Strategy & Innovation
Building a Personal Product From Scratch
Building a Personal Product From Scratch
Most people take hundreds of photos on trips. Then they come home, dump everything into a folder, and maybe post three shots to Instagram. The rest disappear forever.
The problem isn't motivation. People want to share their experiences. They just don't have a tool that fits how they actually want to share. Instagram compresses everything into algorithm bait. Sitting someone down with your camera roll is torture for everyone. Google Photos links are disorganized graveyards with zero context. There's a massive gap between "quick social post" and "professional travel blog," and most stories fall into that void.
StoryThreads is my answer to that gap. A storytelling tool that turns travel photos into narrated, shareable video stories. I'm building it from the ground up: research, strategy, design, business model, and eventually code.
Problem
People document experiences extensively but lack tools to turn raw photos into meaningful narratives that tell the full story.
Role
Sole founder handling research, product strategy, UX design, visual design, and business planning.
Solution
A mobile-first app that imports photos, adds voice narration, and generates platform-ready preview videos for personal stories.
Impact
[In progress. Metrics will be added as beta testing and launch phases complete.]
PROBLEM
The Gap Between Instagram and a Travel Blog
People shoot thousands of photos on their phones. Quality isn't the issue anymore. A phone can capture 4K video and professional-grade images. The bottleneck is what happens after.
Current options force a choice to make:
Social platforms optimize for algorithms, not storytelling. Instagram compresses your two-week trip into a 90-second reel or 20 photos with a single description designed to maximize engagement, not to actually tell anyone what happened.
Video editing tools require expertise. Final Cut, Premiere, and Da Vinci are powerful, but they assume you want to spend hours learning transitions, keyframes, and export settings. Most people don't.
Manual sharing doesn't scale. Sitting with friends and explaining 200 photos is exhausting. Apple and Google Photos links are disorganized dumps that people click once and never revisit.
There's no middle ground. Nothing exists that lets a normal person turn their trip into something watchable without either oversimplifying it or becoming a video editor.
That's the gap StoryThreads fills.
APPROACH
Building a Product From First Principles
01.
Started With The Problem, Not The Product
Started With The Problem, Not The Product
Started With The Problem, Not The Product
I didn't start with "I want to build an app." I started with a frustration: every time I came back from a trip, I had all this content and no good way to share it. The people who actually cared (close friends, family) wanted the full story. But I had no tool to give it to them without either spending hours in editing software or boring them to death with a camera roll.
02.
Mapped The Competitive Landscape
Mapped The Competitive Landscape
Mapped The Competitive Landscape
SCRL and Unfold handle static layouts for Instagram. Video edits are time consuming and have a steep learning curve. Instagram and TikTok are distribution platforms, not creation tools. Personal website builders are way too much work for something you do twice a year.
03.
Designed For The Core Workflow
Designed For The Core Workflow
Designed For The Core Workflow
Import photos from anywhere → Add narrative through voice recording, imported audio, or music → Export to multiple formats: a short teaser for social platforms, a full-length story hosted on a clean microsite.
The creation flow prioritizes speed and forgiveness. No learning curve. No pressure.
04.
Built The Business Model Into The Design
Built The Business Model Into The Design
Built The Business Model Into The Design
Worked up a business case to keep myself focused on the goal. A freemium structure with clear upgrade triggers. Pro tier that allows for unlimited stories, no watermark, 4K exports, and AI narration.
OUTCOMES
Outcomes
[Section In Progress]
This section will be updated as the project advances through phases:
Phase 1: Beta (Q1 2026) | Phase 2: Public Launch (Q2 2026) | Phase 3: Growth (End of 2026) |
|---|---|---|
• Recruit 100 beta users • Validate core workflow • Collect Metric Data | • Product Hunt launch • First 5,000 users • Initial conversion rate data | • 25,000 users • $200k ARR • Retention and LTV metrics |
WHY IT MATTERS
Demonstrating Full-Stack Product Thinking
This isn't a client project where I inherited constraints. It's a product I'm building from zero. That means making every decision: what problem to solve, who to solve it for, how to monetize, how to grow, how to design the experience, and eventually how to build it.
It's also a public bet. I'm documenting the process as it happens. If it works, the case study proves I can take something from concept to market. If it fails, it still shows how I think, what I tried, and what I learned.
Either way, it's the kind of project that doesn't come with a brief from a stakeholder. You have to create the brief yourself.
