This story starts a long time ago. 2014. There’s not much to say about my first job. Just a typical first job: little money, lots of work. I was managing an ecommerce: online marketing, social media, inventory, customer support. Everything.
The good part was that the offices were in a coworking space. Big startups like Parkclick came out of there. I also made great friends.
That’s where I met Javi, a developer. We became friends instantly. And we both wanted to build something.
Javi liked writing short stories but struggled to find readers. That gave us the idea to create a platform for readers and writers. Kind of like a Pinterest for stories.
We bought the domain: Sttorybox.com. The double “t” was because the single “t” version was already taken.
He was a developer… and I knew how to use Photoshop. So I had to “design” the product.
The challenge
The solution
The “box” format. That’s where the name “Sttorybox” came from. It was basically the same as Twitter threads: chunks of connected text where users could like, comment, follow…
Except it was before Twitter threads even existed.
And I “painted” all of it in Photoshop. I didn’t even know what product design was. I just translated what I had in mind into screens in Photoshop.
Looking back, I’m amazed at how, despite our inexperience, we came up with such a versatile format—one that fit how people create and consume written content online.
You could publish anything from a short micro-story to a full novel.
And it worked.
As soon as we started showing the product, it caught people’s attention. The concept was really interesting.
We won a few startup events.
Soon after, we opened a seed funding round. The day we pitched the product to investors is still one of the happiest I remember.
I had just finished an exam, and during the train ride back into central Madrid, I jotted down a few key notes about Sttorybox.
When it was my turn to pitch, I didn’t even look at the notes. I just explained what we were doing, showed a few screens, and people loved it.
We were the only team to reach our investment goal. In fact, we exceeded it.
Over four years, we built a product that understood how text-based content is created and consumed on the internet.
We formed a six-person team and developed Sttorybox for desktop, iOS, and Android.
We reached over 100,000 users,
who gave over 1.5 million likes,
wrote more than 150,000 stories,
and left 300,000+ comments.
And we never dropped below a 4.4 rating on the app stores.
That’s how I discovered that experience design was a real thing—a job.
When I saw tens of thousands of users enjoying that experience and sharing amazing stories, I began to understand the impact a product designer can have.
Of course, we were young, and we failed in one key aspect:
We never figured out a proper business model.
Still, I believe we created something truly special. I’ll end this story with a few of the messages we received when we shut the platform down:
Diana Albatou
I’m speechless. Sttorybox was my creative little corner; my escape valve. I can only say: thank you for everything.
Óscar González
Sttorybox was a space for creativity where so many stories came to life—through contests, friendships, and feeling read as a writer.Thank you for all this time. I hope life brings you new adventures we can be part of.
Lewis Uve
You did so much. Thank you and farewell.
Eva MartinA million thanks for everything you’ve meant to me, for the people I got to meet (even in person!), and for the opportunity to grow and walk my path through your website.
I’m sure great projects await you. The world needs people like you. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU…
Manuel Pinteño Cuadrado
I loved taking part in the contests. Your platform was the only place where others could read my writing. Receiving comments brought me so much joy.
I had no grand ambitions—I just liked that you existed. Thank you for creating this, for your effort and the opportunity.
Merly Sofía Barrios
You have no idea how grateful I am for having used your platform.
For letting me pour my words out and be part of a very important moment in my life.
Thank you, truly.
Rossana Karunaratna
I loved the experience. Not just having the freedom to write, but also to receive feedback, read each other… And one of my stories even got published! It was an incredible journey and I hope to see new ideas from you. Hugs!!
Ana Espinoza Zurita
I’ll always hold Sttorybox in a special place in my heart—it was where I first dared to publish something of mine, and it gave me the chance to open up to more literary experiences.
Thank you for building such a beautiful community. I’m happy I was part of it.
Naiby Johanna Bolivar
I got more out of you than years of therapy. You gave me the encouragement and guidance to write. I’ll miss you so much.
Júlia Villas
You were a huge part of my life when you started… in 2015/16 I gave it my all on this platform, and I have no regrets…
Thank you so much for everything and to everyone involved.
With Sttorybox, I realized what design and user experience can truly achieve. A good product is much more than just a product for a lot of people.
Seeing, learning, and living all of this firsthand shaped me deeply as a designer.
Designing is about building relationships with your users.
V.