On this episode of Own Your Next, I talk with Kayla Orozco, founder and design engineer at Mesquite & Thorn Digital, an independent mobile app studio in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Kayla spent almost six years designing chatbots and phone systems for contact centers. This year she started building her own apps, including Handsful, a baby tracker made for parents of twins and other multiples, and School Supplied, which merges school supply lists into one shopping list.

She shares what surprised her while building with AI, why beta testing is hard, and what marketing looks like when you are self-funded. We also talk about where AI is going and what it means for everyday people. If you are curious about building your own app with AI, this conversation is for you.

CHAPTERS
0:00 Welcome, and meeting Kayla Orozco
0:38 Kayla's background: Brownsville, Texas, and almost six years in conversational AI
1:42 Chatbots, contact centers, and how fast AI has moved
2:09 Handsful: a baby tracker built for twins and other multiples
5:04 What surprised Kayla while building an app
7:07 Beta testing, trust, and launching sooner
8:29 School Supplied: merging school supply lists
11:43 Turning school forms and events into reminders
12:57 Marketing the apps: socials, ads, and UGC on a self-funded budget
14:48 Why marketing is the whole game
16:31 Time, energy, and balance
17:01 Where is AI going? Regulation, Hollywood, and everyday people
19:56 Fear of new technology and new kinds of jobs
21:56 The pivotal moment question
22:33 Building her own thing
24:35 Taking action
26:04 Wrap up and where to find Kayla

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KAYLA OROZCO AND MESQUITE & THORN DIGITAL
Kayla on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaylaorozco
Mesquite & Thorn Digital: https://www.mesquiteandthorn.digital/
Studio on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mesquite-thorn-digital/
Studio on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mesquiteandthorn

HANDSFUL (baby tracker for twins and other multiples)
Website: https://handsful.app
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/handsful-baby-tracker/id6797077032
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.handsful.app

SCHOOL SUPPLIED (merges school supply lists into one shopping list)
Website: https://schoolsupplied.app
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/school-supplied/id6777847242
Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.schoolsupplied

Also on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.