Co-founder · Runex
Abhinav Silwal, co-founder of Runex.
Abhinav Silwal is a co-founder of Runex, where he leads SEO, frontend, UI/UX, product management, and product optimization. Based in Kathmandu, Nepal, he is also the founder of OpenListener.
- Leads SEO and product optimization at Runex
- Leads frontend, UI/UX, and product management
- Founder of OpenListener
Runex
What does Abhinav Silwal do at Runex?
As a co-founder of Runex, Abhinav Silwal leads SEO, frontend, UI/UX, product management, and product optimization. He shapes how developers find Runex, how the product looks and works, and what gets built next. The product he leads is summarized in What is Runex?: a GitHub repo in, a live HTTPS app out.
SEO lead
Leads search strategy for Runex: technical SEO, site structure, and answer-first content that search engines and AI answer engines can cite.
Frontend lead
Leads the Runex frontend: fast, accessible pages built on a consistent design system.
UI/UX lead
Leads product design: user flows, interfaces, and the design language across the Runex product and website.
Product management
Sets product direction and priorities, turning what developers need into what Runex builds next.
Product optimization
Measures how the product performs and refines it, from page speed to the path between sign-up and a first deploy.
Main lead
Brings SEO, design, and product together, so how Runex is found, used, and improved follows one plan.
Profile
Who is Abhinav Silwal?
Abhinav Silwal is a product designer, frontend and backend developer, and SEO specialist from Kathmandu, Nepal. He co-founded Runex and founded OpenListener. The company he co-founded is described on the About page.
His practice combines five disciplines that are usually split across a team: UI/UX design, frontend development, backend development, Python, and search engine optimization (SEO). As his portfolio at abhinavsilwal.com puts it, he designs the product, builds the website, keeps it online, and helps it show up on Google.
He has 2.3+ years of product work, plus one year in graphic design and operations. Alongside Runex and OpenListener, he has led UI/UX on product redesigns and worked as an SEO specialist.
- name
- Abhinav Silwal
- based in
- Kathmandu, Nepal
- at runex
- co-founder · SEO, frontend, UI/UX, product
- also
- founder, OpenListener
- practice
- UI/UX · frontend · backend · Python · SEO
- experience
- 2.3+ years in product
- contact
- [email protected]
Founder
What is OpenListener?
OpenListener is a confidential peer listener platform that Abhinav Silwal founded. It connects people with a named, trained, non-clinical listener for private one-to-one sessions. A product like it, a web app with an API and a database, is one of the use cases Runex is built for.
On openlistener.com, sessions happen by WhatsApp chat, voice messages, or a call. Each listener focuses on one area: Emma Collins on stress and burnout, Olivia Hart on loneliness, James Carter on anxiety and overthinking, and Meera Shrestha on grief and loss.
Sending a booking request is free, listeners reply within 24 hours, and you pay only once a session is confirmed. OpenListener is explicit that it offers peer support, not therapy or diagnosis, and it publishes guides on overwhelm, burnout, loneliness, and venting.
- Private one-to-one sessions with a named listener
- WhatsApp chat, voice messages, or a call
- Reply within 24 hours
- Free booking request; pay once confirmed
- Peer support, not therapy or diagnosis
Results
How does OpenListener perform?
It is fast, stays online, and ranks well on Google. A frontend like this one is covered in the Next.js hosting guide.
The site scores 98 on Google Lighthouse and loads in under a second. The server usually replies in under 80 milliseconds, and the site is online 99.9% of the time.
It began ranking near the top of Google within its first month, without paid ads. After testing different page layouts, its conversion rate reached three times the industry average.
These figures come from the OpenListener case studies on abhinavsilwal.com.
Method
How did he build and grow OpenListener?
Research first, then a design system, then code, then SEO. Each stage is documented in his case studies. The same research-first thinking shaped why we built Runex.
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Research
User research before pixels
Heat maps, session recordings, and competitor audits formed the launch checklist before any screen was designed.
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Design
No dead ends, 60+ components
Users reach their goal in fewer than three clicks, and a theme-aware system of 60+ reusable components cut development time by 65%.
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Build
Next.js front, Node.js and Python back
The frontend runs on Next.js 14 with TypeScript and Tailwind; the backend runs on PostgreSQL, Redis, and Docker.
