In this Portraits of Builders interview, we speak with Rivan Sigarlaki, a WeWeb developer and Customer Care Engineer based in Indonesia who creates bespoke business solutions across industries. Rivan shares his journey from the hospitality industry to visual development, and offers insights and tips on learning, adapting and finding joy in the building process.
I worked in the hospitality industry for over eight years, starting as a graphic designer, then moving into digital marketing, and eventually overseeing the entire marketing department.
It’s been five years since I’ve leaped into no-code development. I started with Webflow, then expanded to automation, Airtable, and Figma. These days, I'm doing full-stack development.
I was based in Bali, but I've recently returned to my hometown of Manado in North Sulawesi province to be closer to my family. When I'm not working and need to disconnect from screens, I enjoy reading, being in nature, spending time with family and friends, cleaning, walking my dogs, and taking care of my plants.
Right now, I'm exclusively focused on developing with WeWeb, using Supabase as my backend. I'm not limiting my projects to any particular industry or task, such as building SaaS applications or dashboards. This is because I want to diversify my portfolio, gain experience, and continue learning new things. Perhaps when I better understand my style, preferences, and the opportunities out there, I'll narrow down to a specific industry or project type.
I discovered visual development during the pandemic, which hit Bali's hospitality industry hard. I needed to figure out my next move and how to make ends meet. Luckily, it was relatively easy to find side hustles in graphic design and digital marketing since new businesses were launching even during the pandemic.
From there, my service offerings grew to include UI design, and ultimately, app development. Since I didn’t know how to code in a traditional way, I started experimenting with different no-code solutions and learning on the go.
I learned, practiced, made progress, encountered problems, failed, tried new approaches, realized how little I knew, practiced more, gained steady understanding through baby steps, started anew, and repeated.
During this time, I really started to appreciate the no-code community and content creators who took the time to break down complex concepts into digestible bits and share knowledge. YouTube creators like JP Trinh, Doc Williams, and JJ Englert were so helpful, and of course, the WeWeb channel as well. And many others creators helped me along the way.
The jargon and its variations across different fields of no-code presented a significant challenge. Being a non-native English speaker adds a layer of complexity.
This is where AI tools really helped me to distill complex documentation into simpler language. Of course, I would cross-check the information with insights from forums, community discussions, social media, tutorials, and other sources.
Visual development requires both creativity and logic. The unexpected benefit for me personally has been how it's influenced my approach to daily life and problems I encounter. Now I break them down into smaller, more manageable pieces and solve them one at a time.
Another benefit has been gaining confidence and self-assurance that things will work out, one way or another when you put in the effort.
If I remember correctly, I discovered WeWeb through YouTube. By that time, the algorithm already knew I was interested in no-code tools, and a video about WeWeb popped up in my feed. I’m grateful to the algorithm for this.
Then in December 2024, I started working on a project for the government. They needed an internal tool to track things like usage reporting, invoicing, and archives. That was the chance to really master WeWeb. I worked with them to build the internal platform using Weweb, Postmark, and Supabase. I finished the project by February 2025, but I'm still in touch with the team and they'll let me know when further development is required.
It's intuitive! The elements, the component creation process, the workflow, the integrations, the formula capabilities, the scripting options—they all function seamlessly.
For example, if an element doesn't work exactly as you wish, you can create your own. It might be challenging, but it's fun. Just be careful not to spiral down into perfecting things that aren't that important, it’s something that often happens to me.
I also need to mention the new pricing model. Thank you for including Indonesia in the regional pricing, that made a huge difference for me!
I think AI definitely helps us work faster and accomplish more. I'm optimistic about the merge of visual development and AI.
However, while 'vibe coding' is trending, we humans need to understand what we build and why things function the way they do. AI is an assistant, and humans still need to handle so many parts.
My main goals are financial freedom and the ability to work as I please! I genuinely enjoy what I'm doing, so I want to maintain that. Of course, the future is uncertain, and we need to adapt. But my goal is to do good work that benefits people while having fun and maintaining stability.
Keep pushing forward. The more you practice or learn, the more progress you make, even when it feels like you're stagnating. Revisit concepts, do your research, practice, and most importantly, have fun!
📣 Update 📣
Rivan has joined WeWeb as a Customer Care Engineer!
It was a natural next step to switch from a power user to a team member and help others get the most from WeWeb. We can't wait to see him thrive in this new role and bring his unique perspective to our customer care team.
Sign up now, pay when you're ready to publish.
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