Hector Castillo Aguiar

Product Builder & Service Designer | 🥁 Drummer | 👺 Otaku | Consulting → Startup → Shipping products (AI & not) with modern stack

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

Frustration tolerance part 2: Billie Jean
Most people quit during the "slow and boring" part. Right before the breakthrough...

-> But, look at Billie Jean (Michael Jackson's drummer):
1 Beat, 20 Songs.

video: https://t.co/1ANXAgp0t3

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

My drum teacher always talks about "frustration tolerance"

I practice an exercise and immediately want to speed it up... But, ofc, I mess up.

His rule:
Stay at a slow, clean tempo. Master it. Then speed up

In drumming, like in life, speed without control is just noise

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

I found we don’t outgrow friendship
We outgrow forced conversations

What brings people together now?
- Shared passions
- Low-friction context
- Space to be themselves

Jam sessions, anime tours, moto groups…
These aren’t hobbies. They’re belonging without needing to explain

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

Why “solo travel” isn’t really solo
Solo travel is growing fast
But 70% of travelers still choose guided group tours.

It’s not a contradiction, it’s a signal:
People want freedom and community.
To explore alone, but connect with those who “get it”

(source: getyourguide)

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

🎯 Realization from building travel & music products:
You’re not just helping people do the thing
You’re helping them do it with the right people

🛠️ Community > UX polish
❤️ Shared vibes > roadmap features
📈 Retention = people feeling seen

Don’t just promote features, promote

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

@TawohAwa Ohhh definitely trying this one. Lots of AI wrappers might be in trouble 😅

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

What if you built a product that only existed while you were traveling?

Not always on. Not pushing.
Just… present, when the mindset is open.

Not a notification. Not an SDR. BUT a companion. A nudge. A well-timed whisper.

Does that kind of digital presence even make sense?

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

Mid-trip, people aren’t thinking like they normally do.

They’re hyped. Curious. Open.
Their mental browser tabs are closed.

That’s why they say things like:
“I don’t want this feeling to end”
“Where should we go next?”

It’s not a CTA moment.
It’s a trust moment.

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

Travel Insight: People book while they’re feeling, not planning.

Found out they’re 3x more likely to buy their next experience while still on the current one

Don’t wait until they get home.
🎯 Build for that dopamine moment, because feeling good beats a 10% discount. Every time

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

@JorgeSinCodigo Totalmente de acuerdo

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

I wonder if MBA programs now require MVPs with traction… or if students still graduate pitching business plans.

Someone mentioned theirs and I got curious.
I finished mine in 2023. We built a prototype, but we had no Lovable, Cursor, Bolt, nothing.

Different game now.

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

Plot twist: Users wanted MORE human involvement, not less.
- The manual coordination was the feature, not the bug.
- Now, how to replicate it without losing the "human" touch?... enhance community somehow?
- Peopel wanna connection

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

Didn’t expect this:
Gemini was faster at understanding UX/UI and mapping fields from a screenshot
Claude reviews like a boss 🤖

🧩Nugget 1: Mobbin has tons of UI flows. Super helpful for user flows & early prototypes
🧠Nugget 2: I also used Mobbin to draft a new system design

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

Rebuilding JamsomMusic with an AI-first stack
⚡️ Prototyping → Lovable / Rork
🧠 Design → Figma + Notion + Mobbin
💻 Dev → Cursor + Claude / Gemini + Supabase
☁️ Backend → Firebase → Supabase
🔁 n8n + Stripe

speed ≠ direction.
That still comes from real users.

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

Tried to fix a problem with more tech. Didn’t work.
The poll said it all. So I went full analog.
- In-person meetups
- No app
- Just people talking about music
And it worked.
Sometimes, the “MVP” is just humans in a room.
#Startups #UX #JamSessions #musictech

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

Most amateur musicians freeze in jam sessions
Not because they lack talent, but because there’s no structure
We added curated setlists by genre and level, and suddenly:
🎶 More confidence
🎶 More flow
🎶 More music
Structure can unlock creativity...?
#ProductDesign #UX #MusicTech

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

How to manage user anxiety before booking a jam?

WhatsApp groups worked: lurk, chat, intimate enough
Facebook groups/Meetups: wild jungle, but you trust it somehow

Challenge: Bring that same "good feelings" to the app without losing the magic.

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

No 10k MRR yet. Instead? Silence. The kind of rejection no one talks about
We moved users to a new & clean webapp
But no one booked. No feedback. Just… quiet
A quick poll on WA revealed:
-Most New joiners had no jam exp.
-Scared to be first, to play with strangers, to mess up...

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

Product lesson: At this phase, Users chose chaotic WhatsApp over my "smart" app
- Community beats algorithms
- Sometimes the best product decision is to listen, adapt, and iterate... Also, pick who to listen to as well

[Hector Castillo Aguiar @HectorCastilloA]

Phase 3: Designing the solution v01
Phase 4: Beta testing with musicians
- Expected: "When can I use it?"
- Got: "Can we keep WhatsApp?"

- Realization: I needed to enhance UX for community to make them jump

How do you design for community and not become a social media app?