Darshan Ponikar

I’m a builder who loves taking ideas from zero to something real—writing apps from scratch, scaling them to thousands of users, and pushing boundaries with AI and real-time tech. I move fast, wear multiple hats, and care about turning raw concepts into products people actually want to use.

Contact

Experience

• Founding Engineer — Huddle01

  At Huddle01, I wrote the mobile app from scratch and scaled it to over 75,000+ users across Android and iOS, optimizing performance end to end. Along the way, I became a versatile engineer, working across Huddle01’s real-time infrastructure, the Meet backend, and integrations like Cal.com.

  I led the mobile team and contributed to products like the Huddle01 SDK, the Cal.com + Huddle01 integration, and a Gmail add-on built with Google App Script.

  A big part of my work was building real-time applications with WebRTC and experimenting with Web3.

  Over time, my role transitioned into product engineering, where I took full ownership of the Huddle01 mobile app and helped turn it from an early experiment into a reliable product that people actually used.

  2024 — Present

• Founding Engineer — Nintee

  At Nintee, an AI consumer startup in healthcare, I joined right at the 0-to-1 stage where nothing existed yet and everything had to be built from scratch.

  I was responsible for end-to-end product experiments, moving fast, iterating on feedback, and learning quickly in a high-pace environment. We worked on multiple AI consumer apps across web and mobile, shipping products in a matter of months.

  My work included building agentic flows, creating RAG based applications, and experimenting with dynamic AI-powered consumer apps. I collaborated closely with designers and product managers, rapidly iterating on feedback to refine what we built.

  Beyond engineering, I led user interviews to understand what was working and what wasn’t, and fed those insights back into the product. It was a hands-on experience of working at a very early-stage startup where I wore multiple hats—engineering, product, and research—and was involved in every single step of the journey.

  Unfortunately, due to ambiguity and lack of clarity around what we truly wanted to build, Nintee shut down in April 2024.

  2023 — 2024

Writing

• 0 to 1, working in a startup as Software EngineerDec 2023

  Notes on working in a startup as Product Engineer

• OTA updates in React NativeJul 2024

  Sharing my learnings implementing OTA updates in React Native

• Should You Work at a Startup?Sep 2025

  Summary of my learnings working in a startup

Projects

• Orro AI — Vocabulary Made Simple

  Visit ↗

  I built Orro to help users effortlessly learn new words and improve their vocabulary without getting overwhelmed. The focus was on making the experience intuitive and fast—users can select text anywhere, get instant explanations, and see contextual examples in real time. I designed it to be mobile-first, with a clean UI and interactive review cycles, so users could seamlessly learn and retain words in their daily flow.

• AI Chat Fantasy

  Visit ↗

  I created AI Chat Fantasy to give users a dynamic storytelling experience where their choices directly shape the narrative. The goal was to make AI-powered stories feel interactive and personalized. I built it by designing robust AI conversation flows, integrating GPT-based responses, and optimizing the app for both web and mobile. Users can dive into unique stories every time, creating a sense of agency and immersion.

• Scrolla AI — Effortless Reading & Understanding

  Visit ↗

  I built Scrolla AI to make reading complex documents effortless and engaging. Users can read PDFs, ePUBs, and images with text, and instantly get explanations for any word or phrase. By leveraging native Swift APIs alongside AI, I created a seamless experience that feels intuitive and fast. The goal was to reduce friction—users can understand content without leaving the app or breaking their reading flow.

• GitFix — Push Hotfixes on the Go

  Visit ↗

  I designed GitFix to help developers fix critical issues without needing a laptop. The app lets users push hotfixes directly from their iPhone, simplifying the release process while maintaining safety and speed. By leveraging native iOS capabilities and secure Git workflows, GitFix aims to provide a seamless, reliable experience for developers who need to act fast—making urgent fixes effortless, even on the go.

Skills