At Branca.ai, we’re on a mission to redefine how SMBs manage their businesses by creating a CRM that’s smarter, simpler, and AI-powered. Here’s an update on what we’ve accomplished so far as part of our “building in public” journey.
Our CRM isn’t just another tool—it’s designed to make business management easier and more effective:
We’re laying the groundwork for even more features:
Want to be part of our journey? If you’re interested in testing Branca.ai during its beta phase, let us know! Your feedback will directly influence the future of CRM for SMBs.
Stay tuned as we continue to build in public. This is just the beginning!
#CRM #AI #Innovation #SMBs #OpenSource #BuildingInPublic
]]>At Branca.ai, we’re on a mission to redefine what a CRM can do for SMBs. It’s not just about managing customers; it’s about empowering businesses with the tools they need to grow and thrive. Over the past few weeks, we’ve made exciting progress, and we’re thrilled to share some updates as we edge closer to our MVP.
Our review system is designed to make gathering and tracking customer feedback effortless. It provides:
The analytics dashboard is the nerve center of the CRM, offering:
recharts for easy data visualization.With AI at the core of our CRM, we’ve built:
Our modular UI components ensure consistency and scalability. From reusable cards and buttons to dynamic theming, every detail is designed with the user in mind.
While we’ve made incredible progress, there’s still work to be done:
We’re gearing up to launch the beta soon, and we’d love your input. If you’re interested in testing the CRM and shaping its future, let us know! Your feedback is invaluable as we refine the platform for SMBs looking to supercharge their operations.
Building this CRM has been a challenging but rewarding experience. With each new feature, we’re one step closer to delivering a product that truly makes a difference for SMBs.
Let’s create something amazing together.
#CRM #SMB #AI #CustomerExperience #Innovation #BetaTesting #BrancaAI
]]>“The only goal somebody should have is one of happiness and fulfillment.”
– Casey Neistat
This quote resonates deeply, especially for anyone navigating the challenges of startup life. At Branca.ai, we know firsthand how easy it is to get caught up in the grind: the endless to-do lists, chasing milestones, and juggling the chaos of building something meaningful.
But here’s a truth we hold close:
What’s the point of success if it doesn’t bring happiness and fulfillment?
The startup journey is rewarding, but it’s also stressful. That’s why we constantly remind ourselves of two key things:
At Branca.ai, our mission goes beyond building great products. We aim to create a company culture and tools that empower not just businesses, but the people behind them, to thrive.
For us, this means developing solutions that simplify complexity, save time, and allow businesses to focus on what brings them fulfillment—whether that’s growth, innovation, or simply peace of mind.
To anyone out there in the trenches of building something amazing:
Let’s keep building—not just companies, but lives worth living.
#Happiness #Fulfillment #StartupLife #BuildingInPublic #Entrepreneurship
]]>At Branca.ai, our mission is to help higher-end SMBs and mid-market companies simplify decision-making with smarter tools and actionable insights. As part of this journey, we’ve committed to building in public—sharing our progress, challenges, and lessons along the way.
We’ve integrated H2O.ai with Django REST Framework to create a robust analytics pipeline for our platform. This marks a major step forward in our vision to deliver real-time insights and actionable intelligence.
Transparency drives collaboration and innovation. By sharing our progress, we aim to:
We’re excited to keep pushing forward and sharing our journey. If you’re building in public or interested in SMB analytics, we’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas. Let’s build smarter, together!
#BuildingInPublic #AI #PredictiveAnalytics #Django #React #StartupJourney
]]>When Branca first launched, we were an AI automation agency, building chatbots for solar businesses using Botpress. It was an exciting time, and we saw a huge opportunity in helping businesses streamline their operations through AI-driven automation.
But as we scaled, two things became clear:
Every other agency was offering chatbots, and it quickly turned into a race to the bottom.
Instead of sticking to a market that no longer aligned with our goals, we made the bold decision to pivot. Today, Branca is:
We’ve shifted from offering a single solution to becoming a partner in growth for ambitious SMBs.
Pivoting isn’t easy. It requires humility to admit something isn’t working, vision to identify new opportunities, and determination to execute the change. But pivots aren’t failures—they’re evolutions that lead to growth.
To the founders and builders out there: what’s the funniest, most unexpected pivot you’ve ever made? Drop your stories in the comments or reach out. Let’s learn from each other’s journeys!
Thanks for being a part of ours. ❤️
– Branca Team
]]>In this post, I’ll walk you through how I built a simplified UTM Link Generator and Analytics Dashboard, inspired by tools like Bitly. This project serves as a hands-on learning experience to understand React fundamentals, state management, and building an MVP.
The UTM Link Generator and Analytics Dashboard is a React app that simplifies the process of creating UTM-enhanced short URLs and tracking basic metrics. It’s designed as a lightweight version of Bitly but includes basic analytics.
useState and useEffect).App.css.The first step was building a form to accept a base URL and generate short links. I also added input validation to ensure URLs start with http:// or https://.
Next, I added a dashboard to display short links, their original counterparts, and click counts. Clicking a short URL increments the click count and updates the dashboard in real time.
Finally, I added a simple, clean design inspired by Exodus Wallet. The app is styled with custom CSS for a polished look.
useState and useEffect to manage and persist state.This project is a great foundation, but there are several directions to expand:
Check out the full project on [GitHub]kpres12/utm-link-generator.
