OpenAI 2026 hackathon

Sesami | Recipes and Meal plans

A recipe book app, allowing to save recipes from websites, youtube, social media.

Solo project by Igor Shcherba · 1 likes · 0 comments

Archive position — measured, not model output

1 like on Devpost

506 of the 7,856 archived projects have more likes, and 1,758 share exactly 1 — so this project's #1,903 place in the like-ranked listing is a tie-break inside that group, not a ranking.

Projects (log scale)

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Likes on Devpost. ▲ marks this project's group.

Show the figures
LikesProjectsShare of archive
05,59271.2%
11,75822.4%
22853.6%
3–41321.7%
5–9751.0%
10+140.2%
Devpost like counts for all 7,856 archived projects, captured when this archive was built.

Executive Summary

What the company appears to be

Sesami is a recipe and meal-planning app built by a single developer (Igor Shcherba) using AI-assisted development tools like GPT-5.6, Codex, and React Native. The app allows users to import recipes from websites and YouTube, save them in a personal collection, plan meals for the week, and generate shopping lists.

What changed

The project evolved from a long-standing personal backlog into an actual working prototype using AI tools for development, with the developer describing this as a shift in how he approaches software building. It was submitted to the OpenAI 2026 hackathon.

The single most important open question

Is there evidence of real user traction or adoption beyond the developer’s own use case? The description states that the developer's wife uses it daily, but no third-party validation or usage metrics are provided.

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What The Product Actually Is

  • The description states that Sesami is a "recipe book app" that allows users to save recipes from websites, YouTube, and social media.
  • It enables users to keep a personal recipe collection, generate meal plans for the week, and automatically create shopping lists.
  • The app was built using React Native, Expo, Appwrite, TypeScript, and AI tools like GPT-5.6 and Codex.
  • The developer describes building it by communicating product vision to AI rather than writing code manually.

Note

No evidence of actual product functionality or user interface is provided beyond the author’s own account.

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Positioning & Claim Evolution

  • The description states that the app was built in response to a personal request from the developer's wife, who wanted a single place to save recipes from various sources and plan meals.
  • The positioning appears to be a personal solution for home cooks looking to organize their cooking habits.
  • The claim evolution is described as shifting from a "someday" project to one built using AI tools, with the developer noting that this approach changed how he thinks about software development.

Inference The app's positioning seems niche and personal, not yet scaled or commercialized. No evidence of broader market positioning or branding strategy.

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Target Customer & ICP

  • The description states that the app was built for the developer’s wife, who is described as a user of the app.
  • There is no evidence of a defined target customer segment beyond this personal use case.
  • No information is provided about whether the app targets home cooks, meal planners, or other groups.

Inference The ICP appears to be limited to individuals with similar needs to the developer’s wife. No evidence of broader market segmentation or user research.

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Business Model & Pricing Evidence

  • No pricing model or monetization strategy is described.
  • There is no mention of subscriptions, in-app purchases, or advertising.
  • The description does not indicate whether the app will be free, paid, or supported by other revenue streams.

Inference No evidence of a business model or pricing structure. The project appears to be a personal prototype with no commercial intent described.

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Technical & Delivery Signals

  • The app was built using React Native, Expo, Appwrite, TypeScript, and AI tools like GPT-5.6 and Codex.
  • The developer states that he "barely wrote any code manually" and instead used AI to generate the implementation.
  • The development process involved voice dictation and prompt engineering to guide AI behavior.
  • The app is described as a working prototype submitted to a hackathon.

Inference The technical approach is unusual in that it relies heavily on AI for development, but no evidence of scalability, performance, or production readiness is provided.

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Traction & Maturity Signals

  • The developer states that his wife uses the app daily.
  • No other users or adoption data are mentioned.
  • The project was submitted to a hackathon and is described as a prototype.
  • There is no evidence of revenue, customer acquisition, or product-market fit beyond the developer’s own use.

Inference Traction is limited to one user. No evidence of broader adoption or product maturity.

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Competitive Context

  • No mention of competitors or market analysis in the description.
  • The app appears to target a niche within recipe and meal-planning apps, but no evidence of existing solutions or competitive positioning is provided.

Inference No evidence of competitive landscape or differentiation strategy. The project seems unanchored in a known market context.

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Key Risks & Red Flags

  • The app is built by a single developer with no team or external support.
  • The use of AI for development introduces risks related to code quality, maintainability, and scalability.
  • No evidence of user feedback loops or iterative improvements beyond the developer’s own experience.
  • The lack of commercialization or monetization strategy raises questions about long-term viability.

Inference Risks include technical debt from AI-assisted development, lack of team structure, and absence of a clear path to market traction or revenue.

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Diligence Questions To Ask The Founders

  1. Is the app currently used by anyone other than the developer’s wife?
  2. What is the current user experience like for someone not familiar with the developer's vision?
  3. How does the AI-assisted development process impact maintainability and scalability of the codebase?
  4. Are there any plans to monetize or scale the product beyond personal use?
  5. What are the specific challenges in extracting recipes from different sources, and how are they being addressed?

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Investment/Partnership Verdict

  • The project is described as a personal prototype built by one developer.
  • There is no evidence of revenue, customers, or traction beyond the developer’s own use case.
  • No commercialization strategy or business model is evident.
  • The AI-assisted development approach is novel but unproven in terms of long-term viability or scalability.

Verdict Not evidenced as a viable investment or partnership opportunity. The project appears to be a personal experiment with no demonstrated market traction or commercial potential.

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Source

Submitted to the OpenAI 2026 hackathon on Devpost. Project home on DevPost.

The analysis above was generated by a language model from the project's own one-line description. It is not independent research and contains no verified traction, revenue or customer data.