a-one-person-product-studio I maintain ~20 products solo. AI is not replacing my work, it is multiplying it. Here is how I use Claude and AI tooling to operate at impossible scale. Wed, 11 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/prototyping-legalagento-from-research-to-working-product https://kingallem.com/blog/prototyping-legalagento-from-research-to-working-product How eight months of research became a working prototype. the technical decisions, the surprising challenges, and the first user reactions to AI-guided legal help. Sun, 01 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/the-future-of-unbundled-legal-services-legalagento-bet https://kingallem.com/blog/the-future-of-unbundled-legal-services-legalagento-bet The legal industry is where healthcare was twenty years ago. Unbundled services powered by AI are the path to making legal help affordable. Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/legal-tech-landscape-2024-where-the-gaps-are https://kingallem.com/blog/legal-tech-landscape-2024-where-the-gaps-are Mapping the 2024 legal tech market revealed a crowded enterprise layer, a thin consumer layer, and three critical gaps that AI-powered tools can finally close. Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/codeagento-idea-ai-coding-assistant-teams https://kingallem.com/blog/codeagento-idea-ai-coding-assistant-teams Why I am designing an AI coding assistant that understands entire product portfolios, not just individual files, and the specific problems it needs to solve. Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/building-software-for-lawyers-ux-lessons https://kingallem.com/blog/building-software-for-lawyers-ux-lessons What I learned about designing legal software as someone who has never practiced law, and why outsider perspective might actually be an advantage. Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/legal-tech-landscape-where-the-gaps-are https://kingallem.com/blog/legal-tech-landscape-where-the-gaps-are A solo founder's analysis of the legal tech market. who is building what, who is being served, and where the biggest opportunities for AI remain untouched. Sun, 01 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/risely-when-product-finds-market-by-accident https://kingallem.com/blog/risely-when-product-finds-market-by-accident The story of how Risely stumbled into product-market fit through an audience I never designed for, and what it taught me about building with loose hands. Sun, 25 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/agento-suite-ai-agents-every-industry https://kingallem.com/blog/agento-suite-ai-agents-every-industry The thesis behind building specialized AI agents for law, coding, and beyond, and why general-purpose AI tools leave so much value on the table. Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/legalagento-researching-access-to-justice-crisis https://kingallem.com/blog/legalagento-researching-access-to-justice-crisis The research phase behind LegalAgento. understanding why 80% of civil legal needs in the US go unmet and how AI-powered unbundled legal services could change that. Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/20-products-6-industries-18-years-my-builders-journey https://kingallem.com/blog/20-products-6-industries-18-years-my-builders-journey From aerospace engineering to AI platforms across aviation, legal tech, and travel. What 18 years of shipping taught me about problems worth solving. Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT Life https://kingallem.com/blog/what-10-hackathon-wins-taught-me-about-rapid-prototyping https://kingallem.com/blog/what-10-hackathon-wins-taught-me-about-rapid-prototyping I've won 10+ hackathons across 4 countries. The secret isn't coding fast, it's deciding fast. Here's the framework I use every time. Mon, 29 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-portfolio-five-products-one-industry https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-portfolio-five-products-one-industry Inside the strategy behind building five complementary products for the aviation industry. Aviation Infinity, Avioyx, AvioSharing, New Pilot Shop, and Want To Be a Pilot. Mon, 22 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/avioyx-building-an-aviation-os-for-33-regulatory-frameworks https://kingallem.com/blog/avioyx-building-an-aviation-os-for-33-regulatory-frameworks Pilots use a different app for every task. Avioyx combines flight planning, weather, logbooks, and scheduling into one OS for every major authority. Wed, 17 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/the-architecture-behind-clickai-multi-agent-ai-that-builds-websites https://kingallem.com/blog/the-architecture-behind-clickai-multi-agent-ai-that-builds-websites ClickAi orchestrates multiple AI agents for structure, copy, design, and SEO to produce coherent websites. Here's how the system works. Wed, 05 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/from-rome-to-the-world-what-moving-between-countries-taught-me-about-building-products https://kingallem.com/blog/from-rome-to-the-world-what-moving-between-countries-taught-me-about-building-products Aerospace engineering in Rome, flight training in Belgium, building in Mexico and the US. Each move reshaped how I think about users. Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Life https://kingallem.com/blog/from-rome-to-mit-what-moving-between-3-countries-taught-me-about-building-products https://kingallem.com/blog/from-rome-to-mit-what-moving-between-3-countries-taught-me-about-building-products Studying aerospace engineering in Rome, researching at MIT, flight training in Belgium, building in Mexico and the US. each move reshaped how I think about problems, users, and what 'good enough' means. Wed, 15 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMT Life https://kingallem.com/blog/how-i-built-an-mcp-server-to-manage-my-own-blog-with-ai https://kingallem.com/blog/how-i-built-an-mcp-server-to-manage-my-own-blog-with-ai I built an MCP server that lets Claude publish to my blog directly. Here's the full architecture, tools, MongoDB integration, and lessons learned. Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/what-hackathon-wins-across-4-countries-taught-me-about-building-under-pressure https://kingallem.com/blog/what-hackathon-wins-across-4-countries-taught-me-about-building-under-pressure 10+ wins across Italy, Spain, Mexico, and the US for Google, Facebook, ForeFlight, and Whirlpool. Hackathons taught me to ship under impossible deadlines. Wed, 03 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT Life https://kingallem.com/blog/8-languages-4-continents-11-products-lessons-from-building-globally https://kingallem.com/blog/8-languages-4-continents-11-products-lessons-from-building-globally Products in Italy, Belgium, Mexico, the US, the UK, for users in 120+ countries. Localization is not translation, it is a different way of thinking. Wed, 13 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT Life https://kingallem.com/blog/7-languages-4-continents-18-products-lessons-from-building-globally https://kingallem.com/blog/7-languages-4-continents-18-products-lessons-from-building-globally I've built products in Italy, Belgium, Mexico, the US, the UK, and for users in 120+ countries. Speaking 7 languages and working across cultures taught me that localization isn't translation. it's a completely different way of thinking about products. Wed, 13 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMT Life https://kingallem.com/blog/the-first-ios-electronic-flight-computer-a-story-of-building-firsts https://kingallem.com/blog/the-first-ios-electronic-flight-computer-a-story-of-building-firsts In 2008, I built one of the first electronic flight computers for iOS, a digital E6B. It taught me that being first matters less than being right. Wed, 23 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/surfyx-launch https://kingallem.com/blog/surfyx-launch Surfyx is my first product as a co-founder. Here is why I built a social network for surfers and what building for a passionate community taught me. Sun, 15 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/what-judging-at-calhacks-taught-me-about-the-next-generation-of-ai-builders https://kingallem.com/blog/what-judging-at-calhacks-taught-me-about-the-next-generation-of-ai-builders Lead mentor at UC Berkeley's CalHacks since 2018. Watching thousands of students build AI in 36 hours taught me more about tech's future than any conference. Wed, 11 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMT Life https://kingallem.com/blog/avioyx-designing-flight-operations-platform https://kingallem.com/blog/avioyx-designing-flight-operations-platform How I identified the gap in flight operations software and began designing Avioyx, a platform built for how modern flight schools actually operate. Thu, 20 Mar 2025 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/clickai-why-i-built-an-ai-web-builder-for-non-technical-founders https://kingallem.com/blog/clickai-why-i-built-an-ai-web-builder-for-non-technical-founders Entrepreneurs spent weeks and thousands on websites that could be generated in minutes. Seven years later, ClickAi builds live sites from a voice prompt. Wed, 26 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/how-i-built-aviation-infinity-from-flight-school-to-50000-students https://kingallem.com/blog/how-i-built-aviation-infinity-from-flight-school-to-50000-students A student pilot struggling with outdated materials across 33 authorities. So I built the first AI flight academy, now serving 50,000+ students globally. Wed, 05 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/19-products-4-industries-15-years-my-builders-journey https://kingallem.com/blog/19-products-4-industries-15-years-my-builders-journey From aerospace engineering at MIT to building AI platforms across aviation, legal tech, travel, and education. here's what 15 years of shipping products taught me about finding problems worth solving. Wed, 15 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT Life https://kingallem.com/blog/mcp-servers-bridge-between-ai-and-your-systems https://kingallem.com/blog/mcp-servers-bridge-between-ai-and-your-systems MCP servers connect AI models to your real systems - databases, CRMs, deployment pipelines. Here's why I built custom MCP servers and what they changed. Thu, 09 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/eight-years-building-side-projects-to-product-studio https://kingallem.com/blog/eight-years-building-side-projects-to-product-studio The full arc from my first side project to a portfolio of 9 products. what changed, what stayed the same, and what I wish I'd known at the beginning. Mon, 30 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/2024-in-review-year-ai-became-my-co-founder