Madli: a working professional ships an AI food and travel app in 24 days
By Thakur Prashanth · October 15, 2026 · 4 min read
Madhupriya Allam (BTF-008), a master's student and working professional in the US, validated her idea with 20+ people and shipped Madli, an AI food and travel discovery app, in 24 days. It has users in the US and India.
At a glance
Product: Madli
Built by: Madhupriya Allam (BTF-008)
Background: Madhupriya Allam: Master's student and working professional, United States
Cohort: Build Theory Fellowship, Cohort 01 (BT-01)
Status: Shipped in 24 days; used by people in the US and India.
Who is Madhupriya Allam?
Madhupriya Allam (BTF-008) is a master's student and working professional living in the United States. She joined Build Theory with five ideas and a clear aim: build a strong product while experiencing entrepreneurship and AI product development in one place. She is now one of Build Theory's forward-deployed fellows.
The problem
From her own travels she found it hard to decide which places to visit and what to eat. Existing apps gave long lists instead of a few trustworthy, local recommendations.
Validating before building
She spoke with more than 20 people, friends and others in the US, before committing to development. The feedback was strong, and it reshaped the idea.
A real integration build
Madli integrates multiple AI tools and LLM API keys, a machine-learning model and Google Maps APIs. Her biggest challenge was getting all of those services to work together inside one app. The turning point was seeing it work, with every integration running.
Where it is now
Madli was shipped in 24 days and is used by people in both the US and India. Madhupriya plans to keep building products and solving problems.
What this story shows
Customer discovery and hard technical integration work together: a clear problem, tested with 20+ people, kept a complex build focused.
Frequently asked questions
What is Madli?
Madli is an AI food and travel discovery app that gives a few trustworthy local recommendations. It was built by Madhupriya Allam (BTF-008) in Build Theory Cohort 01.
How long did Madli take to build?
24 days from idea to shipped product.
What does Madli use under the hood?
Multiple AI tools and LLM APIs, a machine-learning model and Google Maps APIs.
Build your own product in Cohort 02
This story is part of Build Theory Cohort 01: what 24 fellows built. Build Theory is a 30-day online fellowship, based in Hyderabad, where students and early professionals go from a real problem to a live product with 1:1 mentorship and AI tools. Any year, any branch. Check your readiness score or apply for Cohort 02.
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