I'm Michelle Walstra - a decade leading product design, a year as COO of a software company. I still take products from idea to shipped, across every discipline it takes to get there.
Over a decade of design. COO-level operations. Startup speed.
For the first time in my career, the software existed before the design did. On surgery, taste as the scarce resource, and why designers have never mattered more.
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Every seat - held, then led.
My job is alignment and momentum: one shared goal, obstacles removed, and teams empowered to do their best work.
My day job is leading product design. These are not that. Nights, weekends, and build challenges - ideas I took from itch to shipped, solo, across every discipline it takes. The builder side doesn't clock out.
iOS · LiveWinnow2026App Store ↗
An iOS app that turns real conversations into emotional intelligence reports - designed, built, and shipped solo, live on the App Store.
Autonomous systemWinsome2026Visit ↗
Websites and Google rankings for small local businesses, powered by an autonomous system I built - it does the monthly work, I direct the taste.
Contra · 2nd placeAnti-Gift Guide2025Results ↗
Answer a few questions about your giftee, get their toxic persona and a list of what NOT to buy them - 2nd place in Contra's Holiday Challenge.
Contra · Top 5Book Vibes2025The build ↗
Paste a Spotify playlist, get book recommendations that match its vibe - moody indie earns you a cozy mystery. Top 5 in Contra's challenge.
Weekend buildBetween Us2025The build ↗
Upload a WhatsApp chat export, get back a shareable love letter built from your actual conversations - your relationship, as a one-pager.
Weekend buildSimmer2025The build ↗
Turns chaotic online recipes into calm, one-step-at-a-time cooking instructions - built because ADHD and cluttered recipe pages don't mix.
Blocked isn't a status I accept. I'll find the way through - and usually a faster one. If a process can be streamlined or optimized, consider it sorted.
Strategy, design, build, ship, iterate. Products lose their edges in the handoffs. Solo, the loop is all mine; with a team, I cut it so every piece has exactly one owner.
A live thing teaches more in a week than a mockup does in a quarter. AI multiplies my output; taste directs it.
Behind the builds are thirteen years of team work - leading design, a year as COO, a company-wide move to six-week cycles - and the results that came with it. All of it shipped.
The strongest evidence I can offer is other people's account of the work.
“She consistently delivers high-quality work at speed, while maintaining strong attention to detail, which has meaningfully elevated our product standards. What sets Michelle apart is her intellectual curiosity combined with her professional judgment.”
“Michelle manages timelines and priorities extremely well… She prioritizes product development and helping the engineering team, and still meets Marketing deadlines. She takes ownership and pride in any project she takes on.”
“Michelle is responsible, dependable, and always goes the extra mile… She has the ability to create a culture that promotes trust, teamwork, and excellence, and her colleagues consistently relied on her leadership and initiative. We would re-hire her immediately if she returned to South Africa.”