Building an AI-driven inventory management system using AppSheet and Gemini

For our June 2025 meetup, GDG Cape Town is pleased to welcome Nick Rout—Co-founder and CEO of Thrif, and formerly at Google—for a session on building AI-driven systems using Google’s no-code and AI tools.

Nick will take us behind the scenes of Thrif (http://thrif.store), an online fashion resale marketplace built for Africa. Thrif allows users to buy affordable, pre-owned, and quality-checked fashion items. While the experience feels like a polished e-commerce store on the surface, the backend is a lean and efficient operation driven by AppSheet, Google Apps Script, and Gemini.

Nick will show how these tools enabled Thrif to launch quickly without a large engineering team—an approach suited for early-stage startups looking to validate ideas while staying agile.

This is a hybrid event. You can RSVP and, later, join the event virtually at https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-cape-town-presents-building-an-ai-driven-inventory-management-system-using-appsheet-and-gemini/
or in person at

Accso South Africa (Pty) Ltd - 3rd Floor, Clock Tower, Waterfront Cape Town, 8002

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Agenda

5:30 PM: Guest Arrivals & Check-in

Guests arrive, check in, grab a drink and mingle

6:00 PM: Welcome Note

Everyone seated, the event starts with an introductory note from us

6:05 PM: Google IO 2025 Highlights in 4 minutes

We will play a reel highlighting some of the key points of the just concluded Google IO 2025 event.

6:10 PM: Building an AI-driven inventory management system using AppSheet and Gemini

Nick will take over and deliver his talk. He will take questions during and after his talk.

7:10 PM: Gifts and Closing Remarks

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Speaker

Nick Rout - Thrif (Co-founder/CEO @ Thrif | Ex-Google)

Nick Rout is a founder, software engineer and UX/UI designer based in Cape Town, South Africa. His previous work experience includes the likes of Google, GoDaddy and Luno.

Hosted By

Ugo M, GDG Organizer

I've been building software systems for quite a while, but these days I just focus on creating the best mobile application experiences using native iOS and Android toolkits as well as with Flutter.

Siso Ngqolosi, GDG Organizer

Onesmus Maenzanise, GDG Organzier

I am Onesmus (Dzidzai) Maenzanise, a Junior Software Engineer at APS Holdings in Cape Town, South Africa. With expertise in Java, Go, Python, PHP, and other technologies, I develop innovative cloud computing solutions for APS Holdings, a leading company in the industry.

JESSICA HANNAH RANDALL, GDG Organizer

As a Master's student in Mathematics, I'm driven to solve complex societal problems through my focus on Topological Data Analysis in Data Science. I'm proud to be a Women Techmaker Ambassador, GDSC Alumni Lead, and Microsoft Student Learn Ambassador Alumni Lead. I'm dedicated to empowering women in STEM and as a Community Lead for Africas Talking,

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Partner

Accso (https://accso.de/en/cape-town/)

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Complete your event RSVP here: https://gdg.community.dev/events/details/google-gdg-cape-town-presents-building-an-ai-driven-inventory-management-system-using-appsheet-and-gemini/.