Building this app taught me a lot about React and managing state in real-world scenarios. It’s a simple yet functional project that’s perfect for learning the fundamentals and showcasing your skills in a portfolio.
At Branca, we’re committed to empowering small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with tools that simplify decision-making and drive growth. Today, we’re excited to share an update on our Business Intelligence (BI) tool, a project we’re building from the ground up to help SMBs harness the power of their data.
We’ve built a strong foundation for seamless data processing using Python, and we’re leveraging Metabase for dashboards and visualizations.
Metabase has been a game-changer, providing a solid base to build something truly tailored to SMBs’ unique needs.
We’re designing intuitive dashboards that give business owners real-time insights into their key metrics.
From tracking sales and marketing performance to customer engagement, our dashboards are designed to make data actionable and easy to understand.
Here’s what we’re working on in the next phase of development:
We’ve worked with SMBs long enough to know that many feel overwhelmed by data or lack the tools to use it effectively. Our BI tool is here to bridge that gap—helping business owners focus on what matters most and make data-driven decisions with confidence.
We’re inching closer to our beta launch and can’t wait to share more updates soon!
💡 Got thoughts or ideas? Drop us a comment or reach out—we’d love to hear from you!
#BuildingInPublic #SMBTools #BusinessIntelligence #BrancaTech
]]>Hey there, GitHub friends! 👋
It’s been a great couple weeks and Holidays, and I wanted to take a moment to share what I’ve been up to lately—because it’s been a journey. Spoiler: I started a company.
The idea for Branca came out of frustration. My co-founder and I spent years watching clients struggle with tools that didn’t fit their needs.
Whether it was bloated software built for enterprises or hacky patchwork solutions, the gap was clear:
➡️ Businesses deserve tools actually built for them.
So, we decided to stop complaining and start building. Enter Branca: our take on tailored, powerful, and affordable business intelligence for SMBs and mid-market companies.
At its core, Branca exists to empower businesses.
We’re not here to slap an SMB sticker on enterprise tools. We’re rethinking how decision-making tools should work for companies without armies of analysts or endless budgets.
💡 Our goal: Give SMBs clarity to grow—without the fluff.
We’re deep in the trenches, working on:
Our stack includes:
Every day brings new challenges (and plenty of learning opportunities).
Starting a company is no joke, but it’s been incredibly rewarding. Here are a few lessons so far:
The Devil’s in the Details
UX, performance, backend logic—it all matters when building from scratch.
You Don’t Have to Know Everything
Iteration and feedback are your best friends. (Huge thanks to our early testers!)
Focus Is Everything
It’s easy to get distracted by shiny ideas. Solving real customer pain points is the key to success.
We’re gearing up to release our MVP soon, and I couldn’t be more excited!
📈 The goal? Get the product in the hands of businesses and use their feedback to make it even better.
If you’re:
Feel free to reach out!
And to all the builders and dreamers out there: Keep going. The work is hard, but it’s always worth it.
Cheers to what’s ahead,
💻 Follow my journey, or let’s collaborate!
]]>In this post, I’ll share how I completed a Secure Network Design performance assessment for my WGU class. This project focused on merging two companies’ networks securely while meeting compliance requirements and staying within a tight budget. It was a fantastic challenge that required applying technical knowledge, strategic thinking, and compliance expertise.
For this assessment, I acted as the cybersecurity professional for Company A, a financial institution. The goal? Integrate its network with Company B, a smaller medical software provider. Here’s what I had to address:
The final deliverable was a network merger and implementation plan with justifications and a network diagram.
Here’s how I approached the project, step by step:
I started by analyzing the provided network diagrams and vulnerability reports to identify critical issues:
The next step was creating a secure network topology diagram. My design included:
The design focused on two key principles:
To meet PCI DSS and HIPAA requirements, I incorporated:
Balancing security needs with the $50,000 budget was critical. Here’s how I allocated resources:
This project was an excellent exercise in real-world cybersecurity problem-solving. It emphasized the importance of balancing security, compliance, and budget constraints while designing a secure network architecture.
If you’re a WGU student working on this assessment, I hope this post helps you approach the project with confidence. Good luck!
💬 Have thoughts or questions? Drop a comment below, or reach out if you’d like to discuss cybersecurity design!
]]>In the world of Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions, challenges often take us to unusual places—sometimes even outside the virtual realm. Recently, I encountered a unique CTF task involving geocaching at George Mason University’s Fairfax campus. Our goal? To locate a statue from an image left by a “famous geocacher” who had, as the story goes, vanished after dropping a cryptic clue. 🏛️🔍
It’s said that a famous geocacher has left a cache on our Fairfax campus. He took this picture before disappearing into the night. Could you help us find where this picture was taken? The flag is
pctf{NAME_OF_STATUE}
With only a dark, indistinct photo to go on, the challenge tested our resourcefulness in navigating the campus—without actually being there. The image’s darkness ruled out Google Lens, so we had to get creative. 🖼️🔦
With the right statue identified, I unlocked the flag: pctf{communitas}.
This CTF experience was a reminder of the importance of patience and persistence, especially when the answers aren’t immediately clear. Geocaching meets CTF—a fun, challenging blend of digital sleuthing and real-world problem-solving!
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