wa’il.
WA’IL ASHSHOWWAF WASHINGTON, DC ↔ EVERYWHERE

big ideas.
good trouble.

PLAYER 01 01/03
still human.click to change character ↗

hey, i’m wa’il*. ↳
I build software. Invest in founders. Ask too many questions.
And help with product, hiring, and first customers.

a serious love of tech.
a healthy disregard
for boring.

curiosity has no off switch.click to speed up
SCROLL FOR THE LONGER VERSION ↓BUILDER · INVESTOR · TECH GEEK · DO-GOODERSIDE QUESTS 0/7
A dithered old CRT television with rabbit-ear antennas
WA’IL TV / CH. 01
* MY NAME HAS AN APOSTROPHE. SOFTWARE HAS OPINIONS.
A dithered Arabic hamza
HAMZA → ’

Wa'il.
Same guy.

I’m Wa’il. It’s an Arabic name. The apostrophe represents the hamza (ء), a short stop between “Wa” and “il” when you say it.

Some websites write the straight apostrophe as '—HTML’s code for that mark. Escape that code again, or display it as plain text, and my name comes out as Wa'il.

Apparently I’m HTML now.
Nobody told me.

why '? ↗
01 / THE STORYPLAYER ONE

I tried staying
in one lane.
It didn’t take.

why “unstuck”? +

In the ’90s, I was in a Jeep stuck in the Saudi desert. We pushed harder. It sank deeper. A few locals stopped and got us out in about 90 seconds.

All that heroic pushing. They just had a better idea. That stuck with me.

the longer story ↗

I sold Rainbow vacuums door to door. Then I built computer systems. Census. Walt Disney. Pepsi. SABB. HSBC. Banking embassies, nonprofits, and multinational companies. My career didn’t come with a straight line.

I’ve also done projects at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and reconciliation work in South Africa with a Desmond Tutu institute. I co-founded Unstuck Labs with Ibrahem in 2017. We’ve known each other since elementary school.

DRAG A LOGO. TAP IT FOR THE STORY.
SALES / SYSTEMS

Rainbow, door to door.

I sold Rainbow vacuums door to door. Later, I built computer systems. Sales and software both taught me to pay attention to the person I was trying to help.

Keyboard: Tab to a card, arrows to move it, Enter to open its story.

there’s always another barrel. keep going.click to jump
02 / MY WORKSOFTWARE / COMPANIES / RESEARCH

Apps I’m building.
Companies I work with.
Research I’ve co-authored.

01SummonAI × HUMAN BUILDERS

AI writes code. Then it announces the bug is fixed while the app is still broken. I’m building Summon so a real developer can join the project, fix the code, and help get the app live. Yes, an actual human.

summon a human ↗
02UnstuckAnywhereDIY ACCELERATOR

I built UnstuckAnywhere as a DIY accelerator in your pocket. Find a startup idea, test it with potential customers, write your pitch, and plan your launch. Guided steps for founders who want to start building.

find your idea and plan your launch ↗
03BAD PIZZADUOLINGO FOR VIBE CODING

I built BAD PIZZA as Duolingo for vibe coding: practice writing better prompts for AI. Short exercises you can learn from by trying them.

learn with BAD PIZZA ↗
04REYETS / “rights”JUSTICETECH

I co-founded REYETS to put rights information and incident reporting in one app. You shouldn’t need an emergency and twenty browser tabs to work out your rights.

know your rights ↗
05FiftyOne AI / JustAskAI WITH A CONSCIENCE

JustAsk, through FiftyOne AI, uses AI to help advocacy teams with client intake. I also co-authored privacy research with collaborators at Howard Law. People asking for help shouldn’t have to give up control of their personal data.

meet FiftyOne AI ↗read the research ↗
06V.E.I.L.PRIVACY × HOWARD LAW

People share sensitive personal data in intake forms. I co-authored this research with collaborators at Howard Law to help protect it before it reaches an AI service. V.E.I.L. is built into JustAsk.

read the V.E.I.L. research ↗
07NOTES TechnologyMUSIC · MONEY · KNOWLEDGE

Artists make the music. Then they’re expected to become a finance department. NOTES works on finance and education for independent musicians. I want artists to understand their money and spend more time making music.

meet NOTES ↗
08PRYZEWORK → PROGRESS → REWARDS

PRYZE rewards employees for hitting goals. I worked on the product through Unstuck Labs, helping turn the founders’ plans into software employees could use.

see PRYZE ↗the founder story ↗
09Unstuck LabsVENTURE STUDIO

I co-founded Unstuck Labs with Ibrahem in 2017. It’s the studio where I build software and work with founders on their products.

