My goal has always been to make a living through adventure and I’ve always believed the best ideas come from time spent outdoors, away from screens, surrounded by water and snow, on chairlifts, on rafts, and hiking through the deep woods and atop the tall peaks. 

That’s where newDescents was born. Not in a pitch deck or planning doc but somewhere between river rapids and long debates around campfires about the challenges of multi-day adventures with friends. 

Originally launched as a planning tool for river trips back in 2021, newDescents started with a simple question: how do we make rivering easier? Unfortunately, life got in the way and newDescents was left on the shelf after initial launch. Now, in 2025, and with the help of AI, my developer partner and I have decided to take it off the shelf and breathe new life into it. Already having developed a passive and steady stream of users, we now want to reposition the application to answer a new question, a broader question, and one that will have more meaning as AI begins to innundate everything we do as humans: 

How do we keep outdoor culture alive in a world that’s moving faster, becoming more automated, and forgetting to look up?

newDescents is making the transition from trip planning resource to part digital journal, part storytelling platform, and part community-powered archive of outdoor experience. It’s a place to log meaningful descents, share backcountry beta, and preserve river culture for the next generation.

But this isn’t just a love letter to rivers—it’s also an experiment.

The Challenge: Build a Business with AI (and Almost No Budget)

I’m setting out to build newDescents from scratch

I want to see if two friends, with a strong vision, creative discipline, and the right tools, can use AI to build a profitable, purpose-driven business without burning out or breaking the bank.

This isn’t just a test of the tech.
It’s a test of balance:

Spoiler: I’m still figuring it out.

Where My Work Collides

By day, I’m a fractional Head of Product—helping brands bridge the gap between great ideas, the right technology, and go-to-market success.

NewDescents gives me a sandbox to test that playbook on my own terms.
No investors. No safety net. Just me, the tools, and the truth.

It’s also a chance to explore a bigger question that’s increasingly shaping my work:

What should we automate, and what should we protect as fully human?

What’s Coming Next

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing the good, the bad, and the mind-blowing as I build this thing in public.

You’ll learn:

What AI is good at (and what it’s definitely not good at)

The tools I’m using to build fast and cheap

Where I still have to rely on human instincts, storytelling, and strategy

What it’s like to build for a niche community without a technical co-founder or outside funding

If you’ve ever wondered how far AI can take you—or where it falls short—this journey is for you.

Follow Along

If you’re a solo founder, a product leader, or just someone tired of fake marketing and looking to build something that matters, follow along.

I’ll share:

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• Free tools and templates
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• Growth tactics that respect your audience
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• Behind-the-scenes decisions and mistakes
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• Metrics as the business (hopefully) grows
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Follow me on LinkedIn
This is going to be fun. And hopefully successful.