https://kingallem.com/blog/2024-in-review-year-ai-became-my-co-founder A year of building with AI at the center: integrating Claude across my products and learning what it means to collaborate with AI daily. Thu, 26 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/edge-computing-nextjs-what-i-actually-use-it-for https://kingallem.com/blog/edge-computing-nextjs-what-i-actually-use-it-for Edge computing with Next.js isn't always faster. Here's where it genuinely helps and where it's counterproductive in production. Thu, 19 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/building-ai-trust-in-regulated-industries https://kingallem.com/blog/building-ai-trust-in-regulated-industries What it takes to build AI products that people actually trust in high-stakes, regulated environments like law. transparency, boundaries, and honest uncertainty. Mon, 16 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/how-i-maintain-9-products-without-burning-out https://kingallem.com/blog/how-i-maintain-9-products-without-burning-out The systems, boundaries, and hard-learned lessons that let a solo founder keep 9 products alive and growing. without working 80-hour weeks. Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/how-i-maintain-19-products-without-burning-out https://kingallem.com/blog/how-i-maintain-19-products-without-burning-out The systems, boundaries, and hard-learned lessons that let a solo founder keep 19 products alive and growing. without working 80-hour weeks. Thu, 12 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/ai-sdk-patterns-streaming-tool-use-structured-output https://kingallem.com/blog/ai-sdk-patterns-streaming-tool-use-structured-output Practical Vercel AI SDK patterns for production: streaming responses, tool calling, and structured output that actually parses. From real shipped code. Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/typescript-monorepo-patterns-multi-product-founders https://kingallem.com/blog/typescript-monorepo-patterns-multi-product-founders How I structure a TypeScript monorepo across 9 live products - shared packages, independent deployments, and the patterns that prevent a monolith. Thu, 12 Sep 2024 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/claude-vs-gpt-production-ai-why-i-chose-claude https://kingallem.com/blog/claude-vs-gpt-production-ai-why-i-chose-claude After testing both extensively in production across my products, here is why Claude powers all of my AI features, and the specific technical reasons behind the choice. Thu, 15 Aug 2024 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/vertical-ai-thesis-why-horizontal-ai-products-fail https://kingallem.com/blog/vertical-ai-thesis-why-horizontal-ai-products-fail After building AI products across multiple industries, here is why I believe vertical AI wins, and why most horizontal AI startups will struggle to survive. Thu, 16 May 2024 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/ai-agents-explained-what-they-are-why-they-matter https://kingallem.com/blog/ai-agents-explained-what-they-are-why-they-matter A practical breakdown of what AI agents actually are, how they differ from chatbots and copilots, and why they represent the next major shift in software. Thu, 15 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/seven-years-building https://kingallem.com/blog/seven-years-building Looking back on seven years of building web products, from Rome to the world, from first lines of code to 50K users. The advice I wish I had heard at the start. Sat, 30 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/solo-vs-team https://kingallem.com/blog/solo-vs-team After seven years as a solo founder building multiple products, I have strong opinions about when to stay alone and when to partner up. Sat, 23 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-infinity-50k https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-infinity-50k Aviation Infinity just crossed 50,000 students. Here is the unfiltered story of how a side project became a real education platform. Mon, 18 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/ai-product-mistakes https://kingallem.com/blog/ai-product-mistakes A year of building AI products has given me a collection of expensive mistakes. Here are the five that cost me the most time, money, and sanity. Thu, 14 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/vector-databases https://kingallem.com/blog/vector-databases Everyone says to add a vector database to your AI app. But do you actually need one? I tried it in 2 products - one was right, one was overkill. Thu, 07 Dec 2023 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/open-source-vs-saas https://kingallem.com/blog/open-source-vs-saas After building both open-source tools and paid SaaS products, I have developed a framework for deciding which model to use. Thu, 23 Nov 2023 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/ai-regulated-industries https://kingallem.com/blog/ai-regulated-industries Building AI for aviation taught me that compliance is not a constraint on innovation. It is a design requirement that shapes better products. Thu, 19 Oct 2023 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/auth-patterns-nextjs https://kingallem.com/blog/auth-patterns-nextjs Next.js auth patterns that survived real users, security scans, and 3 AM incidents - JWT, HTTP-only cookies, and refresh token rotation. Thu, 14 Sep 2023 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/rome-to-tech