Building TubeChat with Claude: From Idea to a Shipping Product
Feb 6, 2026 · 7 min readHow I used Claude as a pair programmer to go from a messy concept to a real, shippable product — and what I learned along the way.
Michael Shields
AI vibe-coder, app developer, OpenClaw deployment pioneer
based in Kansas City
Connect with me on X → @kcwolf001
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About
I'm a Kansas City-based entrepreneur and technologist with a deep passion for artificial intelligence and its power to transform industries. Over the past two decades I've built, scaled, and advised companies across SaaS, e-commerce, and enterprise tech — always with an eye toward what's next.
Today I spend my time exploring the intersection of AI and business — prototyping intelligent systems, investing in early-stage startups, and helping founders turn ambitious ideas into products that ship. I believe the best technology disappears into the background, quietly making everything around it better.
Projects
TubeChat
Talk to any YouTube video. Paste a link, ask questions, and get answers with clickable timestamps. Powered by Claude AI.
AIWeb AppYouTube
Those Damn Shirts
A Shopify-powered e-commerce brand selling bold, statement-making t-shirts. Designed, marketed, and shipped from Kansas City.
E-commerceShopifyBrand
VoiceFlow Assistant
Voice-first AI assistant for small businesses — handles scheduling, FAQs, and customer intake calls automatically.
AIVoiceAutomation
FounderOS
An operating system for startup founders: cap table management, investor updates, and KPI tracking in one place.
SaaSStartupsFintech
DataPipe
Real-time data pipeline orchestration tool that simplifies ETL workflows for data engineering teams.
DataDevToolsInfrastructure
GreenRoute Logistics
AI-powered route optimization for last-mile delivery, reducing fuel costs by up to 30%.
AILogisticsSustainability
Experience
2022 — Present
Founder & CEO
Shields AI Ventures
Building and investing in AI-powered startups. Advisory roles across multiple early-stage companies in the Midwest ecosystem.
2018 — 2022
VP of Product
TechCo Industries
Led product strategy for a B2B SaaS platform serving 500+ enterprise clients. Grew ARR from $8M to $32M.
2014 — 2018
Co-Founder & CTO
DataStream Labs
Built a real-time analytics platform from zero to acquisition. Managed a team of 25 engineers across three offices.
2010 — 2014
Senior Software Engineer
Enterprise Solutions Inc.
Full-stack development for Fortune 500 clients. Specialized in scalable architectures and cloud migration.
Blog
View all →Getting Started with OpenClaw: Deploying a Personal AI Assistant
Feb 5, 2026 · 6 min readA practical walkthrough of deploying OpenClaw so your assistant can read files, run commands, and help you actually ship work — safely.
Everything Happens for a Reason
Feb 7, 2025 · 1 min readWhen I felt the swift pain of my badk "giving out" the other day, my immediate thought was - WTF?! What did I do that caused this?! Now that the dust has settled, here is whatI thi…
Get in Touch
Whether you have a project in mind, want to collaborate, or just want to say hello — I'd love to hear from you.