Michael Jesse Crankson

The train of thought behind every solution I've built.

Michael Jesse Crankson in a white shirt, standing with his hands clasped in front of him

The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.20

Builder. Problem-solver. Shipper.

I've always noticed when things are harder than they should be, the workflow with one step too many, the job still done by hand, the tools that refuse to talk to each other. I like finding the simpler way through. Sometimes that means building something new. Often the answer is already there, just badly set up.

Crank School Platform

My own product

Why I built it

I spent my first working years in a school. I worked beside the bursar and watched payments being tracked in receipt books, going back through old copies by date to find a single entry.

Nothing joined up what parents, students and the school each needed. So I built it.

What it is

One place to run a school.

  • Student and class records
  • Fee billing with installments and receipts
  • Attendance
  • Staff roles
  • Email to parents

It keeps working when the internet drops and catches up when it comes back.

schools.cranktech.dev

The Word of God

Personal project

Why I built it

I had gained all these skills and had not used them to make anything for God, or to bring people closer to Him. So I did.

What it is

You say how you are feeling, and it takes you straight to what the Bible says about it. It installs on your phone like an app.

thewordofgod.live

The Word of God on a phone: a greeting, then the question How are you feeling today, with a box to answer in

Security labs

I wanted real practice beyond what my certificate course was teaching, so I started doing the work myself.

About me

I am interested in how technology can solve real problems for people and businesses, how people adopt it, and how to turn that into workflows that keep working.

As a solutions engineer based in Accra, Ghana, I see more of these problems than I could ever build for, so I choose carefully, and sometimes the right answer is picking a better tool rather than making a new one.

When I do build, it's meant to be used. The Word of God started as a way to put my skills to work for God; the school platform, as one place to run a school. Outside client work I keep practising, like the security labs on this page, done to go beyond what my certificate teaches.

Currently I build software and workflows for businesses at Crank Tech Solutions.

Michael in a white shirt, one hand resting on his chest

Education

BSc Agriculture, Crop and Post-Harvest Technology. University of Ghana, Legon.

Tools I work with

React, TypeScript, JavaScript, Astro, PostgreSQL and SQL, Supabase, Cloudflare, GitHub Actions, Progressive Web Apps.

Reach me