Portrait No. 001
Martina Zrnec
Co-founder and CTO
Stacklist
Raised — 975k
I didn’t start Stacklist, I joined one month in as a developer. But from the first conversation with Kyle, something clicked. A few months later he asked me to become a co-founder, and that was a turning point I had waited for my entire career. I’d spent years building products for other startups, always wanting to step into a true founder role, but as a woman, not from the U.S., and a mom, that door never fully opened. When the opportunity came, I knew: this is my moment to prove what I can do. Stacklist resonated with me because it solves a problem we all feel, our lives are scattered across apps, notes, screenshots, and memories. Stacklist isn’t siloed; it lets you save anything from anywhere, organize it beautifully, and share it effortlessly. It’s a platform built around real life, real discovery, and real usefulness, and I knew I wanted to help build it.
In her words
“The web is being rewritten for AI - and most knowledge isn't built to be found anymore. Stacklist makes it savable, searchable and machine-ready: living collections that travel. My legacy is making it normal for girls from small places to take up space in big rooms.”
Chapter I
The toughest challenges you've faced as a founder.
One of the toughest challenges I’ve faced as a founder came long before I ever carried the title, when I was still \"just a developer.\" A few weeks into joining Stacklist, another engineer told Kyle I was so bad he should get rid of me, or the company would fail because of me. Hearing that was humiliating. But instead of breaking me, it became fuel: watch me prove you wrong. As a woman in tech, a mom, and a founder, I’ve had to earn credibility twice as hard and twice as fast. The early days were rough, constant money stress, inconsistency, and the fear that maybe the product wouldn’t hit. But grit compounds. We kept building. We kept learning. We refused to slow down. Now we’re finally seeing the traction we fought for. Stacklist has grown to 13,000 users who spend an average of 13 minutes per session. We closed a $475K round and opened a new pre-seed. Monthly revenue is now above $4K, after sitting at $400 for what felt like forever, and we’re growing every single month. Our bet on AI-driven discoverability is landing, and customers are responding. The climb was harsh, but it turned me into a resilient, relentless founder who won’t back down.
Chapter II
Your vision.
I’m obsessed with solving one core problem: our lives are scattered everywhere, and we don’t actually own our own data. We leave pieces of ourselves across apps, screenshots, bookmarks, notes, and feeds, and none of it talks to each other. My vision is for Stacklist to become your personal API: one place where everything you love, recommend, and consume lives in a structured, portable, intelligent format you control. In a world where AI is rewriting how we search, find, and connect, your data becomes your power. Stacklist will give people the ability to use their own preferences -restaurants, books, travel, products, experiences - anywhere they want. Export it, connect it, remix it, feed it into tools you care about. It’s yours. We’re building a future where people, not platforms, hold the value, and where a beautifully simple interface unlocks the full potential of your personal knowledge.
Chapter III
The impact you want to leave behind — for your industry, your community, and the women who come next.
If Stacklist becomes a tool the world truly uses, something that helps people own their data, share what matters, and discover with intention, that would be a dream fulfilled. But my deeper legacy is for my two girls. I want them to grow up seeing their mother build something from nothing, push through doubt, and stand in rooms where women aren’t always expected. I want them to know they can choose any industry, any path, any ambition. And take up space without apologizing. If my journey makes that possibility feel real for them, and for other women watching, that’s the impact I’m proud to leave behind.