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Kudakwashe Chikumbu

Building Dormsy: My Journey of Turning Setbacks into Lessons


25 February 2026  ·  3 min read
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Building Dormsy: My Journey of Turning Setbacks into Lessons
My name is Kudakwashe Chikumbu, a Computer Science student from Zimbabwe and a proud African who believes in building technology solutions for Mother Africa. I’ve always been passionate about using code to solve real problems that affect us in our daily lives. One of those problems inspired my journey into creating Dormsy (dormsy.co.zw) — a student accommodation platform born out of both struggle and resilience. The Spark It all started when I noticed how fellow students were constantly losing money to housing agents who exploited their desperation for accommodation. Many of us have been victims or know someone who has been scammed. I thought to myself: “Why not build a platform that directly connects students to reliable accommodation without the risk?” That’s when the idea of an accommodation system for students was born. Building in Silence Fueled by that vision, I started developing the system quietly. I didn’t tell anyone. ChatGPT became my brainstorming partner, helping me shape ideas and features. At that stage, I believed that working in silence was the best strategy — let the work speak for itself when it’s ready. But just as I was close to finishing, something unexpected happened: a classmate released a very similar platform, unistay.online. Ironically, my own project was also called Unistay. To this day, I don’t know if it was pure coincidence or if ChatGPT had suggested the same name to both of us. The First Setback Despite the shock, I didn’t stop. I pivoted and rebranded my platform to Dormsy. I even proceeded to host it and put it online. But soon reality hit: I got only one listing. I tried reaching out to a few friends who were housing agents, hoping they’d support me. None replied. That silence was louder than anything. I felt crushed. For the first time, I almost gave up on coding. Lessons Learned But then I realized something important: I had been doing it wrong. Building in silence isn’t always the best path. Sometimes we need to build in public, sharing our journey so that by the time we launch, our platforms already have an audience waiting. Our success depends not only on the code we write but also on the networks we create. If our circle doesn’t support our vision, it may be time to build new circles — with people in our field and beyond. Networking, collaboration, and visibility matter as much as the product itself. Moving Forward Dormsy taught me resilience, patience, and the importance of community. I’m still on my journey as a developer, but I carry with me a deeper understanding: building for Africa requires not just coding skills, but also courage, collaboration, and connection. I remain committed to using my skills to craft digital solutions that serve students, communities, and ultimately Mother Africa. Dormsy may have been a stumble, but it also became a stepping stone. Final thought: To anyone out there building — don’t give up. Share your journey, build your network, and remember that failure is often just the first draft of success.
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Kudakwashe Chikumbu
Kudakwashe Chikumbu

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