More Projects
Strategy & Innovation
Building a Personal Product From Scratch
Building a Personal Product From Scratch
Most people take hundreds of photos on trips. Then they come home, dump everything into a folder, and maybe post three shots to Instagram. The rest disappear forever.
The problem isn't motivation. People want to share their experiences. They just don't have a tool that fits how they actually want to share. Instagram compresses everything into algorithm bait. Sitting someone down with your camera roll is torture for everyone. Google Photos links are disorganized graveyards with zero context. There's a massive gap between "quick social post" and "professional travel blog," and most stories fall into that void.
StoryThreads is my answer to that gap. A storytelling tool that turns travel photos into narrated, shareable video stories. I'm building it from the ground up: research, strategy, design, business model, and eventually code.
Problem
People document experiences extensively but lack tools to turn raw photos into meaningful narratives that tell the full story.
Role
Sole founder handling research, product strategy, UX design, visual design, and business planning.
Solution
A mobile-first app that imports photos, adds voice narration, and generates platform-ready preview videos for personal stories.
Impact
[In progress. Metrics will be added as beta testing and launch phases complete.]
PROBLEM
The Gap Between Instagram and a Travel Blog
People shoot thousands of photos on their phones. Quality isn't the issue anymore. A phone can capture 4K video and professional-grade images. The bottleneck is what happens after.
Current options force a choice to make:
Social platforms optimize for algorithms, not storytelling. Instagram compresses your two-week trip into a 90-second reel or 20 photos with a single description designed to maximize engagement, not to actually tell anyone what happened.
Video editing tools require expertise. Final Cut, Premiere, and Da Vinci are powerful, but they assume you want to spend hours learning transitions, keyframes, and export settings. Most people don't.
Manual sharing doesn't scale. Sitting with friends and explaining 200 photos is exhausting. Apple and Google Photos links are disorganized dumps that people click once and never revisit.
There's no middle ground. Nothing exists that lets a normal person turn their trip into something watchable without either oversimplifying it or becoming a video editor.
That's the gap StoryThreads fills.
APPROACH
Building a Product From First Principles
01.
Started With The Problem, Not The Product
Started With The Problem, Not The Product
Started With The Problem, Not The Product
I didn't start with "I want to build an app." I started with a frustration: every time I came back from a trip, I had all this content and no good way to share it. The people who actually cared (close friends, family) wanted the full story. But I had no tool to give it to them without either spending hours in editing software or boring them to death with a camera roll.
02.
Mapped The Competitive Landscape
Mapped The Competitive Landscape
Mapped The Competitive Landscape
SCRL and Unfold handle static layouts for Instagram. Video edits are time consuming and have a steep learning curve. Instagram and TikTok are distribution platforms, not creation tools. Personal website builders are way too much work for something you do twice a year.
03.
Designed For The Core Workflow
Designed For The Core Workflow
Designed For The Core Workflow
Import photos from anywhere → Add narrative through voice recording, imported audio, or music → Export to multiple formats: a short teaser for social platforms, a full-length story hosted on a clean microsite.
The creation flow prioritizes speed and forgiveness. No learning curve. No pressure.
04.
Built The Business Model Into The Design
Built The Business Model Into The Design
Built The Business Model Into The Design
Worked up a business case to keep myself focused on the goal. A freemium structure with clear upgrade triggers. Pro tier that allows for unlimited stories, no watermark, 4K exports, and AI narration.
OUTCOMES
Outcomes
[Section In Progress]
This section will be updated as the project advances through phases:
Phase 1: Beta (Q1 2026) | Phase 2: Public Launch (Q2 2026) | Phase 3: Growth (End of 2026) |
|---|---|---|
• Recruit 100 beta users • Validate core workflow • Collect Metric Data | • Product Hunt launch • First 5,000 users • Initial conversion rate data | • 25,000 users • $200k ARR • Retention and LTV metrics |
WHY IT MATTERS
Demonstrating Full-Stack Product Thinking
This isn't a client project where I inherited constraints. It's a product I'm building from zero. That means making every decision: what problem to solve, who to solve it for, how to monetize, how to grow, how to design the experience, and eventually how to build it.
It's also a public bet. I'm documenting the process as it happens. If it works, the case study proves I can take something from concept to market. If it fails, it still shows how I think, what I tried, and what I learned.
Either way, it's the kind of project that doesn't come with a brief from a stakeholder. You have to create the brief yourself.
