A Ship Captain who learned to build software in 55 days.
Six months ago, I did not know what a code repository was. I genuinely thought GitHub was some kind of social network for programmers.
Today I have a fully deployed product. Custom domains. Authentication. Database. PDF generation. Real users. And I just placed runner-up in two Mindvalley AI Mastery award categories. The Vibe Coding Builder and The AI Entrepreneur. Both.
So how did that happen?
So how did that happen?
I need to take you back a bit.
I am a Master Mariner. I spent years at sea, working my way up from cadet to captain, commanding vessels across international waters. In 2018, I cofounded a marine surveying company. We grew it from three people to over 70 employees across five countries. Multi-million dollar turnover. One of the largest marine surveying firms in Australia.
In late 2024, that chapter ended.
And I found myself with ideas but no way to execute them.
I had this dream of building a maritime AI assistant. Something that could genuinely help ship captains and fleet managers make better decisions. I pitched it to shipping companies. I pitched it to VCs. Everyone said the same thing. "Great concept Munaf, but where is your prototype?" So I went to developers for quotes. They came back at 100 thousand to 800 thousand US dollars. One person I knew personally quoted me ten times the market rate.
That was the moment I realised something. If I wanted to build my vision, I was going to have to learn to build it myself.
That was the moment I realised something. If I wanted to build my vision, I was going to have to learn to build it myself.
Then I found AI Mastery.
And I should be honest about something. I live in Perth, Australia. Because of the timezone, I have not attended a single class live. Not one. Everything I have learned, every skill I have applied, has come from watching the recordings. Evenings and weekends. After my full time job. With three young boys at home and a wife who has patiently tested every single feature I have built.
But the content was that powerful.
And the people behind it made all the difference. I cannot name every instructor here, but I need to say this. Every single one of them played a role in getting me to where I am today. The way they taught, the way they made complex things feel possible, the way they showed the messy middle of building and debugging rather than just polished slides. That is what gave me the confidence to actually try.
Vishen's vibe coding class was a turning point. It planted something in me that no amount of research could. The genuine belief that someone like me, a non-technical person, could actually build real software.
And I took that belief and ran with it.
On December 20th 2025, I started building Circle by MoveInCircle.
The idea came from a simple frustration that I think many people share. After every birthday party, wedding, or family gathering, the photos scatter. WhatsApp groups. Cloud links. Individual phones. Only about 5% of guest photos ever actually reach the event host. The rest are lost forever.
Circle fixes that. One event link. Everyone contributes. And the organiser gets a finished digital keepsake album. Not just a photo gallery. A completed memory you actually want to keep.
By February 13th 2026, Circle was live. Real product. Real users. 55 days from first idea to deployed product.
By February 13th 2026, Circle was live. Real product. Real users. 55 days from first idea to deployed product.
And then the awards came through.
Runner-up in The Vibe Coding Builder. Runner-up in The AI Entrepreneur. I genuinely did not expect either.
The reality is that what would have cost me 50 thousand to 100 thousand dollars in developer fees, I built for under 1 thousand dollars. What would have taken a development team months, I did in 55 days while working full time.
But here is the thing. This is not the end for me. This is Version 1.
Circle is live, and now I grow it. And that maritime AI assistant I dreamed of building? I am going back to it. This time with credibility. This time with proof that I can actually execute.
This program taught me something that goes beyond tools and prompts. It taught me that I am not limited by what I do not know. I am only limited by what I have not yet chosen to learn.
I am just getting started.
