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Nino Chavez

Chicago

From Fear to Flow: How Building a Tournament Manager App Taught Me to Scale with AI

From Fear to Flow: How Building a Tournament Manager App Taught Me to Scale with AI

I didn’t start with a strategy. I started with fear. Here’s how a grassroots volleyball app turned into my personal AI bootcamp—and the repeatable framework I built along the way.

My AI Engineering Team

My AI Engineering Team

I didn’t set out to build an AI team. I just started with ChatGPT prompts for Lovable AI. Over time, it evolved into managing a layered squad of AI tools—architects, coders, and reviewers—working together like a real dev team. This changed how I work and lead AI-assisted projects.

Getting Unstuck: Why We Start With a Sketch

Getting Unstuck: Why We Start With a Sketch

Projects stall when we confuse blockers with priorities. This post explores the “desk-building” metaphor to help teams stop over-planning and start making progress — by sketching first, sorting screws later.

When You Start to Hear the Music

When You Start to Hear the Music

What happens when AI sharpens your mind, but drifts you further from those who don’t think that way? This post explores the private cost of clarity — and the quiet grief that comes from outgrowing the resolution your old relationships were built on.

The Risk of Asking “Do You Smell That?” When There’s No Fire

The Risk of Asking “Do You Smell That?” When There’s No Fire

In consulting, sensing a problem feels like smelling smoke. But is there really a fire? This piece explores when to speak up and when to hold back — balancing risk detection with protecting people from blame. Leadership is often about navigating that tension with care.

From Pattern to People

From Pattern to People

The hidden cost of clarity in an AI-shaped mind

Still Your Car. Still Your Wrench.

Still Your Car. Still Your Wrench.

What AI Coding Tools Don’t Tell You About Building Real Software