https://kingallem.com/blog/rome-to-tech Growing up in Rome gave me something that no computer science degree could: a deep appreciation for craftsmanship, beauty, and things that last. Thu, 20 Jul 2023 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/ai-content-generation https://kingallem.com/blog/ai-content-generation Generating content with AI is easy. Generating content that is consistently good enough to ship is a completely different problem. Thu, 15 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-infinity-ai https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-infinity-ai Aviation Infinity was built to help pilots pass their exams. Adding AI-powered adaptive learning transformed it from a question bank into a personal flight instructor. Thu, 18 May 2023 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/prompt-engineering-production https://kingallem.com/blog/prompt-engineering-production Playground prompts fail in production. Here's how production prompt engineering differs - covering consistency, cost, latency, and safety at scale. Thu, 13 Apr 2023 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/clickai-llm-upgrade https://kingallem.com/blog/clickai-llm-upgrade ClickAi was already an AI website builder. But integrating LLMs transformed it from a template filler into something that genuinely understands what users want. Thu, 16 Mar 2023 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/llm-integration-lessons https://kingallem.com/blog/llm-integration-lessons Integrating LLMs into production apps is nothing like the demos. Here's what I learned shipping LLM features to real users, mistakes included. Thu, 16 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/nextjs-app-router-early-adoption https://kingallem.com/blog/nextjs-app-router-early-adoption I migrated multiple production apps to the Next.js App Router before it was stable. Here are the real growing pains, the wins, and why I'd do it again. Mon, 23 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/chatgpt-changed-everything https://kingallem.com/blog/chatgpt-changed-everything When ChatGPT launched in late 2022, I knew every AI product I had built needed to be rethought. Here is how I approached the rebuild. Thu, 19 Jan 2023 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/six-years-building-compounding-products https://kingallem.com/blog/six-years-building-compounding-products After six years of building products as a solo founder, the biggest lesson is that products compound like interest. each one makes the next easier and more valuable. Thu, 29 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/building-design-system-team-of-one https://kingallem.com/blog/building-design-system-team-of-one I'm a developer, not a designer - but I maintain consistent UI across 6 products. Here's how building a design system as a solo founder works with Tailwind. Thu, 22 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/aviosharing-cost-sharing-pilots https://kingallem.com/blog/aviosharing-cost-sharing-pilots How the idea for AvioSharing was born from a simple observation: flying is expensive, and pilots waste money flying alone when they could share costs. Thu, 15 Dec 2022 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/internationalization-building-products-global-markets https://kingallem.com/blog/internationalization-building-products-global-markets Translation is only 20% of internationalization. Here's what I learned building for 30+ countries: payments, dates, and culture matter more. Thu, 17 Nov 2022 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-infinity-25000-students-scaling https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-infinity-25000-students-scaling What I learned scaling Aviation Infinity from a side project to a platform serving 25,000 student pilots, and the challenges that came with each milestone. Thu, 20 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/pricing-experiments-changed-revenue https://kingallem.com/blog/pricing-experiments-changed-revenue The pricing experiments I ran across my products, what I learned about willingness to pay, and the counterintuitive results that reshaped my approach. Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/database-per-product-strategy https://kingallem.com/blog/database-per-product-strategy I run 6 production products and each gets its own database, no exceptions. Here's why a database-per-product strategy beats shared infrastructure. Thu, 18 Aug 2022 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/content-marketing-saas-aviation-infinity https://kingallem.com/blog/content-marketing-saas-aviation-infinity A breakdown of the content marketing strategy that grew Aviation Infinity's organic traffic, and why most SaaS content advice didn't apply. Thu, 19 May 2022 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/multi-tenant-saas-architecture-solo-founders https://kingallem.com/blog/multi-tenant-saas-architecture-solo-founders Standard multi-tenant SaaS advice assumes a team. Here's how I approach tenant isolation as a solo founder running multiple products. Thu, 21 Apr 2022 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/clickai-v2-rebuilding-ai-product https://kingallem.com/blog/clickai-v2-rebuilding-ai-product Why I decided to rebuild ClickAi from the ground up, what I learned about AI product development, and how v2 became a