More Projects
Strategy & Innovation
Building a Personal Product From Scratch
Building a Personal Product From Scratch
Most people take hundreds of photos on trips. Then they come home, dump everything into a folder, and maybe post three shots to Instagram. The rest disappear forever.
The problem isn't motivation. People want to share their experiences. They just don't have a tool that fits how they actually want to share. Instagram compresses everything into algorithm bait. Sitting someone down with your camera roll is torture for everyone. Google Photos links are disorganized graveyards with zero context. There's a massive gap between "quick social post" and "professional travel blog," and most stories fall into that void.
StoryThreads is my answer to that gap. A storytelling tool that turns travel photos into narrated, shareable video stories. I'm building it from the ground up: research, strategy, design, business model, and eventually code.
Problem
People document experiences extensively but lack tools to turn raw photos into meaningful narratives that tell the full story.
Role
Sole founder handling research, product strategy, UX design, visual design, and business planning.
Solution
A mobile-first app that imports photos, adds voice narration, and generates platform-ready preview videos for personal stories.
Impact
[In progress. Metrics will be added as beta testing and launch phases complete.]
PROBLEM
The Gap Between Instagram and a Travel Blog
People shoot thousands of photos on their phones. Quality isn't the issue anymore. A phone can capture 4K video and professional-grade images. The bottleneck is what happens after.
Current options force a choice to make:
Social platforms optimize for algorithms, not storytelling. Instagram compresses your two-week trip into a 90-second reel or 20 photos with a single description designed to maximize engagement, not to actually tell anyone what happened.
Video editing tools require expertise. Final Cut, Premiere, and Da Vinci are powerful, but they assume you want to spend hours learning transitions, keyframes, and export settings. Most people don't.
Manual sharing doesn't scale. Sitting with friends and explaining 200 photos is exhausting. Apple and Google Photos links are disorganized dumps that people click once and never revisit.
There's no middle ground. Nothing exists that lets a normal person turn their trip into something watchable without either oversimplifying it or becoming a video editor.
That's the gap StoryThreads fills.
APPROACH
Building a Product From First Principles
01.
Started With The Problem, Not The Product
Started With The Problem, Not The Product
Started With The Problem, Not The Product
I didn't start with "I want to build an app." I started with a frustration: every time I came back from a trip, I had all this content and no good way to share it. The people who actually cared (close friends, family) wanted the full story. But I had no tool to give it to them without either spending hours in editing software or boring them to death with a camera roll.
02.
Mapped The Competitive Landscape
Mapped The Competitive Landscape
Mapped The Competitive Landscape
SCRL and Unfold handle static layouts for Instagram. Video edits are time consuming and have a steep learning curve. Instagram and TikTok are distribution platforms, not creation tools. Personal website builders are way too much work for something you do twice a year.
03.
Designed For The Core Workflow
Designed For The Core Workflow
Designed For The Core Workflow
Import photos from anywhere → Add narrative through voice recording, imported audio, or music → Export to multiple formats: a short teaser for social platforms, a full-length story hosted on a clean microsite.
The creation flow prioritizes speed and forgiveness. No learning curve. No pressure.
04.
Built The Business Model Into The Design
Built The Business Model Into The Design
Built The Business Model Into The Design
Worked up a business case to keep myself focused on the goal. A freemium structure with clear upgrade triggers. Pro tier that allows for unlimited stories, no watermark, 4K exports, and AI narration.
OUTCOMES
Outcomes
[Section In Progress]
This section will be updated as the project advances through phases:
Phase 1: Beta (Q1 2026) | Phase 2: Public Launch (Q2 2026) | Phase 3: Growth (End of 2026) |
|---|---|---|
• Recruit 100 beta users • Validate core workflow • Collect Metric Data | • Product Hunt launch • First 5,000 users • Initial conversion rate data | • 25,000 users • $200k ARR • Retention and LTV metrics |
WHY IT MATTERS
Demonstrating Full-Stack Product Thinking
This isn't a client project where I inherited constraints. It's a product I'm building from zero. That means making every decision: what problem to solve, who to solve it for, how to monetize, how to grow, how to design the experience, and eventually how to build it.
It's also a public bet. I'm documenting the process as it happens. If it works, the case study proves I can take something from concept to market. If it fails, it still shows how I think, what I tried, and what I learned.
Either way, it's the kind of project that doesn't come with a brief from a stakeholder. You have to create the brief yourself.