How I ended up building storylearner.app
I’ve always been drawn to self-directed learning. My interests have been pretty diverse - I would spend countless hours on math, science, soft-skills, movement skills (juggling, handstands) as well as languages.
A long standing language learning obsession
Over the years (starting as a teenager), I’ve seriously studied eight languages — not because I had to, but because I found it fun, challenging, and fascinating. Through trial and error, I’ve learned a lot about what actually works for adult learners learning on their own. And I also learned about all possible pitfalls, the main of them being, abandoning the project and losing all the progress due to forgetting.
But I’ve been successful in learning Spanish.
Reading, in particular, became my core of my learning. When I was learning Spanish, what helped most wasn’t drills or apps — it was regular reading. I started with graded readers and eventually moved on to novels. That reading habit didn’t just build vocabulary — it kept the language alive.
For most learners, jumping straight into native content is simply too hard. Instead, you can reach for graded readers - books adapted for your level.
But my experience with traditional graded readers wasn’t great. The selection was limited, the quality was often underwhelming, and there was no audio or pronunciation support. Later, I found other tools that approached reading through comprehensible input, but I wasn’t aware of them at the time. And even now, I think there’s still a gap: reading remains one of the most powerful ways to acquire a language — but if you aren’t fluent yet, it’s rough out there.
That gap stuck with me. Especially as I started learning Portuguese about two years ago — which, unlike Spanish, presented real pronunciation challenges for me. I had already experimented with TTS in a side hustle and taken several deep learning courses, so I started thinking: what could I build to actually help?
Struggle to find something that deeply resonates
At the same time, I was in a Founders Startup Accelerator, exploring B2B ideas and working with different cofounders. I kept chasing what the program was designed to produce — a validated, fundable B2B startup.
It was intense - lots of brainstorming, early excitement, and the slow crush of reality when things proved harder than expected. I struggled to get a personal fit with a validated business problem. After parting ways with my second cofounder - who was amazing, but very focused on the industry that I didn’t care deeply about, I decided to stop forcing it and just build something that genuinely excited me.
Leaning into my genuine excitement
So I started experimenting with a story-based reading tool. I wasn’t committing to it — just exploring something that felt fun and energizing.
Then a funny thing happened: I had planned a two-week paragliding trip in the south of Spain… (with the intention to take a step back from B2B SaaS and catching sunshine) and it rained the whole time. Paragliding was cancelled, so I rerouted to Málaga, found a coworking space called The Living Room, and settled in. I ended up spending two very productive weeks there — surrounded by friendly nomads, good energy, and people who were genuinely curious about the project. In that time, I made massive progress and storylearner started to take shape.
Later, I paused the project again to try one last cofounder collaboration. But it didn’t lead anywhere, and by the time the investment committee pitch came around, it was too late to get traction on anything new. So I returned to storylearner — not as a fallback, but because it was the one thing I wanted to keep building.
What started as a light experiment quickly turned into weeks of deep development. I built an AI-powered content pipeline to adapt public domain books into simplified, bite-sized chapters with sentence-level audio and illustrations. Along the way, I pivoted from generic story generation to adapted books — a format that’s structured, engaging, and rich in educational value.
Why it fits?
I’ve spent most of my career working in backend and infrastructure. I enjoy serious, deep engineering, but at the same time I really like building customer facing products. It’s an itch that I like to scratch. I’ve built up full-stack skills through side projects.
Storylearner is something I can build solo, keep costs low, and ship quickly - it gives me space to live my life and explore other ideas as well. But more importantly, it brings together the things I actually care about — language learning, AI, reading, and creating tools that support growth.
I also believe there’s a real opportunity here. GenAI is incredibly powerful, but it still involves a lot of DIY friction. Meanwhile, tools like Duolingo succeed because they make learning smooth, convenient, and even addictive. I think reading deserves the same treatment — and I want to help make it easier, more attractive, and more rewarding for language learners. Especially by unlocking the goldmine of public domain books that are just waiting to be adapted.
🧭 Where this fits into my life
Storylearner is one of several things I’m exploring right now. After years of full-time work, I’ve intentionally made space to pursue projects that feel meaningful and energizing. I’m interested in learning, in building tools that support human growth, and in seeing what’s possible with new technologies.
I’ve already started exploring another interest area in parallel — but storylearner isn’t “just a little project.” It’s a serious bet in my portfolio of bets. One I believe in. One I want to see succeed commercially, not just creatively. I’m proud of what I’ve built, and I’m excited to see who it resonates with.
🫱 What next?
I believe storylearner is valuable — now I need to find the people it’s for.
The core experience is live: adapted books with interactive reading support and audio, designed to make language learning through stories more fun, more sustainable, and more effective.
I’m a developer, I could easily keep building and building. Selling and marketing goes deeply against my instincts, but building without users is a common trap for engineers. So for now I am forcing myself to stop building until I find enough traction — I’m looking for early adopters who see the value and want to be part of it.
My next goal is simple: reach my first 100 sales.
If you’re learning Spanish, Portuguese (Portugal or Brazil), French, or Polish — or know someone who is — try it out. Buy a book, read a chapter, see how it feels, let me know how it goes! You’ll not only support the project — you’ll be part of shaping something that’s trying to make language learning better, through the joy of stories.