Seven years ago, my team and I set out to build a next-gen Pixar backed by Y Combinator — a company at the intersection of creativity and technology.
We didn’t know exactly what shape it would take, but we knew we wanted to make things for people who create.
What followed was a winding, honest ride. We built virtual influencers who streamed on Twitch, crafting WWE-style rivalries in the fighting game community. When the pandemic hit, we pivoted to a virtual accountability space for writers—complete with streaks, badges, and live writing sprints. That became a Discord community, then an interactive show on Twitch where contestants minted collectible NFTs live. We launched an NFT collection that hit #1 on OpenSea, which funded D&D campaigns run by some of the most popular Dungeon Masters online. We built a single-player AI text adventure. Then a manuscript analysis tool for indie authors. And finally, Plotdrive—an AI writing space built from the ground up with fiction writers.
Seven products. Seven bets. Every one of them in service of creators and storytellers.
Through every pivot, my role stayed consistent even as everything else changed. My co-founder drove the creative vision and decided where we were headed. I was the one who made each direction real.
That meant talking to users, mapping their journeys, prototyping in Figma, and translating what I learned into work engineering could ship. It also meant everything on the other side—lifecycle emails in Customer.io, product demo videos, changelogs, PostHog analysis to triage bugs, customer support, and whatever marketing we needed. I organized a virtual Craft Conference with 11 authors and 700 attendees to build Plotdrive’s top-of-funnel. I produced a UGC content series called “AI or Not” that earned us a podcast feature. When I got tired of waiting on engineering for small things, I picked up vibecoding tools and started prototyping features myself.
With Plotdrive, it all came together. I led user discovery, owned the roadmap, shipped lifecycle programs, implemented AI-powered support automation, and helped take the product from zero to over $240k in annual revenue in a little over a year.
I’m at my best when I’m close to the customer. I love hearing about their pain points, watching them use the product, and translating what I learn into something the team can build.
I like owning the full loop. Research, prototype, ship, market, measure—I’d rather do all of it imperfectly than hand off pieces and lose the thread.
I thrive when the work connects to real people. I want to be somewhere that moves fast, cares about craft, and is making something that matters.
I’m at my best when I’m close to the customer and have room to move. I like owning the full loop—research, prototype, ship, market, measure. I get energy from watching someone use something I helped make, and from turning what I see into what we build next.
I’m looking for the right match, not just any role. If you’re building an AI product, care about growth and user experience, and want someone who’s spent seven years learning how to make things real—I’d love to talk.
Books I love and recommend.
Say hello → skrantz822 @ gmail dot com