John Blackman, a 91-year-old retired electrical engineer, shares how he used Claude and Replit to build a complex application for his church’s community service events—with no prior software development experience and for less than $350. His app allows event organizers to create events, recruit volunteers, and manage sign-ups, with a standout feature for organizing free oil changes for participants.

What you’ll learn:

How John used Claude to create detailed product requirements and user stories
John’s philosophy on embracing new technology throughout his career
The exact process for integrating third-party APIs (like VIN lookup for oil changes) with minimal technical knowledge
How he automated report generation for volunteer management and resource planning
How the software generates personalized Impact Passports for event participants
Why letting AI build without preconceived notions of “correct” implementation can lead to faster, more functional results
How to troubleshoot common development-to-production issues when working with AI coding tools