Portrait No. 001
Constance Castillo
Founder
Whirlpost
I grew up writing poetry and stories about the city I grew up in: San Francisco. In a place of tech and innovation I saw so much creativity and potential that I wanted to support, and worked on the Youth Advisory Board of Youth Speaks a literary arts organization in high school. I saw a gap in the market for a community surrounding writing and sharing your voice authentically, and created a digital notebook app for the Apple App Store where users can upload their words in realtime and get feedback on their work. Whirlpost serves as a classy digital journal where young voices can pour their thoughts authentically and unapologetically themselves. In today’s world of perfection, Whirlpost is about works in progress and the writing process itself which is iterative and inspiring no matter how complete a poem, song, or story is.
In her words
“Whirlpost solves problems for writers, giving them a notebook alternative that is paperless, weightless, and eco-friendly.”
Chapter I
The toughest challenges you've faced as a founder.
After I graduated from Columbia University in 2013, I decided to become an entrepreneur based on my passion and vision for Whirlpost. In order to accomplish this product, I learned to code and built the Whirlpost app having no previous software development experience. I knew that people wanted and needed a place to connect authentically about writing, and after having launched the app we grew organically reaching a spot on the Top Productivity Apps in the Apple App Store, and landed coverage from ABC News about the benefits of journaling. Since then we went through the Antler VC accelerator in Austin, and have been serving our users since 2018.
Chapter II
Your vision.
I believe that the tools we use for writing matter. Beautiful notebooks can’t be replaced by flat and uninspiring online journaling options. My vision for Whirlpost is a beautiful writing tool that can enable writers to write their best work. Today’s great American novels must have proper online digital writing tools that aren’t simply functional but are beautiful, elegant, and mirror a notebook experience. Our users flock to Whirlpost because we don’t intimidate them with a blank white page, we give them a cover to cover notebook that is aesthetic and a luxury experience. Whirlpost solves problems for writers, giving them a notebook alternative that is paperless, weightless, and eco-friendly. Through Whirlpost we will create a true notebook replacement that enables reduced paper waste and great art.
Chapter III
The impact you want to leave behind — for your industry, your community, and the women who come next.
Whirlpost is committed to promoting worldwide literacy. Our initiative GIRL Literacy seeks to bring pencils and notebooks to girls in underserved countries. We are here to promote writing as a tool for self expression to increase literacy worldwide. The pen is mightier than the sword and we are here to give people a voice to be themselves through writing.