Founder · AI-native builder

I take products from idea to live on the app store — solo.

I'm Abdullahi Ahmed Thiaw. In the last year I founded and single-handedly built and shipped two products — design, full-stack code, payments, deployment, and go-to-market. Before that, five years building GovTech systems that move real money at scale.

2
products live on iOS & Android
100%
built solo, end to end
5 yrs
product & payments at scale
Featured work

Two products, built and shipped solo

Both are live on the App Store and Google Play. I owned every layer — product, mobile, backend, payments, infra, and the go-to-market.

● Live · onboarding

LIFT

Intercity mobility platform

A zero-to-one mobility marketplace for scheduled and on-demand intercity trips, connecting riders, private drivers, and transport parks. I designed the multi-sided journeys — booking, driver KYC, operator verification, payouts, disputes — and built and deployed the whole thing.

React Native (Expo) React Express PostgreSQL Redis Paystack Dojah Termii
● Live · onboarding

VendPlug

Real-time local marketplace

A zero-to-one real-time marketplace connecting buyers with local vendors through agents, with escrow and delivery. Solo build across mobile, backend, and admin — real-time orders, in-app wallet, vendor catalog, and buyer-agent messaging.

Node / Express MongoDB Paystack Cloudinary Resend DigitalOcean
About

A builder who ships, not just plans

I'm a generalist who turns ideas into working software fast. I don't wait for a perfect spec — I build, launch, learn, and iterate. I'm AI-native: Cursor is part of my daily workflow, which is how one person moves at the pace of a small team.

Before founding, I spent five years in regulated GovTech at Dreamlabs Nigeria, where I learned to ship systems that handle real money and real users: digital taxation onboarding 33,000+ businesses, automating revenue systems for a 200%+ increase, and integrating ten banks with a government payment gateway in nine weeks.

I'm looking for early-stage, high-ownership roles — founding engineer, founding product, or builder-operator seats — where shipping is the job.

What I bring
  • I ship. Two products built solo and live on both app stores.
  • Full-stack range. Mobile, backend, payments, infra, and admin tooling.
  • AI-native speed. I build with Cursor every day.
  • Comfortable with money. Payments, escrow, wallets, and KYC in production.
  • Operator instincts. Product, GTM, onboarding, and ops — whatever it takes.
Toolkit

Tech I build with

React Native (Expo) React TypeScript Node / Express PostgreSQL MongoDB Redis REST APIs Paystack Dojah Termii Cloudinary Cloudflare R2 DigitalOcean Cursor (AI-assisted)
Track record

Where I've been

Founder & Builder — LIFT
Feb 2026 – Present · Intercity mobility platform

Founded, built, and launched a multi-sided mobility marketplace; now onboarding transport parks for the first live rides.

Founder & Builder — VendPlug
Jun 2025 – Present · Real-time local marketplace

Built a real-time marketplace with escrow solo; now onboarding the first vendors and running go-to-market.

Senior Product Manager — Dreamlabs Nigeria
2023 – 2025 · Kebbi

Led revenue-system expansion to a new state; automated tertiary-institution systems for 200%+ revenue growth.

Product Manager — Dreamlabs Nigeria
2021 – 2023 · Bauchi

Rolled out informal-sector digital taxation; registered 33,000+ businesses, +40% collection and transparency.

Associate PM & Technical Support — Dreamlabs Nigeria
2020 – 2021

Integrated 10 commercial banks with a government payment gateway in nine weeks; trained 50+ agents and staff.

Let's build something

I'm open to founding engineer, founding product, and builder-operator roles at early-stage startups. If you want someone who ships, let's talk.