Press kit
A shop built with AI in six hours. Zero sales. All the numbers in public.
Pinkoa is a free study timer with a pink koala called Koa, plus printables and merch. Founder Laurens Laudowicz built it with Anthropic's AI Claude in one afternoon and now shares every number, including the uncomfortable ones.
Two stories, pick yours
For startup, tech and business media
Building with AI has become almost free. Reach hasn't. On 25 September 2026 pinkoa.com was a parked domain; six hours later it was a working shop with a timer app, 30+ products, a blog and social channels. A daily AI routine now adds products and posts every morning. Two weeks in: 67 products, about 200 visits, zero paid sales. An honest experiment about what AI can and cannot do for a small founder.
For education, student and lifestyle media
"Pinkoa" is a Finnish verb: to study hard, to cram before an exam. Pinkoa.com turns the word into a free, ad-free study timer in English, German and Finnish. Koa the pink koala studies along, there are focus sessions of 25, 50 or 90 minutes, cosy background sounds, streaks and a to-do list. No account needed. Free printables for students and a kit for teachers.
About Pinkoa (boilerplate)
Pinkoa (pinkoa.com) is a free study timer with a pink koala called Koa, available in English, German and Finnish. The name comes from the Finnish verb "pinkoa", to study hard. Next to the free timer, Pinkoa sells printable planners and print-on-demand merch made in Europe. The project was built by Berlin founder Laurens Laudowicz with the AI assistant Claude in about six hours on 25 September 2026 and is developed in public, with live numbers on pinkoa.com/dashboard.
The numbers
Live from our public dashboard, updated daily. Last updated: 9 October 2026 · pinkoa.com/dashboard
| Launched | 25 September 2026 |
| Build time | about 6 hours, idea to live shop |
| Founder | Laurens Laudowicz, Berlin |
| Built with | Claude (Anthropic), Shopify, Printify, Buffer, Klaviyo |
| Languages | English, German, Finnish |
| Running cost | about €1 a month for the shop, other tools on free plans, plus an AI subscription |
| Ad budget | €0 |
| Ships to | Germany and the other 26 EU countries |
Downloads
Free to use for editorial coverage of Pinkoa. Please credit "Pinkoa / Laurens Laudowicz". No sign-up needed.
Quotes
“Building has become almost free with AI. Reach hasn't.”Laurens Laudowicz, founder of Pinkoa
“The AI built, I decided. My most-used prompt was "make it cuter".”Laurens Laudowicz, founder of Pinkoa
“Zero sales is a result too. I share the numbers because an honest experiment teaches more than a polished success story.”Laurens Laudowicz, founder of Pinkoa
Questions we get asked
What did the AI really build on its own, and where did you step in?
Claude wrote the timer in three languages, designed Koa and the brand, made a 30-page colouring book, a planner and 26 wallpapers, wrote the product texts, set up the shop with collections and menus, created the first merch with a European print-on-demand partner and wrote the first blog posts. Laurens made the decisions and did what only a human can: creating accounts, connecting payments, checking the legal pages. The AI also made mistakes: some early products used US printers and showed as sold out in the EU, and a search engine's AI claimed "pinkoa" means "to run quickly".
What has it cost so far?
Money: about €1 a month for Shopify (introductory offer, later the normal Basic plan), a domain Laurens already owned, free plans for the other tools, plus an AI subscription. Advertising: €0. Time: about six hours on day one, then a few minutes a day for approvals and replies, while a daily AI routine adds a blog post, new products and social posts every morning.
No sales yet. What's next?
More short videos instead of photos, collaborations with study creators, free timer pages that people find on Google, a free kit for teachers, a Product Hunt launch on 10 October 2026 and seasonal products. The first sale will be announced on the dashboard.
Timeline
- 25 Sep 2026, 15:00pinkoa.com is a parked domain. First question to Claude: what does "pinkoa" mean?
- 25 Sep, 21:12Shop, timer and blog are live, about 6 hours later.
- 27 SepThe timer becomes a phone app. A daily AI routine starts: blog post, new products, social posts every morning.
- 28 Sep to 2 OctEtsy shop, YouTube channel, background sounds, welcome emails, bolder merch designs.
- 6 OctPublic dashboard with live numbers goes online.
- 10 OctProduct Hunt launch.
- NextThe first paid order. We will update this page when it happens.
Founder
Laurens Laudowicz
Laurens Laudowicz is an entrepreneur based in Berlin. Besides a family business he keeps a portfolio of domain names; pinkoa.com was one of them until 25 September 2026, when he turned it into a shop with AI in a single afternoon. He builds Pinkoa in public and is happy to talk about AI, building in public and what it takes to find the first customers.
Brand basics
| Name | Always "Pinkoa" in text (capital P). The logo is written in lower case: pinkoa. |
| Koa | The pink koala mascot. Koa is always pink, always friendly and never frowns. Please don't redraw or change Koa. |
| Colours | Koa pink #FF9EC0 · Deep pink #C92A62 · Background #FFF6F9 · Ink #3B1F2B |
| Fonts | Fredoka (headings), Nunito (text), both free on Google Fonts |
| Meaning | "pinkoa" (Finnish verb): to study hard, to cram before an exam |
Press contact
Laurens Laudowicz · hello@pinkoa.com · Berlin, Germany. Replies within 24 hours on weekdays. Interviews in English or German, written or by video call.
Links
Website and free timer Live dashboard Making-of blog post Instagram TikTok YouTube