🌟 About Me 🌟

Hi, I'm Maria. I built my first website on GeoCities at 10 and never stopped creating.

Today, I'm a founder and creative operator. I build human-centered products that grow—bootstrapped, scaled, and grounded in real impact.

Right now, I'm focused on my own ventures, but I occasionally mentor women founders bringing bold ideas to life. I can also connect folks with trusted dev, design, and marketing talent.

This site is hand-coded as a nod to where it all began—proof that play and precision can coexist. Find me on Instagram @marianewman.co

💫 Professional Passions 💫

• 💖 Designing products people *actually* want to use
• 💖 Making smart, data-informed moves—without losing the soul of the work
• 💖 Building community around ideas and showing up with real presence
• 💖 Exploring what makes an experience resonate and stay with us
• 💖 Staying playful and precise at the intersection of design, tech, and meaning

📸 Photo Booth 📸

Serving Y2K realness from Hogwarts to Hollywood 💁‍♀️✨

More pixel-perfect pics coming soon!

✨ Favorite Projects ✨

Throughout my career, I've led the strategy and development of digital products that are both useful and meaningful. I care deeply about the people on the other side of the screen—and about building things that last. Some highlights:

• 💋 Rayna – Co-founder of a beauty platform helping Gen Z and Alpha discover products through honest, community-powered reviews. We're building a space where real people shape the conversation.
• 🔮 CHANI App – As founding Director of Product, I helped bring an astrology platform to life, shepherding it from vague idea to millions of users with a balance of mysticism, accessibility, and design.
• 💛 Happier App – Led product design for a joy-based mental wellbeing platform, weaving psychological insights into everyday tools for behavior change.
• 🌌 Stars Align – Designed the v2 of an astrology-based dating app and its "dating archetype" assessment to encourage deeper, more intentional connection—beyond the swipe.
• ✈️ Hopper Travel – Drove product design during a key growth phase, helping shape an evolution of one of today's top travel apps.

My strength is turning fuzzy ideas into focused products—honoring both the creative spark *and* the systems that help it scale.

🎧 Current Inspirations 🎧

📚 Current read: "Building a Second Brain" by Tiago Forte

💭 Contemplating: The intersection of nostalgia and innovation in digital product design

📝 Sign My Guestbook! 📝