Hi DEV Community, I’m Agbaje. I Build Systems, Not Just Automations

agbaje olarewaju — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:50:24 +0000

My name is Agbaje Olarewaju, and I’m an AI automation specialist, automation architect, and digital solutions entrepreneur from Nigeria.

This is my first post here, so I thought the best place to start is by telling you who I am, what I build, and why I enjoy doing it.

I’m the kind of person who enjoys looking at a messy business process and asking the following:

“Why are we doing all of this manually?”

That question has taken me into AI automation, n8n, APIs, CRMs, AI agents, databases, SaaS products, websites, and a lot of late nights trying to figure out why something refused to work. 😂

And honestly?

I enjoy it.

I didn’t start by knowing everything

One thing I’ve learned from building automation systems is that you can’t know every tool.

Every client can come with a different

CRM
Business process
API
Database
Communication channel
Internal workflow
Problem

And sometimes the tool they are already using is completely new to you.

I experienced this myself with one of my early projects.

I was given a Housecall Pro project, and I had never worked with that CRM before.

But I didn't say

“I don't know this CRM, so I can't do it.”

I focused on understanding the problem.

I asked questions.

I searched.

I learned how the system worked.

Then I designed a solution around the actual requirement.

That experience taught me something I still carry with me today:

You don't need to know everything before you start.

You need to know how to find the answer.

One of my favourite parts of automation

I love taking a process that looks like this:

Customer → Form → Human checks it → Human sends payment link → Customer pays → Human checks payment → Human sends receipt → Human updates CRM

And turning it into something closer to:

Customer → System → Payment Link → Payment Verification → Receipt → CRM Update

With a human-in-the-loop when an important decision needs human confirmation.

That's where I use tools like n8n, APIs, CRMs, databases, AI models, and frontend applications.

The goal isn't to remove humans.

The goal is to remove the unnecessary repetitive work so humans can focus on the things that actually require them.

I also believe the tool is not the solution

This is something I talk about a lot.

People sometimes approach automation like this:

“I need an n8n workflow.”

Or:

“I need an AI agent.”

Or:

“I need a chatbot.”

But I prefer to start somewhere else:

What is the actual problem?

Because sometimes the best solution isn't the most complicated one.

I've worked on situations where a client wanted a feature that would have cost significantly more as they scaled.

Instead of simply implementing the expensive option, I looked at what they actually needed.

The requirement was much simpler than the feature being offered.

So we found another approach using a third-party tool that could handle the same requirement at a much lower cost and scale across their offices.

That experience reinforced something for me:

Don't fall in love with the tool. Fall in love with solving the problem.

AI + Automation is changing how I build

Today, I'm particularly interested in the intersection of the following:

AI + Automation + Business Systems

I'm building with and learning about technologies such as

n8n
AI Agents
OpenAI and other LLMs
Supabase
APIs
CRM systems
GoHighLevel
Lovable
SaaS architectures
Web applications
Workflow automation
Lead management
Revenue operations

But I'm not interested in using AI just because AI is trending.

I want to use it where it actually creates value.

For example:

A lead enters a website.

Instead of waiting hours for someone to respond, the system can immediately respond.

The message can be analyzed.

The lead can be scored.

The sales team can be notified.

The CRM can be updated.

A follow-up can be scheduled.

And the human salesperson can step in when needed.

That's much more interesting to me than simply saying

“Look, I built an AI chatbot.”

I also build with Lovable

And yes 😂...

For those who know me from my other platforms, you probably already know I enjoy using Lovable.

I jokingly call it the king of UI/UX. 👑😂

But what I enjoy most is combining tools.

Lovable can help me create the interface.

Supabase can handle the data layer.

n8n can orchestrate the workflows.

APIs connect external services.

AI handles reasoning or classification where appropriate.

And the result becomes a complete system rather than just another website.

Building every day has taught me more than tutorials

One thing I strongly believe in is building.

Not just watching tutorials.

Not just saving GitHub repositories.

Not just collecting AI tools.

Build.

Your first project may be bad.

Your second project may break.

Your third project may have bugs you don't understand.

That's normal.

Every time you build, you're improving more than your technical skills.

You're building your

Problem-solving ability
Confidence
Mentality
Debugging skills
Ability to research
Ability to ask better questions
Ability to communicate with clients
Ability to design systems

Sometimes the project isn't successful.

But you still learned something.

And that knowledge goes into the next project.

What I want to share here

Since this is my first post on DEV Community, I want this space to document the journey.

I'll be sharing things I'm actually building and learning around:

AI automation

n8n workflows

AI agents

APIs and integrations

Supabase

CRM automation

SaaS systems

Lovable and AI-assisted development

Business process automation

Lessons from client projects

Things that broke and how I fixed them

And most importantly, I'll try to share the why behind the implementation, not just the code.

Because I believe understanding the problem is just as important as knowing how to write the solution.

Why I'm here

I'm not here because I believe I know everything.

Actually, I've learned the opposite.

You can't know it all.

Technology changes too quickly.

New frameworks appear.

New AI models come out.

CRMs change.

APIs change.

Tools disappear.

New tools appear.

The people who stay relevant are the people willing to keep learning, keep asking questions, keep searching, and keep building.

That's the mindset I'm bringing here.

So if you're interested in AI, automation, development, SaaS, APIs, business systems, or just building things that solve real problems, I'd love to connect.

I'm Agbaje Olarewaju.

I'm building, learning, breaking things, fixing them, and documenting the journey.

Welcome to my corner of DEV Community. 🚀🇳🇬

And if you're building something too, drop it below.

I'd love to see what you're working on.

DEV Community: agbaje olarewaju

Hi DEV Community, I’m Agbaje. I Build Systems, Not Just Automations

I didn’t start by knowing everything

What I want to share here

Why I'm here