Y Combinator<\/a>, a San Francisco-based technology startup accelerator and venture capital firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\nOmondi, a computer science major with a strong interest in entrepreneurship, placed among the finalists (No. 6 out of 80 teams) at Y Combinator\u2019s Jan. 24 Full Stack hackathon and won first place in the Mongo DB Track systems hackathon on Jan. 31. At his third hackathon on Feb. 7, Omondi teamed up with fellow Mudder Ethan Sandoval \u201926 to compete in the Better Hack event and won the Founder\u2019s Award for their product, selected as one that Y Combinator founders would most likely use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to get into startups,\u201d Omondi said. \u201cHackathons felt like the fastest way to build, test ideas and meet people who want to create things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All three hackathons centered on building \u201cagentic\u201d AI tools\u2014software agents that can take a user\u2019s intent and execute complex tasks independently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Jan. 24 Full Stack hackathon, Omondi and his team built an automated web-testing agent. Developers can input a website URL and a prompt, and the agent navigates the site like a real user, identifying bugs and errors before products go live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe wanted something that tests continuously, the way an actual user would,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt catches issues before customers do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Jan. 31 systems hackathon, Omondi created a tool that allows AI coding agents to retrieve accurate, real-time data directly from websites. The tool addresses the ubiquitous problem of outdated or incorrect AI responses. His first-place award came with a pair of Meta smart glasses, which he has been enjoying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Feb. 7 Better Hack event, Omondi and Sandoval built an AI agent that automatically tests backend software endpoints, replacing manual tools like Postman. Developers can connect the agent to a GitHub repository, and it identifies, tests, fixes and retests code autonomously. The agent can also integrate with project management platforms like Jira, functioning like an additional \u201cteam member\u201d assigned to tasks. In addition to the positive nod from judges (Founder\u2019s Award), their pilot product now has paying customers. Omondi says they have reached $850 in monthly recurring revenue and are aiming to grow to $3,000 in the short-term. They are currently working on raising funds to be able to continue developing the company after graduating in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Founding a startup has been a dream of Omondi\u2019s. In addition to his computer science courses, he took two entrepreneurship classes (ENTR 179 A and B) with alumni entrepreneurs Josh Jones \u201998 and Bensen Tsai \u201906 as well as a human-centered engineering design course with Gordon Krauss, Fletcher Jones Professor in Engineering Design. Omondi also participated twice in Harvey Mudd College\u2019s Summer Entrepreneurship Studio program (EShip Studio), creating prototypes for potential startups. These experiences gave him a foundation for entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI learned the processes for how to figure out the customer, get feedback, integrate that feedback and rapidly iterate,\u201d said Omondi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These skills also proved advantageous at the hackathons, which Omondi enjoys most for their intensity. \u201cYou realize you can work under pressure. You build something in 24 hours, and someone actually uses it,\u201d he said. \u201cThat feeling is relief, and it\u2019s also achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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