fundamentally different product. Thu, 24 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-post-covid-training-market https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-post-covid-training-market The aviation training industry emerged from COVID fundamentally changed. Here's what I saw from inside the market and how it shaped my products. Thu, 17 Feb 2022 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/five-years-five-products-a-solo-founder-retrospective https://kingallem.com/blog/five-years-five-products-a-solo-founder-retrospective Five years of building products. Five active products. Multiple countries. Zero employees. Here's the honest retrospective. what worked, what didn't, and what I'd tell someone starting the same journey. Thu, 30 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/five-years-of-building-a-solo-founder-retrospective https://kingallem.com/blog/five-years-of-building-a-solo-founder-retrospective Five years, multiple products, zero employees. An honest retrospective on what worked and what I'd do differently. Thu, 30 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/launching-new-pilot-milano-e-commerce-for-aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/launching-new-pilot-milano-e-commerce-for-aviation New Pilot Milano is an aviation e-commerce store selling pilot uniforms and gear. Launching it alongside my digital products taught me how physical and digital products complement each other in a portfolio. Thu, 16 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/launching-new-pilot-shop-e-commerce-for-aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/launching-new-pilot-shop-e-commerce-for-aviation New Pilot Shop sells pilot uniforms and gear. Launching physical products alongside digital ones taught me how they complement each other. Thu, 16 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/seo-for-side-projects-what-actually-moves-the-needle https://kingallem.com/blog/seo-for-side-projects-what-actually-moves-the-needle Most SEO advice assumes a content team and a budget. Here's what actually moves the needle when you're one person building and writing. Thu, 09 Dec 2021 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/want-to-be-a-pilot-building-a-mentorship-platform https://kingallem.com/blog/want-to-be-a-pilot-building-a-mentorship-platform Want To Be a Pilot connects aspiring pilots with experienced aviators. Building it taught me mentorship products are supply-constrained and hard to scale. Thu, 18 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/trust-and-safety-in-peer-to-peer-marketplaces https://kingallem.com/blog/trust-and-safety-in-peer-to-peer-marketplaces When strangers transact through your platform, trust is the product. Building Babonbo's safety systems taught me they're the invisible foundation. Thu, 21 Oct 2021 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/switching-to-tailwind-css-across-all-my-projects https://kingallem.com/blog/switching-to-tailwind-css-across-all-my-projects I switched from CSS modules and styled-components to Tailwind CSS across every product. Here's why it eliminated naming decisions. Thu, 16 Sep 2021 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/geographic-expansion-when-and-how-to-go-multi-country https://kingallem.com/blog/geographic-expansion-when-and-how-to-go-multi-country Geographic expansion isn't just translation - it's regulation, payments, and localization. Here's what I learned going multi-country. Thu, 19 Aug 2021 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-infinity-hits-10k-users-what-drove-the-growth https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-infinity-hits-10k-users-what-drove-the-growth Aviation Infinity reached 10,000 student pilots. The growth was institutional: flight school partnerships, word-of-mouth, and content quality. Thu, 22 Jul 2021 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/payment-integration-lessons-stripe-across-multiple-products https://kingallem.com/blog/payment-integration-lessons-stripe-across-multiple-products I've integrated Stripe across 5 products - subscriptions, marketplace payouts, multi-currency. Here are the integration lessons the docs don't teach. Thu, 17 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/two-sided-marketplace-mechanics-supply-vs-demand https://kingallem.com/blog/two-sided-marketplace-mechanics-supply-vs-demand A two-sided marketplace isn't one product, it's two. Here's what Babonbo taught me about balancing supply and demand. Thu, 20 May 2021 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/moving-to-london-what-changes-when-you-join-a-global-tech-hub https://kingallem.com/blog/moving-to-london-what-changes-when-you-join-a-global-tech-hub After building from the US-Mexico border and Italy, I moved to London. A global tech ecosystem changed my perspective on markets and ambition. Thu, 22 Apr 2021 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/the-family-travel-market-nobody-is-serving https://kingallem.com/blog/the-family-travel-market-nobody-is-serving Families with young children are the most underserved segment in travel tech. The needs are specific, spending is high, and solutions are fragmented. Thu, 18 Mar 2021 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/the-cold-start-problem-getting-first-users-on-a-marketplace https://kingallem.com/blog/the-cold-start-problem-getting-first-users-on-a-marketplace No