Startup Stories - Mixergy #2290 He’s building an AI media empire
Dec 29, 2025
Ricardo Vice Santos, founder of DreamStories and an early member of Spotify, is on a mission to revolutionize media through AI. He discusses transforming children's books into personalized experiences and why he chose this niche as a starting point. With insights into the technical hurdles of maintaining consistency in imagery and his plans to scale into tailored movies and videos, Ricardo shares the importance of understanding the buyer-consumer dynamic. He also explores the vision of bespoke content shaped by family values and the challenges of acquisition strategies.
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Hobby Project Became A Startup
- Ricardo built the first DreamStories book for his son using ChatGPT and Stable Diffusion as co-creative tools.
- That personal project became the seed for a product aimed at families wanting personalized media.
Personalization Was Waiting For AI
- Personalized content already existed in niches like custom songs and Spotify’s long tail.
- Generative AI makes bespoke, one-person media feasible at scale, unlocking new consumption behaviors.
Ship Polished AI Experiences
- Solve polish and consistency, not just create a prototype; consumers want something that works immediately.
- Build product-level UX around AI quirks so average users avoid repeated trial-and-error.
