Blog
What I built, what I decided and what went wrong.
Every decision, number and mistake, in writing.
What you'll find here: how building in public works
Building in public isn't posting pretty photos of the process. It's sharing the decision before I know how it turns out, with the real number. This is what I publish, how often, what I won't publish, and where to follow along.
Sep 29, 2026Who I am and why I'm building in public now
I founded three companies, bought one, and have been investing in startups since 2016. Almost everything I know I learned from what went wrong. This is the story in order, told as decisions, and why this time I'm telling it as it happens.
Sep 28, 2026 · Empresa 2From 112 ideas to 7: the eight rounds and the question behind each one
I spent four or five months on a list of 112 ideas before starting anything. Eight rounds of filters, and each one asked something different. Here's the full funnel.
Sep 28, 2026 · Braid & BerryWhy the logo comes first (and why in software I wouldn't have cared)
At Braid & Berry I'm not moving forward with design or packaging until the logo is locked. It goes against "ship fast," and I still think it's the right call in food.
Sep 28, 2026 · Braid & BerryWhy I'm starting with a cart and not a storefront
Opening a storefront in San Diego is the most expensive way to find out you were wrong. So I'd rather be wrong on wheels first.
Sep 28, 2026SpeakOn: the app that hit #1 on Mexico's App Store and why it died
SpeakOn was my first big tech project: a messaging app that translated in real time across more than 60 languages. In June 2015 it hit #1 in free apps on Mexico's App Store, above WhatsApp and Facebook. And it didn't survive, because it was built so badly it couldn't handle its own users.
Sep 28, 2026Donna: 700,000 users and it never made money
Donna, formerly WeHelp, was a personal safety app that reached 700,000 registered users and the #1 spot on the App Store, and never turned into a profitable business. It started in 2019 as WeHelp, added physical security and a call center in 2022, and in 2023 became Donna, an app just for women. It no longer operates today.
Sep 28, 2026Kimik: a million dollars in 6 months and we still shut it down
Kimik was one of the first programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising platforms in Mexico. It sold a million dollars in its first six months and still shut down in 2021. The product worked; the market didn't want it.
Sep 28, 2026TurboCar: my first acquisition and why I shut it down
TurboCar was my first acquisition and one of my worst decisions. In July 2024 I paid 160 thousand dollars for a shop in Miami that repaired wrecked cars bought at auction. I switched it to luxury cars, went from making a thousand dollars per car to about 15 thousand, we sold 2.5 million dollars, and I still ended up losing money and shut it down in March 2026.
Sep 28, 202632 startup investments: what the 14 that shut down taught me
Since 2016 I've invested in 32 startups, 24 of them backed by Y Combinator. Today 17 are still alive, one had an exit and 14 shut down. Almost half didn't make it, and none has had a big exit yet. This is what angel investing really looks like.
Sep 28, 2026What I learned from outsourcing the development of my first app
Outsourcing app development isn't the mistake. The mistake is doing it without anyone on your side who understands how it's being built. I learned that with SpeakOn: it hit #1 on the App Store in Mexico with 200,000 users in 48 hours, and it died because its architecture couldn't handle the load.
Sep 28, 2026Why people don't pay for safety apps
People don't pay for safety apps because they feel safety is the government's job, not theirs. I learned this with Donna, formerly WeHelp: 700 thousand registered users, #1 on the App Store, and never a profitable business. Everyone wanted the app; almost nobody wanted to pay what it cost to run it.
Sep 28, 2026Why programmatic out-of-home advertising isn't taking off in Mexico
Programmatic out-of-home advertising isn't taking off in Mexico because it doesn't suit the people who control the screens. A handful of companies own most of the inventory and make more money selling by the month. I lived it with Kimik: we sold a million dollars in six months and still shut down in 2021.
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Every week: the decision, the number, the mistake and the win.