Churro 🥨 #3 : This summer I became a “digital carpenter”
In this new churro, I talk about how it came from messy drawers to a Product Hunt launch
No, I didn’t start carving wood in my garage (if you’ve seen me with a hammer, you know why that would be a terrible idea).
What I did do was finally tackle one of those endless TODOs we all have: organizing the drawers at home full of cables, chargers, and random gadgets.
Halfway through the mission, I found my fourth identical cable, the exact same one I had bought again and again because I kept forgetting I already owned it. That was the moment I thought: ok, I need a better system.
At first, I opened a spreadsheet. Then I stopped and asked myself: Wait, why not build an app?
And that’s how Digital Drawer was born.
Here’s the thing: 20 years ago, turning an idea like that into something real would have required weeks (maybe months) of coding, design, and polishing. Today? With AI tools for coding, design, promotion, and copywriting, prototyping has never been easier.
Don’t get me wrong, engineering still matters. Security, scalability, and solid architecture are more important than ever. But when it comes to exploring an idea, the barrier to entry is so low now that even a clumsy wannabe carpenter like me can turn frustration into a product.
And here’s my experiment: today I launched Digital Drawer on Product Hunt 🚀. Not just to show what I built, but to see if others might find it helpful too.
If you’ve ever bought the same charger three times (don’t lie, we’ve all done it), maybe this is for you. Reviews, votes, and feedback are more than welcome and come with a complimentary montadito of lomo en manteca for your visit to Cádiz ❤️.
Let me tell you a few things I’m learning, thinking, failing at, or experimenting with lately:
Finance Meets AI (and the Gap in Between)
In AI, there’s still a big gap between the excitement of users and the reality of making it work every day.
This summer, riding the hype after Claude launched Claude Financials, Natalia (my partner and a Finance Director) and I started wondering what “fully embracing AI” looks like in the daily life of a financial specialist.
She jumped in with focus: using Claude to analyze and categorize our family expenses, generate reports, and even highlight improvements. The first week felt magical, beautiful graphs, shiny dashboards, all the sparks of AI. But the crash came quickly: buttons didn’t work, numbers were half-invented, context kept breaking, and every run produced a different result.
It was a reminder: without real guardrails, the gap between techies (who can code their way around limitations) and everyone else is still vast.
Now Natalia is learning Python basics to build that missing foundation, so the insights aren’t just shiny, but solid. Keep you posted about this.
The Power of Routine (especially for Creative Minds)
I think it was Stephen King who said the best writing tip is simple: sit down every morning, keep your ass on the chair, and wait for the ideas. (My brain is mashed potatoes, so maybe it wasn’t him, but I’m refusing to fact-check, because that line is gold.)
After summer—kids, travels, friends, chaos—my routine was gone. And only once I started getting it back could I set goals again and make a plan that actually worked.
Even if you’re a “creative monster” (I’m not, though my head is usually full of a thousand things), don’t underestimate the power of routine. We sometimes fall for the bohemian myth that inspiration should appear out of nowhere. But in my case, at least, the real ideas come from showing up (or showering up!) and working hard.
What’s worth my time (and what should I automate)?
This summer, I picked up The Almanack of Naval Ravikant. I can’t say I connected with every page, but one idea stuck with me: Naval is obsessed with investing his time only in things that truly matter—activities that can compound into more time, more freedom, or more value down the line.
We’re living in this wild era of automation and AI, where so many things can be delegated to tools. Which means the real question isn’t what can I do? But what’s worth me doing myself?
And strangely, that’s connected to Digital Drawer. If I’m going to spend hours building something, I want it to come back to me—whether in better experiences, saved headaches, or maybe even helping someone else solve the same problem.
A small musical obsession (and a tiny spoiler).
Lately, I’ve been kinda obsessed with a band called Turnstile. Their album has been on repeat for me—it’s raw, explosive, and their live shows look incredible. Consider this my attempt to spread the curse.
By pure luck, I’ll catch them live in Seattle the same week I’ll be announcing my new adventure. And without saying too much… let’s just say it has something to do with being a little more predictable in a world full of machines.
But that’s a story for another edition 👀.
That’s all for now—thanks for reading 🫶.
And hey, I’d love to hear your thoughts on my writing!
Drop me a comment, send me a message, give me energy! 🚀