Where do I start?

Where do I start? This is a question I get in my DMs frequently.

So I will tell you where I started, where I'm heading and everything in-between.

ChatGPT

I jumped on ChatGPT as soon as I heard about it.

It blew my mind, but I quickly realized that the way you ask questions (aka prompting) makes a huge difference in the results.

So, I started experimenting and learning a bit about prompting techniques.

Discovering Make.com

One day, while scrolling through YouTube (as I do), a tutorial on Make platform popped up in my feed, and that's how I discovered Make automations.

As I was watching the tutorial, several automation ideas started to pop in my mind. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t discovered Make earlier. It’s been around for years under a different name!

The best part is that I could get started for free.

My first production ready automation is a Gumroad automation. It didn’t use AI, but it worked perfectly and is still running on the free tier of Make..

Adding AI into the mix

Once I got comfortable with automation, I started experimenting with AI integrations.

I created a YouTube comment reply helper automation with AI. I added $5 to OpenAI API account and played around with it a lot.

That’s when I learned something interesting: ChatGPT and the OpenAI API don’t always give the same results.

Prompt Engineering

Turns out, ChatGPT has a hidden “system prompt” that shapes its behaviour, while with the API, you have to create that system prompt yourself.

I also realized I needed more sophisticated prompts for automations to create consistent outcomes every time.

So at this point I started learning more about prompting techniques like many shot prompting, giving good examples and getting structured output such as JSON, XML, and CSV.

Exploring Chatbots

Next, I looked in to AI chatbots, explored both Botpress and Voiceflow platforms.

I initially liked Botpress but later ended up building a chatbot for my blog(javacodehouse) using Voiceflow.

Honestly I don't remember the reason for choosing Voiceflow over Botpress.

N8N

Next, I tried n8n, especially because it could run locally.

I built a crypto portfolio dashboard for a friend and he wanted everything running locally due to privacy concerns. That's how I got started with n8n and I don't regret.

I learned it while building the backend of the dashboard. For the frontend I used Bolt because it's fast. Linked the frontend to the n8n automations with webhooks.

For non-technical users, n8n has a bit of a learning curve, but I believe it’s worth mastering both n8n and Make if you’re serious about automation.

Bolt & Supabase

Then I started playing around with bolt building apps that came to mind. It's so much fun. I can't believe how fast you can spin up a POC these days.

I also learned Supabase which is a really cool platform. I particularly enjoyed working with its edge functions and Postgres database features. There’s still so much more to learn on Supabase, and I’m excited to dive deeper.

What’s Next: AI Agents

Now, I’m diving into AI agents with n8n. This feels like the next big step, and I can’t wait to see what I can create.

A Quick Disclaimer: I have 8 years of experience in software engineering, so I was already comfortable with many foundational concepts. This made it easier for me to jump between platforms. If you’re from a non-technical background, I recommend taking your time and mastering each tool at your own pace.

TLDR

Learn prompting

Learn tools and platforms like make, n8n Voiceflow or Botpress.

Most of these platforms have a generous free tier, so you have no excuse not to try.

I recommend you start with Make.

It's a never ending cycle of rinse and repeat i.e repeat(learn -> do)

The more you practice the better you become. So keep learning, building and improving.

Don't waste time researching which platform to start with or what to do first, just start - with anything.

What’s Coming Next

I plan to share more in-depth insights about platforms like Make, n8n, and the automations I’ve built in upcoming episodes.

If you are interested in anything specific that I mentioned above, reply to this email and I will get back to you.