✨ AI Powered
From Zero to Operating Business with a Team
Co-founded a TCG marketplace, grew it to 4,600% YoY, and lead the team running it.
The Vault MX·TCG Marketplace·7,800+ products live
The Problem
- TCG collectors in Mexico had nowhere to trade safely.
- Scams were common. Trust was zero.
- Existing solutions? Facebook groups and WhatsApp.
- The market existed. The infrastructure didn't.
What I Did
Co-Founder & Product Lead
- Lead multidisciplinary team across product, logistics, legal, and operations
- Defined product strategy: pricing, commission model, vendor management
- Drove product-market fit and 4,600% year-over-year growth
- Scaled from idea to operating business with 7,800+ products live
Key Wins
- Identified market gap, built three integrated systems, leading the team across operations
- 7,800+ products with real transactions and automated pricing
- 4,600% YoY growth with active team across product, logistics, and legal
How It Works
flowchart TB
subgraph Leadership["🎯 Leadership"]
CEO["Co-Founder &\nProduct Lead"]
end
subgraph Team["👥 Team"]
CoFounder["Co-Founder"]
Logistics["Logistics"]
Legal["Legal"]
Product["Product"]
end
subgraph Operations["⚙️ Operations"]
Pricing["Pricing\nStrategy"]
Commission["Commission\nModel 13.9%"]
Vendors["Vendor\nManagement"]
end
subgraph Platform["🛒 Platform"]
CardVault["CardVault\nInventory"]
Shop["Shop\nStorefront"]
Syncros["Syncros\nMiddleware"]
end
subgraph Growth["📈 Growth"]
Products["7,800+\nProducts"]
YoY["4,600%\nYoY Growth"]
end
CEO --> CoFounder
CEO --> Product
CoFounder --> Logistics
CoFounder --> Legal
Product --> Pricing
Product --> Commission
Logistics --> Vendors
Pricing --> CardVault
Commission --> CardVault
Vendors --> Shop
CardVault --> Syncros
Syncros --> Shop
Shop --> Products
Products --> YoY
Quick summary complete
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📖 Full Case Study
🎯 The Challenge
Scaling from idea to operating business: assembling the right team, establishing logistics and legal frameworks, managing inventory at scale, and maintaining product quality during 4,600% YoY growth. Balancing founder vision with team autonomy as the business matured.
✅ The Solution
Created three integrated systems — inventory management, storefront, and operations middleware — to power the marketplace end-to-end. Established commission model (13.9%), automated pricing, and vendor onboarding. Now led by a multidisciplinary team handling daily operations.
The Vault: CardVault dashboard + Shopify storefront + Syncros middleware
Platform Architecture
CardVault — Inventory Management
Seller dashboard with bulk card upload, real-time inventory sync, balance tracking, and commission calculations. Designed for vendors to self-serve without operational overhead.
Shop — Storefront
8,000+ products with bilingual variants (English/Spanish), advanced search, integrated checkout, and automatic fulfillment. The customer-facing layer of the marketplace.
Three integrated systems powering the marketplace
Automation Layer
Price Updater Bot
Automated price synchronization across multiple collections. Rate limiting, batch processing, and error recovery. Keeps inventory prices updated in real-time with external market data.
Webhooks & Middleware
Real-time order processing, automatic inventory deduction, seller notifications, and commission calculations. The operational backbone that keeps the marketplace running 24/7.
Syncros: middleware, bots, and webhooks
Impact
Built Fast, Scaled with a Team
Went from market gap to operating business in months. AI-accelerated product development allowed the founding team to validate fast, then scale operations with dedicated roles across logistics, legal, and product.
From Idea to Operating Business
What started as identifying a market gap is now a real business: 4,600% YoY growth, 8,000+ cards, 144+ orders, and a team handling daily operations across product, logistics, and legal.
Project Learnings
Building and Leading
Identifying the opportunity, building the product, and assembling the team proved that leaders who execute can scale real businesses. The key is methodical decisions and knowing when to delegate.
AI as Multiplier
AI didn't replace the craft—it amplified velocity. Complex decisions around data models, security, and UX still required human judgment. AI accelerated execution.
Interested in working together?
Looking for leadership roles at product companies building design infrastructure at scale.