I got tired of our family's private life living on someone else's servers, so I built our own messaging app. Shopping lists, read receipts, calls and all. Here's the why, the trade-offs, and what it is actually like to run it.
Hi, I'm Jay Kannaiyan.
Adventurer and Software Architect building secure solutions for data privacy and digital independence to help individuals and organizations reclaim their technology.
About
I love exploring the world and building products and services to improve people’s lives. Over the past 20 years, I have been a product design engineer, a motorcycle adventurer across 37 countries, an entrepreneur in the air quality space, and an engineering leader at IBM. Today, I lead Ayam Secure, a boutique software architecture and consulting practice that helps organizations take control of their technology stack and data sovereignty. I am also the author of Riding Towards Me. On this site, I write about software, travel, food, and the intersection of technology and human connection.
TEDx Talk
I care deeply about building community, nurturing idle time, and sharing good food. Have you heard of my chicken curry?
Latest Posts
Building Software for the People I Love (Who Don't Care About Software)
The people I build for don't care about my stack. only that it works and helps them. What it's like to build software for your wife, your mom, your friends, where a bug isn't a ticket, it's personal.
What Riding Solo Across 33 Countries Taught Me About Building Solo
The same person who rode off solo into 33 countries is now building software solo. What the solitude inside a helmet taught me about the solitude at a keyboard.
Recipe for Jammin Keto Cheese Bread
I experimented with the Ketogenic Diet for several months and experienced significant beneficial changes in my body. However, I found it too restrictive to maintain long-term. Nevertheless, this journey taught me about delightful recipes that serve as substitutes for carb cravings, such as this Keto Cheese Bread recipe.
10 Things I Learned Riding from the US to India
Here are 10 lessons I learned from this most amazing experience of my life.
How to make Sourdough Bread
Many years ago, when I was swamped with running a startup in Delhi, to help clear my mind, I picked up a new side project, baking sourdough bread