I’m Building SimbaRise — an AI Assistant for Low-Bandwidth, Low-Budget Users

Hey r/buildinpublic,

I’m Jonathan — solo founder of SimbaRise, and I’ve been building an AI assistant for people the current AI boom mostly ignores: users without fast internet, modern phones, or the money for $20/month tools.

The “why”:
Most AI products are built for Silicon Valley conditions — great bandwidth, new devices, and disposable income. That’s not the world billions of people live in.

I’m trying to fix that.

What I’ve built (so far):

• Simbachat: lightweight GPT-4o-powered assistant
• Runs on 3G, older devices, minimal UI
• No login required, just load and go
• $0 / $3 / $5 / $10 per month pricing tiers
• React + Firebase + OpenAI stack

What I’m doing in public:

• Sharing product updates weekly
• Tracking user behavior anonymously to improve UX
• A/B testing pricing language and CTAs
• Talking to real users in Kenya, India, and other countries
• Shipping lean, learning fast

Where I need your help:

• How do you find early adopters outside traditional tech circles?
• Anyone here built for global South audiences?
• Creative non-ad monetization models for free-tier users?
• Growth strategies for Web apps?

Site: simbarise.com
Beta is live and usable now — check it out and roast it.

Happy to answer questions or give feedback on your builds too. Let’s make useful stuff, for more people.

— Jonathan