supply without demand, no demand without supply. Here's how I solved the cold start problem for Babonbo and what applies to any marketplace. Thu, 18 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/year-four-what-a-global-pandemic-teaches-a-solo-founder https://kingallem.com/blog/year-four-what-a-global-pandemic-teaches-a-solo-founder 2020 was supposed to be a growth year. Instead it became a survival year. The lessons are about resilience, adaptability, and the advantage of being small. Mon, 28 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/why-i-moved-everything-to-vercel https://kingallem.com/blog/why-i-moved-everything-to-vercel I've deployed on AWS, Heroku, and self-managed VPS. Vercel is the first platform where deployment became invisible. Here's why I moved every product to Vercel. Thu, 10 Dec 2020 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/betting-on-aviations-recovery-while-everyone-else-left https://kingallem.com/blog/betting-on-aviations-recovery-while-everyone-else-left By late 2020, many aviation startups had shut down or pivoted. I doubled down because the pilot shortage was deferred, not gone. Thu, 19 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/product-market-fit-signs-you-might-be-missing https://kingallem.com/blog/product-market-fit-signs-you-might-be-missing Product-market fit isn't a single moment of revelation. It's a collection of signals - some obvious, some subtle. Here are the ones I watch for. Thu, 22 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/converting-a-javascript-codebase-to-typescript-was-it-worth-it https://kingallem.com/blog/converting-a-javascript-codebase-to-typescript-was-it-worth-it Converting JavaScript to TypeScript broke everything - temporarily. Six months later it was my best engineering decision. Here's the migration guide I wish I'd had. Thu, 17 Sep 2020 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/launching-an-e-commerce-store-for-pilot-gear https://kingallem.com/blog/launching-an-e-commerce-store-for-pilot-gear New Pilot Shop started as an experiment: premium pilot uniforms, designed in Italy, sold online. Small markets with passionate customers can surprise you. Thu, 20 Aug 2020 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/building-products-during-uncertainty https://kingallem.com/blog/building-products-during-uncertainty 2020 taught every founder that uncertainty is the default. The products that survived had the most adaptable foundations, not the best plans. Thu, 23 Jul 2020 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/going-serverless-why-i-stopped-managing-servers https://kingallem.com/blog/going-serverless-why-i-stopped-managing-servers Going serverless with Vercel and MongoDB Atlas eliminated an entire category of work. Here's how I ditched SSH and nginx for good. Thu, 18 Jun 2020 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/digital-learning-in-aviation-why-online-exam-prep-exploded https://kingallem.com/blog/digital-learning-in-aviation-why-online-exam-prep-exploded COVID forced aviation training online. Students discovered digital tools beat physical classrooms, and Aviation Infinity saw the shift firsthand. Thu, 21 May 2020 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/pivoting-during-a-crisis-how-covid-changed-my-product-strategy https://kingallem.com/blog/pivoting-during-a-crisis-how-covid-changed-my-product-strategy COVID changed my entire product strategy - from single-industry focus to diversified portfolio and from growth at all costs to sustainable operations. Thu, 23 Apr 2020 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/when-your-industry-shuts-down-aviation-during-covid https://kingallem.com/blog/when-your-industry-shuts-down-aviation-during-covid In March 2020, global aviation shut down overnight. Air traffic dropped 90%, flight schools closed, and my primary market evaporated. Mon, 30 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/remote-product-development-tools-and-workflows-that-work https://kingallem.com/blog/remote-product-development-tools-and-workflows-that-work I've been building products remotely across time zones for years. The tools matter less than the workflows that keep you productive. Thu, 20 Feb 2020 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-in-2020-why-i-was-bullish-before-the-world-changed https://kingallem.com/blog/aviation-in-2020-why-i-was-bullish-before-the-world-changed In January 2020, aviation was booming and pilot demand was at record highs. I was expanding Aviation Infinity aggressively. Then March happened. Thu, 23 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/three-years-building-the-compound-effect-of-shipping https://kingallem.com/blog/three-years-building-the-compound-effect-of-shipping After three years and multiple products, the compound effect is real: shared code, transferable skills, and a portfolio greater than the sum of its parts. Thu, 19 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/building-for-regulated-industries-aviation-was-my-first-lesson https://kingallem.com/blog/building-for-regulated-industries-aviation-was-my-first-lesson Aviation taught me that regulated industries need a different mindset. Compliance isn't a constraint to work around - it's a feature to build in. Thu, 21 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/mongodb-at-scale-what-i-learned-managing-multiple-databases