Founder memo · 2026
Daniel McGrattan
info@provena-ai.com
www.danielmcgrattan.org
Who
You're reading about a 19-year-old from Ireland who represented his country at the IMMAF Youth World Championships, left school, left home, and built a company run by AI agents.[62] Sourcehttps://mma-db.com/ie/en/fighters/daniel-mcgrattan ↗As of2026-09-26StatusVerifiedAll sources → Born 2007[08] SourceDaniel, 2026-09-26 (IMMAF 2023-2024 at age 16-17)StatusSelf-reported. Evidence is being attached.All sources →. I write the code[20] Sourcescripts/export-commits.mjsAs of2026-09-26StatusVerifiedAll sources →, and since my co-founder left it's me and a team of AI agents[61] SourceDaniel, 2026-09-26StatusSelf-reported. Evidence is being attached.All sources →.
How I think
- I'm obsessed with data. I don't go on a feeling when I can measure it. I built my own data warehouse and my own email verifier because I wanted to know what was true, not what a vendor told me. Every claim on my site links to its source.[29] Sourceengineering notes (company classification universe)As of2026-07-26StatusVerifiedAll sources →
- No verdict without evidence. My verifier won't call an email dead without proof. I hold myself to the same rule.[68] SourceLeadMasters/_warehouse git log (a21e9f9, 8bdded4, 928a606, 44266a5)StatusVerifiedAll sources →
- Do the hard thing and make it work. Pick the thing most likely to fail and make it work, through better work or more hours. No quitting. I learned that in the cage.
- Automate, don't staff. Build the operation so it runs itself instead of hiring into it. That's how one person runs Provena. Garbage in is garbage out, so the data gets fixed first.[61] SourceDaniel, 2026-09-26StatusSelf-reported. Evidence is being attached.All sources →
- Intangibles over tangibles. Money comes and goes. I'd rather have the people, the conversations and the experience of being in the room.
What it's for
To build something bigger than me: technology that changes how work gets done. Not money. I don't need it, and it was never the point.
The future
We're at an inflection point. There are more problems worth solving than people solving them, and the tools just got a lot better. The next generation will solve them, but they need a push, each other and traction.
How it happens
By building around the most ambitious young people I can find, and learning from the ones who've done it before. That's why I'm applying. Everything I've learned, fighting and building, says you get better by being around the best.