Traverse City Instructor Teaches How to Build Web Apps in One Day

On December 18, Traverse City entrepreneur Kalob Hagen ran a workshop designed to teach participants how to build a functional web application in a single day, and organizers reported that seats remained for a follow up session. Hagen said the class is open to complete beginners and experienced professionals alike, with the stated goal of lowering barriers to practical technology for individuals and small businesses across Grand Traverse County.

Hagen traced his own path into technology to an early mentorship. When he was about 13 or 14 his mother introduced him to the owner of a local company where she worked, and that owner took him "under his wing" and began teaching him about engineering technology. Hagen now seeks to return that support to the community by showing how everyday tools can be combined into useful applications that local employers and entrepreneurs can adopt quickly.

He highlighted a project he developed at an IBM AI hackathon held several weeks before the workshop, noting that a large franchise is considering using the tool internally. That project included a restaurant inventory management system built to analyze sales, inventory, and menu data using Excel spreadsheets that many restaurants already rely on. Hagen said he is working to add AI based learning so the system can adapt over time, and he maintained that workshop and hackathon projects are not "some sham thing," but have practical, deployable value.

The training draws a range of participants from those with no technical background to senior software developers. For the local economy the sessions represent a low cost path to operational improvements for small firms, especially restaurants that currently manage operations with spreadsheets. Upskilling residents can reduce reliance on expensive outside vendors, keep problem solving local, and help businesses respond faster to seasonal demand that shapes the county economy.

Information about future workshops and a waitlist is available on the organizer's website for residents interested in attending or in exploring how simple web based tools might improve their business operations.