https://kingallem.com/blog/mongodb-at-scale-what-i-learned-managing-multiple-databases Running MongoDB at scale across multiple products taught me hard lessons about indexing, aggregation pipelines, and schema design. Thu, 24 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/user-feedback-loops-that-actually-work-for-small-teams https://kingallem.com/blog/user-feedback-loops-that-actually-work-for-small-teams You don't need a UX research team to build great products. These feedback loops work for solo founders and small teams. Thu, 19 Sep 2019 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/running-multiple-products-as-a-solo-founder https://kingallem.com/blog/running-multiple-products-as-a-solo-founder Most startup advice says focus on one thing. I run multiple products simultaneously. Here's why the portfolio approach works for bootstrapped founders. Thu, 22 Aug 2019 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/no-code-vs-code-when-to-use-which https://kingallem.com/blog/no-code-vs-code-when-to-use-which No-code vs code isn't an either/or decision. Here's my framework for when Webflow and Airtable beat custom dev - and when they won't. Thu, 18 Jul 2019 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/creating-50000-aviation-exam-questions-with-ai https://kingallem.com/blog/creating-50000-aviation-exam-questions-with-ai Aviation Infinity needed thousands of exam questions across fourteen subjects. Here's how I built AI-assisted question generation with expert review. Thu, 20 Jun 2019 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/saas-pricing-lessons-from-a-solo-founder https://kingallem.com/blog/saas-pricing-lessons-from-a-solo-founder I've repriced every product I've built. The lessons: charge more than you think, simplify your tiers, and never compete on price in a niche market. Thu, 23 May 2019 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/why-i-migrated-everything-to-nextjs https://kingallem.com/blog/why-i-migrated-everything-to-nextjs I migrated all my products from React + Express to Next.js. One framework for frontend, backend, and deployment transformed my productivity. Thu, 25 Apr 2019 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/the-idea-behind-aviation-infinity-fixing-pilot-exam-prep https://kingallem.com/blog/the-idea-behind-aviation-infinity-fixing-pilot-exam-prep Pilot exam prep was broken - outdated PDFs, no adaptive learning, no mobile. Aviation Infinity was my answer, built by a pilot who suffered through it. Mon, 18 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/using-ai-for-web-design-before-it-was-cool https://kingallem.com/blog/using-ai-for-web-design-before-it-was-cool In 2019, AI for web design meant rule-based systems and template matching. It taught me how to build AI products that deliver value even when the AI is primitive. Thu, 21 Feb 2019 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/clickai-why-i-built-an-ai-website-builder-in-2019 https://kingallem.com/blog/clickai-why-i-built-an-ai-website-builder-in-2019 I built an AI website generator using rule-based systems and design heuristics. Small businesses need websites and can't afford designers. Here's the origin story. Thu, 17 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/year-two-how-i-learned-to-ship-faster-by-building-less https://kingallem.com/blog/year-two-how-i-learned-to-ship-faster-by-building-less In my second year building products, I learned a counterintuitive truth: shipping faster means building less. Fewer features, simpler architecture, more shipped products. Thu, 13 Dec 2018 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/the-travel-tech-opportunity-i-kept-seeing https://kingallem.com/blog/the-travel-tech-opportunity-i-kept-seeing After building restaurant, travel story, and border crossing tools, I kept seeing the same gap in travel tech: the last mile of traveler experience was unserved. Thu, 08 Nov 2018 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/api-first-design-why-i-build-the-backend-before-the-frontend https://kingallem.com/blog/api-first-design-why-i-build-the-backend-before-the-frontend API-first design produces cleaner architecture, faster iteration, and products that scale. Here's why I design the API before touching the frontend. Thu, 04 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/building-bilingual-products-for-the-us-mexico-market https://kingallem.com/blog/building-bilingual-products-for-the-us-mexico-market Building bilingual products isn't a translation problem - it's a design problem. Here's how I built English/Spanish products that feel native in both languages. Thu, 30 Aug 2018 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/working-with-real-time-data-lessons-from-borderbot https://kingallem.com/blog/working-with-real-time-data-lessons-from-borderbot Real-time data pipelines aren't just about speed - they're about staleness, reliability, and trust. Here's what I learned shipping BorderBot's live wait times. Thu, 26 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/the-nodejs-mongodb-stack-that-powers-all-my-projects https://kingallem.com/blog/the-nodejs-mongodb-stack-that-powers-all-my-projects The Node.js and MongoDB stack isn't perfect - it's practical. Here's why I default to this combo for every new product and how it gets me from idea to shipped fast. Thu, 21 Jun 2018 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/how-to-win-hackathons-strategy-over-code https://kingallem.com/blog/how-to-win-hackathons-strategy-over-code Want to win hackathons? It's not about better code - it's about storytelling, scoping, and demo impact. Here's my playbook. Thu, 24 May 2018 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/my-first-calhacks-what-36-hours-at-berkeley-taught-me https://kingallem.com/blog/my-first-calhacks-what-36-hours-at-berkeley-taught-me CalHacks at UC Berkeley was the largest hackathon I'd ever attended. 