What happens when curiosity turns into a passion for building things?
For Temiloluwa Akintade, the journey into software development started in an unexpected way. Without a laptop of his own, he would secretly use his mother's phone at night to practice HTML and CSS. Later, while working at a cyber cafe, he found opportunities to practice coding using Notepad whenever he had free time.
Today, Temiloluwa is a full-stack and Web3 developer based in Nigeria, an open-source builder, and the creator of Riv, an Ethereum development toolkit listed on the Alchemy Dapp Store.
In this edition of CoderLegion Dev Stories, host Tom Smith sits down with Temiloluwa to explore his journey, the challenges that shaped his development career, and the ideas behind the tools he builds.
Starting with Curiosity, Not a Career Plan
Temiloluwa didn't initially start programming with the intention of becoming a professional developer.
Before getting into university, he was looking for something productive to learn. His father suggested exploring web design, which eventually introduced him to web development.
At around 16 or 17 years old, he started practicing HTML and CSS on his mother's phone because he didn't have access to a personal laptop.
He also worked at a cyber cafe. Whenever there wasn't much work to do, he used the office laptop and Notepad to practice coding.
What started as a way to keep himself busy gradually became something much bigger.
His early experience is a reminder that getting started doesn't always require perfect equipment or ideal circumstances. Sometimes, curiosity and consistency are enough to begin.
From Web2 Development to Web3
After gaining more than five years of full-stack development experience, Temiloluwa decided to explore Web3.
Blockchain technology initially seemed complicated to him, particularly concepts such as decentralization, network protocols, and smart contracts.
Eventually, he decided to dive in.
He began learning Solidity, blockchain fundamentals, Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, and how different nodes communicate across networks.
This transition also made him recognize the importance of computer science fundamentals. Although he had experience building applications, working with smart contracts exposed areas of foundational knowledge he wanted to strengthen.
Rather than seeing this as a setback, he used it as motivation to learn more deeply.
Building Riv: Making Ethereum Development Easier
One of the most interesting parts of Temiloluwa's journey is the creation of Riv, an open-source Ethereum development toolkit.
When he started exploring Web3 development, he encountered a problem: setting up development environments, installing dependencies, and working extensively through the terminal could be challenging, especially for beginners.
His own experience with a low-end laptop also made the process more difficult.
He wanted an alternative that would make development more accessible, with a local environment and a dashboard where developers could write, compile, deploy, and interact with smart contracts.
That idea became Riv.
His goal was to reduce unnecessary complexity and improve the developer experience.
Getting Riv listed on the Alchemy Dapp Store was an important milestone. For Temiloluwa, seeing his project listed was a meaningful validation of the effort he had invested in building it.
A Builder Who Solves His Own Problems
Riv isn't the only tool Temiloluwa has built.
During the conversation, he also discusses several other projects, including:
- A genomics command-line tool.
- A dataset analyzer inspired by his discovery of Benford's Law.
- A file encryption tool.
- An AI-powered study application that generates flashcards from uploaded lecture notes.
Interestingly, these projects weren't necessarily built because he wanted to launch another product.
Most started with a personal problem or curiosity.
For example, he wanted a better way to study using his lecture notes, so he decided to build his own AI-powered study tool.
His approach is simple: when he sees something interesting or encounters a problem, he starts thinking about how he could build a solution himself.
"I Work So Hard to Be Lazy"
One of the most memorable ideas from the interview comes from Temiloluwa's personal philosophy:
"I work so hard to be lazy."
He explains that he puts considerable effort into building tools that make tasks easier for himself and other users.
He might spend several hours building something that eventually reduces a task to just a few seconds.
For him, good engineering is about abstracting complexity away from users.
End users don't necessarily care whether a product was written in C, JavaScript, Ruby, or Rust. They care about whether it works, how quickly it works, and how easily they can use it.
It's a simple but powerful perspective on building useful software.
Exploring C, Assembly, and Computer Science Fundamentals
Temiloluwa is also expanding his knowledge beyond his usual development stack.
He has been learning C and Assembly to understand how computers operate at a lower level.
Through Assembly, he has explored concepts such as registers, instructions, branching, and how processors execute operations.
He believes this deeper understanding has helped him become a better developer.
His advice to new developers is also worth remembering: don't overlook the fundamentals.
Understanding concepts such as memory allocation, bits, bytes, and integers can provide a stronger foundation for long-term growth.
Collaboration, Web3 Security, and What's Next
The conversation also touches on Temiloluwa's collaboration with OneKey, a hardware wallet company.
The collaboration began after a representative discovered one of his technical articles. He received a hardware wallet and now shares a discount code with his audience through his content.
He also discusses the security challenges in Web3.
Because smart contracts are designed to be immutable once deployed, mistakes in contract logic can have serious consequences. Developers need to pay close attention to testing, security, code quality, and gas optimization.
For users, the decentralized nature of Web3 also creates opportunities for scams and malicious applications.
Beyond software, Temiloluwa is currently exploring electronics and hardware engineering, experimenting with circuit components and simulated Arduino projects.
His interests continue to expand, and he sees learning as something that never really stops.
Key Takeaways for Developers
There are several valuable lessons from Temiloluwa's story:
- Start with what you have: You don't need expensive equipment to begin learning programming.
- Build the fundamentals: A strong understanding of computer science concepts makes you a better problem solver.
- Don't be afraid to explore new fields: Moving from Web2 to Web3 opened new opportunities for learning and building.
- Solve real problems: Some of the most useful tools start with problems you personally experience.
- Improve the developer experience: Good engineering makes complicated things easier for everyone else.
- Keep learning: Exploring new technologies can reveal opportunities you never expected.
Meet the People Behind This Conversation
Guest: Temiloluwa Akintade
Full-Stack and Web3 Developer | Creator of Riv
CoderLegion Profile: https://coderlegion.com/user/temi_0x0
Host: Tom Smith
CoderLegion Profile: https://coderlegion.com/user/Tom Smith
Watch the Full Developer Spotlight Interview
Want to hear the complete story directly from Temiloluwa?
Watch the full conversation to learn more about his development journey, Riv, Web3, computer science fundamentals, and his philosophy of building tools that simplify everyday work.
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