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Code Riff

Code Riff

De : Eric Tan Yaohong Ch'ng
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come see how ai is used for human flourishing and to have more fun.

we interview ai-pilled practitioners using ai to enhance their work and lives.

hosts:
- Eric Tan - vibecoder https://www.linkedin.com/in/erictisme/
- Yaohong Ch'ng - senior engineer, founder of superuser hq. https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaohongchng/

subscribe and join us on our journey of figuring things out together.

episode takeaways: https://coderiff.substack.com


youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CodeRiffAI

© 2026 Code Riff
Épisodes
  • Cybersecurity shouldn't be a luxury | Gaurav Keerthi (CEO of StrongKeep)

    Cybersecurity shouldn't be a luxury | Gaurav Keerthi (CEO of StrongKeep)
    Jun 16 2026
    gaurav keerthi has packed several careers into one. he was a rescue helicopter pilot, made brigadier-general, became the air force's first chief innovation officer, then deputy chief executive of singapore's cyber security agency.then he started strongkeep, because he was tired of waiting for someone to build affordable cybersecurity for the small businesses everyone else overlooks.in this conversation we cover:- what growing up through a coup and political violence taught him about safety- the only four ways businesses actually get hacked, and how ai just makes them faster- why he rebuilds every ai "skill" from scratch instead of trusting one off the internet (and learns more doing it)- why the cost of building software dropped to zero, but the prices didn't- why he gave up top jobs in the air force and cyber to build affordable security for SMEs- the "brilliant intern with a drinking problem" rule for using ai agents without getting burned (Simon Chesterman quote)- how singapore's rigid system produces some of the world's best "oddball" founders- how he hires by reading ai chat transcriptschapters0:00 cold open2:34 coup, assassination, fall of the Berlin wall10:08 security as a luxury good16:52 SMEs and how security is often overlooked20:50 the four ways things go wrong27:30 emerging risks from personal claws31:41 building a second brain, and why Gaurav built his own harness36:15 rebuilding ai skills yourself (don't trust outside skills), vibecoding40:55 StrongKeep demos - 7 min setup46:20 building for when the cost of software drops to zero50:07 ai as a "brilliant intern with a drinking problem" (quote by Simon Chesterman)56:55 break57:07 entrepreneurship in sg, principles of debate, hiring1:06:40 rapid fire: books, fav place in sg, philosophy1:15:37 thank youyoutube: https://youtu.be/UNBkWOIw-IM?is=QOdIL2tB2JNZ428Aspotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/53wI41qQXVTiydVjN7i4uB?si=9g2gxyYDQeyow-YhxUC25Qapple: https://podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/cybersecurity-shouldnt-be-a-luxury-gaurav-keerthi/id1877603539?i=1000772983777snipd: https://share.snipd.com/episode/921b3698-317f-4a8a-b302-b94262433805how we met (the "group" mentioned)we met Gaurav through the agentic builders collective (abc), a local (Singapore-based) community for people building with ai. https://www.agenticbuilders.sglinks- StrongKeep (affordable cybersecurity for smes): https://strongkeep.com- run a free cyberscan on your business: https://cyberscan.strongkeep.com- gaurav: gauravkeerthi.combooks gaurav recommends:- sapiens, yuval noah harari- unspeak, steven poole- the wisdom of crowds, james surowieckiglossary (for the non-techies)a few terms from this episode:- ai agent: a program you hand a goal to, that then takes the steps itself (browsing, clicking, running code) instead of you doing each one.- harness: the setup an ai agent runs inside, which decides what it's allowed to touch. gaurav tried the off-the-shelf ones, then built his own.- personal claw (openclaw, nanoclaw): nicknames for personal ai agents people run on their own devices.- least privilege: giving a tool or person the smallest set of permissions they need, and nothing more. the "$5 to a teenager" rule.- credentials: your logins, passwords, keys, and tokens. the thing attackers want most.- clear text (plaintext): information saved as plain readable text with no encryption, so anyone who opens the file can read it.- vibe coding: building software mostly by describing what you want to an ai and running what it gives you, rather than writing the code yourself.- second brain: a personal system, often ai-powered now, that stores and connects your notes so you can recall everything you've saved.- sme: small and medium-sized business. the people gaurav built strongkeep for.code riff: a podcast hosted by Eric Tan and Yaohong Ch'ng. we interview experts so you can use ai to flourish and have fun.- youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CodeRiffAI- spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/53wI41qQXVTiydVjN7i4uBwhether you run a small business or just build with ai and worry you're missing something, we hope this one leaves you feeling more equipped, not more behind.
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    1 h et 16 min
  • We vibecoded an app for our grandparents

    We vibecoded an app for our grandparents
    May 21 2026

    This is a secret episode we almost didn't release. Eric (vibe-coder, can't read code) and his cousin Jason (a software engineer) sat down to build a family app for their ageing grandparents. What you'll hear is a distilled 2.5h chat, with a brief demo near the end.