36 hours of building, no sleep, and the most compressed learning experience. Thu, 19 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/brojure-turning-travel-content-into-visual-stories https://kingallem.com/blog/brojure-turning-travel-content-into-visual-stories Brojure was a platform for creating visual travel stories. Building it taught me why beautiful products aren't always successful ones. Wed, 28 Mar 2018 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/why-san-diego-is-an-underrated-city-for-startups https://kingallem.com/blog/why-san-diego-is-an-underrated-city-for-startups San Diego isn't Silicon Valley, and that's its advantage. Lower costs, strong universities, and border proximity make it ideal for bootstrapped founders. Thu, 22 Feb 2018 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/borderbot-using-ai-to-predict-border-wait-times https://kingallem.com/blog/borderbot-using-ai-to-predict-border-wait-times BorderBot used machine learning to predict US-Mexico border wait times. My first AI product taught me that data products differ from feature products. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 00:00:00 GMT AI https://kingallem.com/blog/year-one-10-lessons-from-my-first-year-building-web-products https://kingallem.com/blog/year-one-10-lessons-from-my-first-year-building-web-products After one year of building web products, I've made every beginner mistake and learned lessons that no tutorial covers. Here are the ten that changed how I work. Wed, 20 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/year-one-10-lessons-from-my-first-year-building-products https://kingallem.com/blog/year-one-10-lessons-from-my-first-year-building-products After one year of building software products, I've made every beginner mistake and learned lessons that no tutorial covers. Here are the ten that changed how I work. Wed, 20 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/building-products-on-the-us-mexico-border https://kingallem.com/blog/building-products-on-the-us-mexico-border Living between Tijuana and San Diego means two economies, two languages, and two cultures. That duality shaped how I build products. Wed, 08 Nov 2017 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/when-aviation-meets-technology-digitizing-an-analog-industry https://kingallem.com/blog/when-aviation-meets-technology-digitizing-an-analog-industry Aviation is technologically advanced in the sky and completely analog on the ground. That gap is where I build products. Thu, 12 Oct 2017 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/why-i-went-all-in-on-javascript-for-full-stack-development https://kingallem.com/blog/why-i-went-all-in-on-javascript-for-full-stack-development I decided to use JavaScript for everything: frontend, backend, tooling, and scripting. Here's why one language beats 'right tool for the job' for solo builders. Thu, 14 Sep 2017 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/hackify-building-a-hackathon-discovery-platform https://kingallem.com/blog/hackify-building-a-hackathon-discovery-platform HackIfy was a platform to discover and organize hackathons. It taught me the difference between a project and a product. Thu, 10 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/the-tijuana-tech-scene-nobody-talks-about https://kingallem.com/blog/the-tijuana-tech-scene-nobody-talks-about Tijuana has a growing tech scene most people don't know about. Proximity to San Diego and hustle culture make it a quiet startup hub. Wed, 28 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/comensalaqui-my-first-startup-was-a-restaurant-platform https://kingallem.com/blog/comensalaqui-my-first-startup-was-a-restaurant-platform My first web startup was a restaurant platform on the US-Mexico border. It failed as a business but taught me product building fundamentals. Mon, 22 May 2017 00:00:00 GMT Product https://kingallem.com/blog/building-my-first-web-application-lessons-from-scratch https://kingallem.com/blog/building-my-first-web-application-lessons-from-scratch My first web app was terrible. Messy code, ugly design, zero users. But it taught me how to ship, the only skill that matters early on. Tue, 18 Apr 2017 00:00:00 GMT Engineering https://kingallem.com/blog/what-flight-training-in-italy-taught-me-about-building-products https://kingallem.com/blog/what-flight-training-in-italy-taught-me-about-building-products Flight training is expensive, slow, and unforgiving. The discipline of learning to fly in Italy taught me how to build products under real constraints. Mon, 20 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT Aviation https://kingallem.com/blog/from-aviation-to-startups-why-a-pilot-started-building-software https://kingallem.com/blog/from-aviation-to-startups-why-a-pilot-started-building-software I spent years training to fly airplanes, then started building software. The skills that make a good pilot also make a good product builder. Wed, 15 Feb 2017 00:00:00 GMT Aviation