PetsApp — bootstrapped vertical marketplace for pet services
Dual-sided app live on App Store & Google Play
The problem
Pet owners in Costa Rica face a fragmented market for pet services — grooming, walking, veterinary care, boarding. Discovery happens through WhatsApp groups, Instagram DMs, and word of mouth. There's no standardized way to find, compare, and book pet service providers. Providers, in turn, have no efficient way to manage bookings, build reputation, or grow their client base beyond personal networks.
What I did
Built a dual-sided marketplace from scratch, solo
Designed and built the entire application — Flutter for cross-platform mobile (iOS + Android), Firebase for backend, Firestore for real-time data, Firebase Auth for identity. The app supports two distinct user flows: pet owners searching and booking services, and providers managing their listings, availability, and bookings.
Implemented AI-native growth engine
Built a programmatic SEO and content engine powered by Claude Code that autonomously generates and optimizes content for local search. The system identifies high-intent keywords in the pet services space, generates landing pages, and monitors performance — all without manual intervention.
Shipped to production with zero team
From product strategy to UI design to backend architecture to App Store submission — every function was handled solo, with Claude Code as the primary execution layer. This isn't a side project built on weekends; it's a fully operational marketplace with real users and transactions.
What I learned
Building a marketplace solo forces you to make brutally honest prioritization decisions. There's no one to delegate to, so every feature must earn its place. The biggest lesson: the supply side matters more than the demand side in the early stages. A marketplace with 20 excellent providers and 5 users is more viable than one with 200 users and 2 mediocre providers.
Numbers
Live on both App Store and Google Play
Dual-sided: pet owners + service providers
AI-powered growth engine generating and optimizing content autonomously
Built and maintained entirely with Claude Code as primary executor
Numbers are approximate and anonymized where applicable.