WTF is Tinkeru tho? And WordPress enters the chat!

Hello team!

I’ve been finding it hard to find the time to update y’all. The last couple of newsletters were massive brain dumps updating on weeks of work. So perhaps I just need to aim for shorter updates more regularly? I think it’s time for a content plan!

Today I will cover:

1. WTF is Tinkeru?!?!?

2. WordPress does AI: How I Built an AI Diagnostic Tool in a Couple of Hours.

3. Thank youse

Let’s get into it!

WTF is Tinkeru?!?!?

Since kicking this all off a few people have reached out asking me what exactly is Tinkeru? And I had an answer for them that clearly explained what we are trying to do. (well, kind of, I’m still trying to perfect how to talk about Tinkeru)

But in the last couple of newsletters, and anything I’ve posted on LinkedIn and the like, I’ve only ever eluded at what Tinkeru is. I did this purposefully as the idea isn’t fully formed yet and I thought that was the best approach. But, the feedback I’ve got from those who did ask me indicated that I should just tell people what it is, even if what ‘it’ is, changes in the future. I’ve noticed when I do explain it more in detail to people, they get more onboard and curious about Tinkeru.

WTF is Tinkeru?!?!? Well, imagine….

…you love to tinker on cars. It’s fun! But every time an issue arises, you spend hours scouring the internet for reliable information, watching countless videos, yet you're left feeling unsure if you’re diagnosing the issue correctly. Not to mention, once you think you’ve found the solution, there’s the need to order the correct parts, remove the old ones, and install the new parts correctly and safely. It’s a lot, right?

This is where Tinkeru comes in. *Tinkeru is a community-driven platform available as both a website and a mobile app, created for car enthusiasts and DIY mechanics (aka Tinkerers). Our goal is to make car maintenance and repairs accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

Currently, information and resources for car repairs are scattered across various websites, forums, and videos, making it challenging to find reliable and comprehensive guidance. Tinkeru aims to centralise all this fragmented information into one cohesive platform.

We provide a one-stop location to diagnose automotive issues through easy-to-follow repair guides, AI-powered diagnostic tools, and a supportive community of fellow car enthusiasts ready to share their knowledge and cheer you on. Community is core to Tinkeru.

But we know cars are technical and confusing, so we also include a directory of trusted mechanics for those times when you need a professional touch.

Tinkeru is more than just a platform—it’s a movement to revolutionise the way people approach car maintenance. We aim to reduce the time and frustration associated with car repairs and create a space where learning and collaboration thrive!

Hit me up if you have questions or want further clarification.

*What Tinkeru is will change, pivot, shape shift at any given time going forward. It’s inevitable and exciting!

WordPress Does AI: How I Built an AI Diagnostic Tool in a Couple of Hours.

I have the softest of soft spots for good ol’ WordPress from. Is there anything it can’t do?!?!

I’m not the most technical person that can setup a robust backend for a website, make it secure, make it fast, make it compliant and future proof. But I can hack something together based on things available to me (a key part of tinkering, I reckon), and WordPress is available to all!

After talking to a mentor who challenged me to try and build an AI tool with existing SAAS platforms, I did some searching. AI SAAS tools are EVERYWHERE at the moment, but I had a hunch WordPress would have this sorted already. And I was correct.

After some tinkering, reading articles, installing a plugin, creating an OpenAI API key and connecting all the wires, telling the AI what to do, it was alive. In a matter of hours I had launched an MVP AI “diagnostic tool”. Sure, it looked like, smelled like and responded as poorly as ChatGPT, but it was my stinky little AI diagnostic tool.

And….it’s live on www.tinkeru.com right now! Go and try it. Post some of the “advice” it gives you.

Like, it’s terrible and bad and frustrating and should NOT be considered automotive repair advice! But it works for the most part and it has given me some confidence that if we were to invest time in building something more powerful that accessed our own data source, included rich media and connected users to other parts of the web, it might be a pretty powerful tool to assist our community. (but then I got the results of the survey and well….maybe AI isn’t the future of automotive diagnostics??!)

So yeah, WordPress + AI = MVP testing in 2024. Wild.

Next I’m going to attempt to build GeoCities using AI… 🤖 

What actual work has happened?

1. Built out newsletter on Beehiiv ✔️

2. Shared newsletter publicly ✔️ 

3. Assumption mapping exercise ✔️ 

4. Key assumptions identified ✔️

5. Research plan ✔️ 

6. Research piece #1 = survey ✔️ 

7. Logo sorted ✔️

8. Signup form on www.tinkeru.com ✔️

9. Start posting on socials ✔️

10. Survey has been sent out ✔️ 

11. Survey has been synthesised ✔️

12. Survey key findings have been shared with team ✔️

13. Next steps = MVP tests ✔️

14. Settled on a single persona to build for ✔️

15. Build a dirty MVP AI Diagnostic Tool ✔️

16. Told people what Tinkeru is ✔️

17. Business plan has been started ✔️ 

Still to be done:

1. EVERYTHING ELSE!

2. Fix leaking sunroof 🖕

3. Financial plan has been started

4. Survey for Mechanics

5. Next steps = MVP tests/prototypes (but what niche?)

Thank youse*

• Thanks to all the people that completed the survey and provided such great insights. To those that left their email addresses, I’ll reach out in the coming weeks to test out our prototype (whatever it may be).

• Thanks to one of our StartupCV mentors Craig Hunter for making time to catch up and challenge us on a few things.

• Thanks to all the people that have reached out with words of support, questions, advice. It’s been lovely.

*Youse is an Australianism in place of saying ‘you guys’.

Let's Connect!

Your thoughts, ideas, comments, and feedback fuel our journey forward!

If you have any suggestions or topics you’d like me to cover, please comment. And if you want to follow us on the socials, you can find us on Instagram.

And if you found this newsletter helpful, consider sharing it with a friend (or enemy) who might enjoy it too.

Also, hit me up for a coffee chat any time - email me ☕️ 

Keep on tinkering! 🚗 🔧