one place I build ↗the studio’s projects ↗
10UnstuckOSFOUNDER OPERATING SYSTEM

My brain is a terrible filing cabinet. UnstuckOS is where I’m trying to keep contacts, projects, and tasks together instead of hunting through nineteen browser tabs.

explore UnstuckOS ↗
11Unstuck TuesdaysFOUNDERS HELPING FOUNDERS

Every Tuesday. Since 2017. Free. Founders meet to talk through product decisions, finding customers, and raising money. Bring your prototype or a question about your company.

join Unstuck Tuesdays ↗
12NightcapVINYL → DRINK RECIPES

I made an app that turns vinyl records into drink recipes. Built on Summon. Apparently the turntable needed a drinking buddy.

give your record a drink ↗
13Wu-Tang chessCHESS × HIP-HOP

I also made a Wu-Tang chess game. Apparently ordinary chess wasn’t enough.

protect ya king ↗
one little idea can unlock a whole world.click to collect
03 / BUILDING & BACKINGA SECOND PAIR OF HANDS

The founder first.
Then the problem.

I care about the founder, then the problem they’re solving. If I believe in both, I can work with the rest. Integrity is non-negotiable.

I want to understand you before you open the deck.

how I work

  1. Start with the founder.

    Who are you? Why this problem? I want to understand your judgement, motivation, and how you treat people.

  2. Understand the problem.

    Who is living with this problem? Why does it matter to you? I’m listening for conviction and understanding.

  3. Integrity. Every time.

    Be honest about what you know, what you don’t, and what isn’t working. Trust is part of the work.

  4. Build from that.

    Once I believe in the founder and the problem, we can work on the product, the team, and finding customers.

who I click with

  1. Curious people.

    Ask questions. Listen to the answers. Be willing to learn something that changes your mind.

  2. Conviction with room to learn.

    Care deeply about the problem. Stay open to a better explanation or a different approach.

  3. People I can trust.

    Integrity shows up in how you handle the inconvenient facts and the people around you.

  4. My turn-offs.

    Talking nonstop. Shoving a product demo in my face before a conversation. Having no questions. Curiosity matters to me.

founder / problem / integrity / curiositytell me who you are and what you’re solving ↗

some receipts.

01 / 05 — Dan Parkinson
PEOPLE I’VE WORKED WITH

“His positive, optimistic outlook and passionate approach drove everyone forward.”

Dan ParkinsonMountainview Learning UK / HSBCexcerpt from wail.ceo ↗
a little conviction. a lot of lift-off.click to launch
04 / MY AI THESISTHE FUTURE OF AI IS HUMAN

I want AI that’s
HUMAN AF.

The future of AI is human. That’s the future I want to build.

I want AI to make people more capable, give them more agency, and respect their judgement. Protect their personal data. Explain what’s happening. Let a human step in.

Summon brings real developers into AI software projects. REYETS and JustAsk help people find information and ask for help. V.E.I.L. works on protecting sensitive data. Human judgement, rights, privacy, and accountability belong in the design from the start.

dig the tunnel. watch the fire. pump Fygar.click to dig close → then pump
OFF THE CLOCKVINYL / COCKTAILS / CHESS

There’s a record
on somewhere.

I love vinyl. Coltrane. Biggie. My Morning Jacket. It makes sense to me.

Have a dig. Flip through the covers. Double-tap a cover to like that record.

WA’IL’S RECORD CRATE 33⅓opening the crate…

drag to dig.
double-tap the cover to like this record.
05 / OUT LOUDTHINKING IN PUBLIC

AI. Privacy.
Building companies.

AI should help people. And protect their privacy.RESEARCH · 2026 ↗ Test the idea before you fall in love with it.READ ↗ The F word. Failure, obviously.WATCH ↗ My posts on startups, software, and AI.LINKEDIN ↗
momentum beats waiting for the perfect moment.click for turbo
CONTINUE?ALWAYS.
cross the road. dodge the cars. reach the other side.click to hop · arrows to steer

Let’s talk
about your company.

Raising money? Developing a product? Hiring your first team?
Tell me where you need help.

01I’m building a company.Investment, product decisions, hiring, or finding customers.↗02I want to back the builders.Co-investing, founder introductions, or comparing notes.↗03I want to build an app.Software development, an AI experiment, or a creative collaboration.↗04I’m planning a talk or podcast.Conversations about building companies, AI, and privacy.↗
Walito’s Way ↗build with me ↗invite me to speak ↗talk records ↗Instagram ↗