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Rikuu, founder of Tanoak Systems

I build the website and the systems behind it, so you can run the business.

I'm Rikuu. I run Tanoak Systems out of Santa Cruz, California. I co-founded GetVirtual, a nonprofit digital agency that grew out of a partnership with the City of Santa Cruz to give local businesses websites, social media, photography, and branding. I handled project delivery and client relationships there, which meant I was the person owners called when a project was late, unclear, or not what they expected.

That taught me the thing most web designers learn the slow way: the site is never the slow part. Waiting on photos is. Waiting on an owner to write their own services page is. So I stopped asking. I take the photos, I write the copy from a recorded conversation, and the only thing you do is tell me what I got wrong.

I've shipped more than nine client websites across Framer, Squarespace, Wix, and Shopify for an esthetician, a coffee shop, a gym, a café, a pizzeria, and an activewear brand. My degree is in Network and Digital Technology from UC Santa Cruz with an electrical engineering concentration, which is why the domain, forms, and integrations don't get handed off to someone else. I'm now running this as an independent web and business-systems studio, and I'm not going anywhere.

What I work with

Grouped by the job it does for your business.

Building the site

  • Framer
  • Squarespace
  • Wix
  • Shopify
  • HTML, CSS, JavaScript

What happens after the lead

  • Lead routing and notifications
  • Booking: Acuity, Calendly, Square
  • Quote and contact forms
  • Workflow automation with Zapier and n8n

Filling it with real content

  • On-site photography
  • Copywriting
  • Brand and visual identity
  • Social media programs

Getting it found and keeping it running

  • Google Business Profile
  • Local SEO fundamentals
  • Domain, DNS, email setup
  • Maintenance and reporting

Background

How I ended up building websites for the people I already knew.

  1. [YEAR]

    B.S. Network and Digital Technology, UC Santa Cruz

    Electrical engineering concentration. The technical grounding behind the DNS, forms, and integrations most designers hand off.

  2. [YEAR]

    Co-founded GetVirtual

    A nonprofit digital agency that grew out of the City of Santa Cruz's Seabright Passport program, delivering websites, social media, photography, and branding to local businesses.

  3. [YEAR] – present

    Project delivery and client relationships, GetVirtual

    Scoping, timelines, and delivery across web, social, and photography engagements. Worked directly with owners on what they actually needed versus what they thought they were buying.

  4. [YEAR] – present

    Founded Tanoak Systems

    Websites and lead systems for local service businesses. Strategy, copy, design, build, and the follow-up systems behind the site.