    We're releasing it because the mess is the whole point. If you're curious about vibe coding but scared to start, this is what it actually sounds like when two real people try.

    Key takeaways:
    - Get the AI to grill you before you build. Jason had it question his intent and features until they reached shared understanding - no code until then.
    - Leave the technical details out of planning. Focus on the job to be done and who's using it; the stack decisions come later.
    - Planning is painful but it pays off. An hour of arguing and changing our minds upfront beats iterating ten times on the wrong prototype.
    - A software engineer meets Claude/Opus for the first time and reacts to how it works vs his usual Cursor setup.
    - You don't need a finished product to start. We ended on a mock app - grab a friend, your cousin, your kids, and just start building.

    Hosts: Eric Tan (non-technical builder). Yaohong Ch'ng is the usual co-host - this episode is Eric solo with a guest.
    Guest: Jason - software engineer, Eric's cousin, daily Cursor + Sonnet 4.5 user trying Claude/Opus for the first time.

    Got a problem you want us to solve live? Fill out the form:
    https://forms.gle/DSyLzPAoR6x2M4Np9

    A few terms you'll hear:
    - Vibe coding: building software by telling an AI what you want in plain English, instead of writing code yourself.
    - Claude / Opus / Sonnet: Claude is the AI assistant; Opus is the bigger, pricier model Eric uses, Sonnet the faster, cheaper one Jason uses at work.
    - Cursor: a code editor with AI built in - Jason's daily tool.
    - Plan mode: a Claude Code setting where it asks you questions and writes a plan before building anything.
    - Notion as a database: using Notion to store the app's data instead of paying for a proper database - a cheap shortcut with limits.
    - Mock data: fake placeholder content used to see how the app looks before real data goes in.

    Connect with us:
    - Eric on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erictisme/
    - Jason on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ysjasonchen/
    - Email: code.riffs.ai@gmail.com

    Code Riff - messy real-world problems, solved with AI, so you can too.
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    36 min
  • Global FMCG Researcher Uses AI for Ingredient Analysis

    Global FMCG Researcher Uses AI for Ingredient Analysis
    Apr 28 2026

    Cosmetic scientists from FMCG companies spend days clicking between PubChem, INCI Decoder, and supplier sites just to figure out what's in one competitor product. Aidil is a cosmetic chemist. He does this manually in Excel and through hundreds of searches in a textbox.

    We tried to solve that task with Claude Code - live, in 90 minutes. 10 products decoded, and a similarity matrix.

    What you'll hear:
    - Why a trained scientist still loses a day per product to manual ingredient lookups
    - Aidil dictating what the tool should do - in plain English, no code
    - Building a Python script live that pulls CAS numbers, molecular formulas, and chemistry from PubChem
    - Tagging each ingredient's cosmetic function with INCI Decoder (surfactant, emulsifier, thickener)
    - The messy bits: synonyms, rate limits, caching, and a PubChem API that doesn't have pKa
    - A similarity matrix that clusters Pantene with Olaplex, and Head & Shoulders on its own
    - Aidil's payoff: "it has the potential to just take a few seconds"

    Hosts: Eric Tan (non-technical builder) & Yaohong Ch'ng (Founder, Superuser HQ, ex-Stashaway head of Data)
    Guest: Aidil Juhari - ex-FMCG R&D scientist, cosmetic chemist

    Got a problem you want us to solve live? Fill out the form:
    https://forms.gle/DSyLzPAoR6x2M4Np9

    We write here: https://substack.com/@coderiff

    Join our community: https://chat.whatsapp.com/Dmp5eEEsAZhJTB6LjcIG3c?mode=gi_t

    LEARN ALONG:
    - FMCG: Fast-Moving Consumer Goods - shampoo, toothpaste, detergent. Aidil's world.
    - INCI: The official scientific name for every cosmetic ingredient.
    - CAS number: A passport number for molecules - unique ID for every chemical.
    - PubChem: Free public chemistry database run by the US government.
    - API: How one program asks another for data, instead of copying from a webpage.
    - pKa: A chemistry number for how acidic or basic a molecule is. PubChem doesn't have it, which bit us.

    Connect with us:
    - Eric on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erictisme/
    - Yaohong on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaohongchng/
    - Superuser HQ: https://superuserhq.com/
    - Email: code.riffs.ai@gmail.com

    Code Riff - messy real-world problems, solved with AI, so you can too.
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    35 min
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