Client engagement
Palabruno: From Founder Idea to Launch
Took a founder's Spanish-learning idea through scope decisions, payments, launch, and handoff across iOS, Android, and web.
Project overview
Palabruno: From Founder Idea to Launch overview
A short overview of the problem, solution, and result.
Starting Point
Palabruno began as a strong founder idea: make Spanish reading feel lower-friction by letting learners tap a word, get translation, grammar, and pronunciation help, and stay inside the reading flow.What Shipped
Mobile Spanish reader for iOS and AndroidWhy It Mattered
Palabruno moved from founder idea to launch: the iOS app went live on the App Store, the Android app went live on Google Play, and the public web product was ready for real users.
A founder idea needed a commercial first version
Palabruno began as a founder’s idea for making Spanish reading easier to continue: learners could tap a word for translation, grammar, and pronunciation help without leaving the text. The engagement took that idea from concept to launch across iOS, Android, and web.
I helped choose the first buyer, reduce the first version to a coherent shape, build the learner and teacher workflows, enable payments, complete the store launches, and hand over a product the founder could operate.
The first version needed a buyer and a clear shape
The first commercial version needed a clear scope, a first buyer, and a handoff that let the founder operate it after launch.
A student reader alone was useful, but teachers were the clearer first buyer. A tutor could turn lesson material into level-appropriate readings, send them to students, and bring those students into the app.
The founder needed a first version that could support Spanish learners on mobile while giving teachers a clear reason to adopt and pay for the product.
I separated the learner and teacher workflows
Choose the first buyer before expanding the product.
Palabruno started with a strong product instinct: make Spanish reading less brittle by keeping translation, grammar, and pronunciation help inside the reading flow.
The sharper question was who would pay first. Teachers had a repeated need: create readings, share them with students, and bring those students into the mobile app.
Split the MVP into two connected surfaces instead of one overstuffed app.
I narrowed the product into a mobile reader for students and a web workspace for teachers. That let each audience get the workflow it needed without forcing every feature into the same interface.
The mobile product centered on reading, saved texts, translation support, and Premium upgrades. The teacher workspace handled class management, custom readings, sharing, and paid teacher accounts.
Students read on mobile while teachers prepare lessons on the web
The shipped product connected three surfaces: the mobile reader, the teacher web workspace, and the public launch site.
On mobile, learners can read Spanish content, tap words for support, save useful readings, and upgrade to Premium through the app stores.
On web, teachers can create custom readings from lesson notes, manage students and groups, share material, track recent shares, and buy the Teacher plan through Stripe.
I carried the product through launch and handoff
Treat payments, store review, positioning, and handoff as part of the MVP.
I carried the launch work beyond the interface: Supabase, RevenueCat, Stripe, App Store Connect, Google Play, legal pages, store assets, screenshots, release docs, public-site copy, and founder handoff.
That mattered because the founder needed more than code. He needed the product to be coherent enough to sell, trustworthy enough to launch, and documented enough to own after the engagement.
A launched first version with a clear first buyer.
The product can now take payments through the right channels: Premium through Apple and Google via RevenueCat, and Teacher through Stripe on the web.
The founder ended the engagement with a working cross-platform product, teacher dashboard, shared backend, launch documentation, store assets, and a clearer first market to test with real Spanish teachers.
The founder could test a complete first offer
Palabruno launched with the real product and business surface needed to test demand: iOS, Android, teacher web workflows, AI-assisted reading, working payments, store readiness, and a handoff the founder could own.
Teacher became the clearest first buyer.
The web workspace gives tutors a reason to pay: class management, student groups, custom readings, and shareable material for lessons.
The MVP can charge through the right channels.
Premium uses Apple and Google subscriptions through RevenueCat. Teacher payments happen on the web, where tutors and small classes naturally buy.
The product shipped with the surrounding trust layer.
The launch included the public site, pricing, legal pages, store screenshots, app listings, and release documentation.
The founder left with a product he could test in market.
The engagement ended with a working mobile app, teacher dashboard, shared backend, launch docs, store assets, and a clearer first segment to learn from.
The teacher workspace supports the full lesson loop
Screens from the teacher workspace show the core product surfaces: create a reading, manage students, organize groups, and share material.
Teachers can choose a topic, level, and length, then turn class material into Spanish reading practice.
The roster keeps student names, invite status, and next actions close to the reading workflow.
Teachers can organize students by lesson group and share readings with the right class faster.
Recent shares make it easier to track assigned readings across email, links, and WhatsApp.
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