Behind the scenes

I like talking to people, finding out what their real problem is, and digging in until I find the fix, building it along the way. I didn’t know that was a job until a friend introduced me to a product manager who posts about the work. That’s when I realized it was what I already enjoyed doing.

I took CS classes at Hunter College when I was trying to major in computer science, and I studied business administration at BMCC. In 2027 I start Information Systems Management at NYU SPS, which puts the two together: tech plus business. That’s where product management sits.

I work shifts while I study. That’s where Pawsa’s interviews came from: coworkers and friends.

My own phone started both of my projects. At about 6 hours of screen time a day, I was losing focus and pushing schoolwork back.

Every project runs through the same loop.

I talk to people about what they actually did, turn it into a number I can test, then vibecode the smallest thing that tests it.

1. Talk

   Ask what people actually did, not what they’d do.

   • On Pawsa, I asked 10 coworkers and friends what happened last night, then what they’d tried.Pawsa →
   • On RivalFed, I tested with friends instead of founders, and never got real signal.RivalFed →

2. Measure

   Turn it into a number I can test.

   • Pawsa steps a budget down 3% at a time, with three targets set before there’s an app.Pawsa →
   • Five friends signed up for RivalFed and no one paid. None of them track competitors or build products, so they couldn’t tell me if it was worth paying for.RivalFed →
   • Missing the Express names its north star, rider time saved per transfer-eligible trip, before anything is built. Proposed, not measured.Missing the Express →

3. Build

   Vibecode the smallest thing that tests it.

   • RivalFed took real payments through Stripe and sent daily email through Resend.RivalFed →
   • Pawsa is still at the map: 30 feature specs and every dependency drawn before any app code.Pawsa →
   • I designed the story and directed the build; Claude Code wrote the code.This site →

• IBM AI Product Manager certificate. Completed, on Coursera.
• A SQL certificate. In progress.
• Interviewing. Pawsa’s interviews asked about past behavior, not opinions, and RivalFed showed me what happens when I talk to friends instead of the people it’s for.
• Shipping. I built and launched RivalFed, and I’m building this portfolio.

And when I put the phone down?

Away from my phone, it’s soccer, the gym, and walks. They’re also why my own screen-time cut worked: taking 25 minutes a week off my phone was easy because I had something to fill the time with. Most people don’t have that, which is why Pawsa does the cutting for you, at a pace you barely notice.