Building a Super Bowl Tech Startup in 48 Hours: How a Non-Technical Latina Founder Hired 2 AI Co-Founders (Kiro & Gemini)

Source: Dev.to

I’m Marilyn Alvarado, a Latina founder from Peru living in Silicon Valley. I’ve won grants from the City of San Francisco and raised funding from the NEAR Foundation, but I’m not a backend engineer.

In the past, building a real‑time, high‑frequency trading platform for massive events would have required a $500 k budget and a team of three senior developers. These days, I built it in 48 hours with a $0 budget, using only two AI agents:

• Archy (Google Gemini) – Solutions Architect & DevOps Lead
• Kiro (AI IDE) – Full‑Stack Developer & Code Generator

Below is how we built TheFunFanReporter, a “Frankenstein” monster that stitches the Legacy Web (WordPress) to the Real‑Time Web (Node.js / Sockets), and why this approach could be the future of software development.

🛑 The Nightmare Scenario (The Problem)

Imagine you paid $7,000 for a Super Bowl ticket. You’re 30 minutes from kickoff, but you’re stuck in “Zombie Gridlock” just five blocks from the stadium.

• Google Maps can’t tell you which gate is actually moving.
• The news is focused on the halftime show.
• You can’t just abandon your car in the middle of the street.

The Solution

You need a local hero—a valet parking at a nearby hotel who can take your car right now.

TheFunFanReporter is a real‑time marketplace for this intel. You broadcast a mission (e.g., “$1,450 for a valet NOW”), a local accepts it, and you pay them in Meritocracy Coins (pegged to $7.25 USD). The tip is split 50/50 with the reporter.

🧟‍♂️ The “Frankenstein” Architecture

To win the Frankenstein Category of the Kiroween Hackathon, we didn’t just write code; we performed surgery.

• The Body (The Corpse): A standard WordPress site (Hostinger) handling SEO, user accounts, and trust.
• The Brain (The Lightning): A Node.js + Socket.io server on Render Cloud handling 75,000+ concurrent connections.
• The Stitches: A custom vanilla‑JS widget injected into the WordPress footer that talks to the Brain without breaking the Body.

🤖 How I Managed 2 AI Co‑Founders

As a non‑technical founder, I didn’t write the code—I directed it. Here’s the workflow that changed my life.

The Strategy (Me + Archy/Gemini)

I chatted with Archy to define the architecture. Archy explained the need for a stateful server (Node) to talk to a stateless site (WordPress) and produced “Steering Documents” – technical instructions later fed to Kiro.

Spec‑Driven Development (Me + Kiro)

I didn’t ask Kiro to “write a chat app.” I uploaded a specs.md file we co‑wrote.

Prompt: “Read this spec. Build a Node.js server that handles a 50/50 financial split on every transaction.”

Result: Kiro scaffolded the entire backend logic in under 60 seconds, generating flawless math for splitting tips between the reporter and the platform.

Vibe Coding (The Costume)

I wanted the app to look like a Cyberpunk Haunted Stadium for the costume contest.

Prompt: “Make it look like a glitched hologram inside a dark stadium. Neon green borders.”

Magic: Kiro instantly produced complex CSS keyframe animations (lightning flashes, heartbeat pulses) that gave the app a living feel.

The Deployment (The Hard Part)

When we tried to connect the local server to the public web, it failed—a point where most solo founders quit.

Archy analyzed the logs, identified a CORS issue (secure website vs. local laptop), and guided me to deploy the Brain to Render.com and update the widget code to point to the cloud.

Result: A fully functioning cloud app in minutes.

🚀 The Result

We built a fully functional MVP that includes:

• ✅ Real‑Time Chat: Instant messaging across devices.
• ✅ Tipping Economy: Working 50/50 revenue‑split model.
• ✅ Mobile‑Responsive: Looks like a native app on phones.
• ✅ Documentation: Complete GitHub repo with MIT License.

What I learned:
The barrier to entry for tech startups has collapsed. You don’t need a CTO to build an MVP anymore—you need a vision and the ability to manage AI agents. Archy and Kiro didn’t just help me code; they taught me how to think like an engineer.

🔗 Live Demo & Code

• Live Demo: (link to live demo)
• GitHub Repository: (link to repo)

Vote for TheFunFanReporter in the Kiroween Hackathon and help turn 75,000 fans into 75,000 paid reporters.