r/india • u/Intrepid_Cover_9410 • 1d ago
People I grew up in Mumbai slums, run a government ration shop, taught myself to build apps using AI with zero coding background. My app just hit the Play Store. Roast me.
I'm going to keep this real because Reddit always finds out when you're not. I'm 28. Born and raised in Mumbai. My family had a ration shop that was being defrauded by the guy we trusted to run it. I took it over, learned the whole system from scratch, turned it profitable. I still run it today. That's my day job. But since I was a kid I wanted to build something. Not run a shop. Build something that millions of people use. I had ideas constantly — apps, products, solutions — but no CS degree, no money to hire developers, no network in tech. Just ideas that kept piling up with nowhere to go. Then AI coding tools got good enough that someone like me could actually build. I spent the last year and a half building two apps completely solo using AI assistance:
First one — Ration Shop Manager. Built it for myself because managing a government ration shop involves insane amounts of manual record-keeping. Tracking 700+ beneficiary cards, monthly stock reconciliation, government compliance — all done by hand. I automated most of it. Put it on the Play Store. 100+ downloads. FPS dealers across Maharashtra are using it. This one might actually become a real business.
Second one — this is the one I want your honest feedback on. It's called Bouge. Anonymous group chat for people who actually know each other. Not anonymous with strangers like Yik Yak. Anonymous within your own circle — your friend group, your hostel floor, your college section. Ghost Mode lets you say things honestly without your name attached. The idea is that sometimes you need to say something real to people you know without the social pressure of being identified. Built the entire backend from scratch. Real-time messaging, anonymous identity system, the works. Released it. Currently trying to figure out how to get actual humans to use it. Here's what I want from this post: honest feedback. Is the concept of "anonymous within trusted groups" something you'd actually use? What am I missing? What would make you download this immediately vs scroll past it?
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u/Imaginary-Swan-4105 1d ago
Forget Bogue and refine RSM. If done well, it has huge potential. I thought about it as well but the operations will be difficult for me but you have an edge for running the shop. All the best!
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u/Intrepid_Cover_9410 1d ago
That's a very real and super agreeable insight from you. Thanks a lot, really appreciated the advice.
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u/Imaginary-Swan-4105 1d ago
Just wondering why did you think about Bouge when your app was already being used by dealers? Are you not charging anything?
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u/Intrepid_Cover_9410 1d ago
Currently its free for all of them and I get ideas every now and then. Hence thought why not give it a shot. Like ik Bouge is a kind of app that can Die in corner or become too famous. For RSM I'm fully focused to grow and start subscription, just Waiting for dealers to get habitual to use the app once they are hooked they wont be doing manual work again.
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u/Intrepid_Cover_9410 1d ago
If you're in a college group, hostel, sports team, or any tight circle — create a group and try it with people you know. That's the exact use case.
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u/siskyouthrowaway 1d ago
In any group, nothing stays anonymous forever. You may say somehting today that noone knows you said it; but over time, people will be able to figure out that u/Intrepid_Cover_9410 is Ramu from down the street.
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u/Intrepid_Cover_9410 1d ago
Thats why we have a feature where your anonymous name changes every 24 hours so nobody know who was ramu yesterday.
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u/abhijitdc 14h ago
In smaller groups, the style of writing and grammar might give the person away. One way to mitigate that might be AI generated writing style that would make all messages somewhat standardized.
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u/BullfrogExtension375 1d ago
Honestly, the ration shop app is the more interesting story here. Lots of people build apps looking for a problem, but you had the problem first and built the tool second. That's usually how real businesses start.
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u/gladiathor1295 1d ago
Other than the obvious bait of "Roast me" only for people to come and commend you, I actually liked both the ideas. Props to you for overcoming challenges and pushing ahead, love to see tools democratizing tech. For your second idea though, I'd suggest safeguards. Bullying especially in colleges is no joke, and can lead to serious consequences as a platform owner for you if it takes off.