Experience Skills Volunteer Projects Hackathons Books Education Hobbies
Jaffar Keikei

jaffar keikei

jaffar keikei is passionate about building secure and scalable solutions

"it isn't that we dream too wild a dream: the trouble is we do not make it seem sufficiently unlikely; for the most we can think up is a domestic ghost." — Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire

I build systems that live at the intersection of technology, art, and philosophy. My work reflects a love of exploration, a habit of questioning boundaries, and a belief that limitations are often just unasked questions. 2 Google Internships · 3x Hackathon Winner · 10+ Hackathons

Experience

Cofounder

PontiFi Sep 2025 - Present · 5 mos
  • Building infrastructure to transform B2B trade receivables into liquid, on-chain assets on Base L2
  • Architecting a compliant exchange where invoices become instant liquidity for sellers (USDC in <48 hours) and yield-generating assets for investors

Community Resource Specialist, Operations

University of Toronto Students' Union Feb 2025 - May 2025 · 4 mos
  • Streamlined operations and work processes while maintaining strict health and safety compliance
  • Provided support and crisis intervention to members and guests

Software Engineering Intern

Google Aug 2024 - Nov 2024 · 4 mos
  • Extended post-classification spam framework to 100% traffic replay, cutting false-positive debug time by 45% and enabling pre-launch safety gates
  • Integrated multi-pipeline client into a unified test harness, reducing code duplication by 70% and speeding feature rollout
  • Defined new latency/accuracy SLOs with ML + SRE team and sized resources to hit them

Skills

Languages

Python Go TypeScript JavaScript Solidity C/C++ Java Bash

Cloud & DevOps

GCP Kubernetes Docker Terraform Linux Bazel Prometheus Grafana

Databases

PostgreSQL Supabase Firebase Spanner BigQuery MongoDB Redis

Web & Blockchain

React Next.js Node.js REST APIs Hardhat Ethers.js IPFS

Volunteer Work

Local Committee Member

UTSU - New College · World University Service of Canada (WUSC - EUMC) Sep 2022 - Apr 2025 · 2 yrs 8 mos
  • Worked with a small team to manage the Student Refugee Program at UofT, helping resettled students transition smoothly to campus life
  • Led three key initiatives to create tailored programs for SRP students at New College, improving integration and inclusivity

House Representative - Crawford

New College Student Council, University of Toronto Sep 2023 - Apr 2024 · 8 mos
  • Acted as the main link between residents and administration, advocating for student needs and resolving community concerns
  • Organized social events and athletic activities to build community and improve the residence experience

Information Communication Technology Assistant

Nairobi, Kenya May 2019 - Dec 2019 · 8 mos
  • Verified and analyzed academic data for over 2,000 students, generating reports that highlighted achievement trends and improved record accuracy
  • Tracked student progress and program outcomes using internal tools, ensuring accurate funding and performance evaluation

Projects

Valisha

Custom Beaded Wristband Platform

Custom beaded wristbands crafted with precision. Choose from 195+ country flags, spell out your name, or create any pattern you imagine. Live preview shows exactly what you'll get before ordering.

Hardware ESP32 React
View Code Live Demo

MYC

YC Application Roasting Platform

Get your YC application roasted in 10-minute sessions. Connect with YC alumni and peers for direct, honest feedback without DMs. Fast feedback platform connecting founders with experienced reviewers for brutal truth about their applications.

Next.js TypeScript Google Meet
View Code Live Demo

ChessLink Smart Board

IoT Chess Training System

64 Hall-effect sensors + Arduino MCU streaming moves via WebSocket. RGB LED guidance with automated PGN recording, boosting beginner win-rate 25% in controlled tests.

Arduino WebSocket Hardware
View Code Live Demo

Hackathons

QED

Winner · Anthropic x UofT

Multi-agent study coach powered by Claude that trains students to think through hard problems step-by-step. Features Socratic coaching for guided problem solving, TA-style solution critique, and AI-powered study planners. Uses specialized Claude agents for decomposition, coaching, verification, and planning.

Claude AI TypeScript Manim
View Code Live Demo

iGuard

Y Combinator x Locus x Coinbase x Anthropic x OpenAI x Replit x Stripe x Google x Visa

API gateway and authentication platform for AI agents. Built on Replit with OIDC authentication, PostgreSQL database, and planned integrations for cryptocurrency micropayments via Coinbase CDP and programmable wallet controls via Locus.

Replit React X-402
View Code

PesaFi

Y Combinator x Emergent x Amazon x Anthropic

AI-powered Web3 Venmo for Africa. Send money across borders instantly, pay at any store with your phone, and access the global economy without a bank account. Built on Base L2 with USDC stablecoins and AI-powered financial intelligence for smart money management.

Web3 Base L2 USDC AI
Live Demo

Top Books

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1984 (George Orwell): A powerful reminder of the importance of truth, freedom, and individual thought.
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Hackers and Painters (Paul Graham): It shaped my understanding of creativity, technology, and the intersection of art and code.
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Applied Economics (Thomas Sowell): It provides the framework for how I understand the external world.
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The ONE Thing (Gary Keller): I rely on its principles to maintain ruthless focus.
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The Way of the Superior Man (David Deida): This guide helped me clarify and pursue my deeper purpose.
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The Almanack of Naval Ravikant (Eric Jorgenson): It taught me the fundamental value of leverage and accountability.
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Building Secure and Reliable Systems (Google SRE): Essential SRE practices and insights on designing systems that are resilient, secure, and can operate at scale.

Education

University of Waterloo

Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (MBET) 2025 - 2028

Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business

Leadership Venture Creation Technology Commercialization Business Model Validation Entrepreneurial Finance

University of Toronto

B.Sc. Computer Science Specialist 2021 - 2025

Faculty of Arts & Science, St. George Campus

Algorithms Operating Systems Artificial Intelligence Computer Networks Databases Human-Computer Interaction Software Engineering Software Testing Image Understanding Theory of Computation

Cross-Country

Drove from Pacific to Atlantic ... 6 days, 15 states, 3000+ miles