PoquitoTalk Build-in-Public & Engineering Library
All 7 original publications, teardowns, and living documentation logs written during the development of PoquitoTalk for the RevenueCat Shipaton 2026.
Building in the Void: What Public Teardowns, Ruthless Cuts, and a Caribbean Island Taught Me About Shipping
The unvarnished reality of building in public: sharing raw paywall designs on X, Jay's ruthless 5-lesson conversion critique, cutting features to survive the launch void, and pivoting to a physical island B2B concierge network.
Dorien Van den Abbeele
I Shared My Ugly App Paywall in Public. Here’s How the Community Fixed My Conversion.
5 counter-intuitive paywall lessons that transformed our monetization layer: separating onboarding from in-app gate states, the unique CTA color rule, the 'Never expires' anchor, and eliminating double exit routes.
Dorien Van den Abbeele
I Built a 1-Way AI Translator for Expats in Panama. Then Reddit Showed Me I Was Solving Only 50% of the Problem.
How validating with local Panamanian contractors on Reddit shattered my assumptions, exposed the embarrassment on both sides, and forced a complete pivot to a zero-install 2-way Magic Web Walkie-Talkie.
Dorien Van den Abbeele
How I Built a Real-Time Voice Translation Engine for WhatsApp in 5 Days with Expo, React Native & Gemma AI
Deep technical dive into building PoquitoTalk in 5 days: solving the zero-install contractor dilemma via WhatsApp Web PWAs, defensive audio buffering in dead zones, and zero-loss unit economics.
Dorien Van den Abbeele
Mastering Local Spanish in Bocas del Toro: How to Communicate Effortlessly with Plumbers, Boat Captains & Landlords
Practical guide for Caribbean residents: why textbook Spanish fails on WhatsApp, 5 everyday island scenarios (A/C leaks, water taxis, Starlink), and using zero-install walkie links.
Dorien Van den Abbeele
Building in Public: How Community Feedback, Teardowns & Island Reality Shaped PoquitoTalk
The complete living log of how building in public, Reddit feedback from local contractors, Jay's paywall teardowns, and speech stutter filtering shaped PoquitoTalk from an initial idea into a high-converting product.
Dorien Van den Abbeele
Build in Public Journal & Launch Log: From Reddit Research to Viral Comedy Distribution
The day-by-day evolution of PoquitoTalk: transitioning from dry demo videos to character-consistent viral comedy reels, 1-tap WhatsApp workflows, and community research.
Dorien Van den Abbeele