Estilinga

Estilinga's logo on a blue background with blurred interface components around

The problem

If you have already created a bootstrapped startup or side-project – such as a book, podcast, or digital product – independently in Brazil, you know that, in the end, the most challenging thing is the launch. Like you, we also feel receiving honest feedback and suggestions should be easier than building the whole thing.

The solution

Estilinga is more an experiment than anything else.

We spent time looking at platforms outside of Brazil (like Product Hunt and Indie Hackers) where independent creators and founders can interact with each other, launch their projects and get suggestions from early adopters. We realized that they have two essential elements that make launching independent startups and side-projects easier: an active community and a launch tool.

However, all the platforms we found are in English, which is limiting if your project is focused on the Brazilian market or is only available in Portuguese.

After researching options in Brazil, we realized that there is room for a platform in Portuguese with tools to launch independent startups and side-projects and build a community of creators and first-time users.

Our hypothesis: many people in Brazil are creating bootstrapped startups and independent side-projects that are not yet on the path of incubators, accelerators, and venture capital. For these people, we decided to build the Estilinga.

https://estilinga.com

UI Hightlights

A screenshot of Estilinga's home page and a product profile.
A screenshot of Estilinga's home page and a product profile.

Note

When building Estilinga I also tested a Jamstack approach to designing prototypes. Instead of creating the prototypes using Figma, I used Jekyll and Bootstrap with Netlify collaboration tools to create high-fidelity prototypes that look and feel exactly like the final product. You can read more about it here.

Timeframe

June 2021 to August 2021

Status

Shut down

Company

Lefty Ventures

Client

Lefty Ventures (bootstrapped)

Main role

Solo product designer

Activities

  • Product Design, from wireframes to high fidelity prototypes using Jekyll and Bootstrap
  • Brand design, from naming to visual identity
  • Designed and developed the product's info site using Jekyll, Bootstrap, and Netlify with GitHub CI/CD