Author profile
Daniel Killyevo
Founder & Technical Lead
Daniel Killyevo started Design Key with a vision to empower businesses with cutting-edge technology and tailor-made solutions. After years of experience in the tech industry, Daniel recognized the gap between clients' needs and available services. This realization led to the creation of Design Key, an agency that would bridge the divide and help clients achieve their goals with better-designed products.
Daniel is an accomplished technical leader with a Master's degree in Computer Science from Poltava National Technical University (2005-2011). Born to a Ukrainian mother and Tanzanian father in Tanzania and raised in Ukraine, he brings a unique global perspective to his work.
With over a decade of experience in software development and product design, Daniel has successfully delivered more than 50 web and mobile applications. He began his career as a software developer and went on to work with prominent companies such as Ciklum, Corrigo (Terminix), and JustEat, helping build more than 40 prototypes and MVPs for startups.
His expertise includes architecting complex cloud-based software solutions, API and data integrations, and building and scaling tech teams. As a seasoned entrepreneur, Daniel has gained invaluable experience working on personal startups and establishing two software agencies.
Articles
Written by Daniel
Design
Homepage Conversion Optimization: 2026 Checklist
Most homepages fail the same five-second test in 2026 they failed in 2018. Vague value props, hero carousels, autoplay video, no social proof above the fold. Here are the 14 homepage conversion optimization patterns that actually move the needle.
Read articleBusiness
Economics of an AI-Augmented Engineering Team
An AI-augmented engineering team is not just faster. It has a different cost structure, different bottlenecks, and different failure modes. Here is a framework for thinking about the economics.
Read articleSoftware
Multi-Tenant SaaS Architecture Without the Jargon
Three patterns. One default. Most SaaS founders pick the wrong one because the loudest opinion online is from the team whose pattern just bit them. Here is the honest 2026 read on multi-tenant SaaS architecture, jargon-free.
Read articleBusiness
A Small Business Owner's Guide to AI Automation (Not Zapier)
Zapier is great at moving data from one app to another. AI automation is a different thing - it makes decisions, writes, summarizes, and handles exceptions. Here is what that actually looks like for a small business.
Read articleProduct
The Vertical SaaS Founder's AI Shortcut List
Vertical SaaS founders do not need another generalist AI productivity thread. Here are the shortcuts that actually compound when you are building narrow, opinionated software for a specific industry.
Read articleDesign
Conversational UI vs Chat UI vs Agent UI: Design Language for AI Products
Chat UI, conversational UI, and agent UI get lumped together, but they have different goals, affordances, and failure modes. Picking the wrong one is one of the top reasons AI products feel off.
Read articleProduct
From Idea to MVP in 30 Days: The AI-Accelerated Playbook
Thirty days is not a marketing slogan. It is a forcing function. Here is the playbook we use with founders to go from a napkin sketch to a deployed MVP that real people touch.
Read articleDevelopment
Testing AI Features: Unit Tests, Golden Sets, Property Tests
AI features break differently than deterministic code. Here's the testing stack that keeps them honest - unit tests, golden sets, property tests, and CI-integrated evals.
Read articleGeneral
2025 in Review - What We Shipped and What We Learned
A year-end look back - what we shipped, what surprised us about AI tooling and client appetite, and the few things we'd do differently if we ran 2025 over.
Read articleBusiness
MCP Servers Explained for Business Operators in 2026
MCP is to AI agents what USB is to hardware: a standard plug. In 16 months it went from 2 million monthly SDK downloads to 97 million, with 10,000+ public servers. Here is what it actually means for an SMB operator deciding whether to care.
Read articleDevelopment
Human-in-the-Loop: Architecture Patterns for AI That Matters
A real human-in-the-loop system is harder than adding an approve button. Here are the patterns we use to build AI that humans actually supervise - not rubber-stamp.
Read articleDevelopment
Semantic Search Implementation: Step-by-Step with pgvector
Semantic search doesn't require a separate vector database for most applications. Postgres with pgvector gets you there with one dependency and a lot less ops.
Read articleContact Us
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