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Grow
A four-week SEO plan
Week 1 fixed foundations, week 2 mapped keywords, week 3 tuned titles, headings, and internal links, and week 4 built authority.
Analysis
What does OpenListener show about shipping a full-stack product?
A small product still needs every layer: a fast frontend, a backend that stays up, a database, and search visibility. OpenListener is built across all four. Runex vs Vercel compares that split with running every part in one project.
OpenListener pairs a server-rendered Next.js frontend with a Node.js and Python backend, PostgreSQL for data, Redis, and Docker for packaging. That is a typical full-stack shape: a web app, an API, and the data behind them.
His public build log shows the frontend shipped with vercel --prod, and his backend notes mention Railway, so the frontend and the backend run on two different hosts. That split is common, and it means two dashboards, two sets of environment settings, and a network hop between them.
Skills
What tools does Abhinav Silwal work with?
Figma for design, React and Next.js for the frontend, and Node.js, Python, PostgreSQL, Redis, and Docker for the backend. SEO, team leadership, and product strategy complete the practice. Apps on this stack deploy to Runex from GitHub; the deploy guides cover Next.js, Node.js, Python, Go, and Docker.
Design
UI/UX in Figma: research, information architecture, design systems, and screens built to convert.
Frontend
React, Next.js 14, TypeScript, and Tailwind, rendered on the server first so pages load fast.
Backend
Node.js, Express, and Python services on PostgreSQL and Redis, packaged with Docker.
SEO
Technical audits, keyword clusters, on-page structure, and link building on live sites.
Leadership
Team leadership and product strategy, from UX audit to design-to-development handoff.
Operations
Domain management, business email, mail servers, and Cloudflare.
Experience
What is Abhinav Silwal's experience?
Outside Runex, he founded OpenListener and has worked as a UI/UX lead and an SEO specialist. Before that, he spent a year in graphic design and operations. His domain and DNS work maps directly onto how custom domains work.
- Runex: co-founder, leading SEO, frontend, UI/UX, product management, and product optimization.
- OpenListener: founder, covering product design, frontend, backend, and SEO.
- UI/UX lead: ran a UX audit and redesign, an interaction design and motion system, user testing, and design-to-development handoff.
- SEO specialist: technical SEO, keyword strategy, link building, and monthly reporting to leadership.
- Operations: domain management, business email, mail servers, and Cloudflare.
- Solum: a resort site built around booking
- MindfulMe: a wellbeing product
- Lumea: an editorial beauty shop
- NexaCRM: pipeline, contacts, and numbers
- PawHub: a dog care shop
Connect
Where can you follow Abhinav Silwal?
LinkedIn and Instagram are the best places to follow him. His portfolio and case studies are on abhinavsilwal.com, and OpenListener is at openlistener.com.
FAQ
Questions people ask about Abhinav Silwal
Short, factual answers, sourced from abhinavsilwal.com and openlistener.com.
What does Abhinav Silwal do at Runex?
He is a co-founder of Runex and leads SEO, frontend, UI/UX, product management, and product optimization. New to the category? Read what a deployment platform is.
Who is Abhinav Silwal?
Abhinav Silwal is a co-founder of Runex and the founder of OpenListener. He is based in Kathmandu, Nepal, and works across UI/UX design, frontend and backend development, Python, and SEO. Runex's mission and principles are on the About page.
Is Abhinav Silwal the founder of OpenListener?
Yes. He founded OpenListener, a confidential peer listener platform where people book private one-to-one sessions with trained, non-clinical listeners by WhatsApp chat, voice message, or call.
What does Abhinav Silwal specialize in?
Product design and full-stack development with SEO: Figma for design, React and Next.js on the frontend, and Node.js, Python, PostgreSQL, Redis, and Docker on the backend. Apps on that stack deploy to Runex through guides such as Node.js hosting.
How can I contact Abhinav Silwal?
Connect with him on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/abhinav-silwall, follow him on Instagram at @juu_ly1, or email [email protected].
What is Runex, the company he co-founded?
Runex is a deployment platform for developers that turns a GitHub repository into a live web app with HTTPS, running each app in an isolated container. The getting started guide walks through a first deploy.
Next step
See what the team ships.
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