Hi, I'm Sebas 👋

17 years in offices.Now I build.

I'm Sebastián Hortúa, founder of Neural Studio. I spent my career in trade marketing, retail and banking in Colombia. Today I live in Vancouver and I build the ideas that pop into my head: apps, products and a community that helps you build yours.

Sebastián Hortúa leaning on a tiled wall at night with a drink in his hand
Builder
now
Office guy
17+years in marketing, retail and banking
68stores I bought for at Cencosud
2M+customers reached with my campaigns
8apps built since leaving the office

The long way to building.

Every job taught me something I use today. None of them let me build my own ideas.

  1. 2008SC Johnson

    Trade marketing

    My first office job.

    I started in trade marketing at SC Johnson in Bogotá, with Raid, Baygon and Glade. I helped launch Mr. Músculo in Colombia, from the first in-store samples to the shelves. That's where I learned that a product only matters once people actually try it.

  2. 2012Grupo Brunett

    Head of Marketing & Commercial

    Running the whole show.

    At a Colombian footwear brand I led marketing and sales, opened 4 new stores and took the brand to a trade show in Las Vegas to open its first U.S. clients. Small team, big responsibility, lots of learning by doing.

  3. 2014Cencosud

    Senior Buyer

    Big retail, big spreadsheets.

    At one of Latin America's largest retailers I bought sportswear, footwear and accessories for 68 stores. I lived inside the numbers: what sells, what doesn't, and why. Great school. Very big Excels.

  4. 2017Banco Falabella

    Head of Retail · Product Manager

    The badge and the lanyard.

    For eight years I worked at the bank of Falabella: first running retail across 27 stores, then partnerships with brands like Homecenter, Cencosud and Despegar, with campaigns for more than 2 million customers. Good job, good team, calendar full of meetings. And a notebook full of ideas I never had time to build.

  5. 2026Vancouver

    The big jump

    New country. No more waiting.

    I moved to Canada and started over. Being the new guy after 17 years of career is humbling, but it also set me free: nobody was waiting for me to ask permission. So I stopped asking, and Neural Studio was born.

  6. TodayNeural Studio

    Founder

    Building whatever comes to mind.

    A panda that keeps your habits alive. A star that helps you face the camera. A squirrel that studies with you. An app that tells me to sit up straight. I build them, I ship them, and I show everything I learn in the Neural Studio community.

Good intentions never built anything.

For years I had the ideas but not the guts, or the time, or the "right moment". What changed wasn't talent. I just started shipping small things, in public, before they felt ready. Each one made the next one easier.

"Your experience isn't baggage. It's your unfair advantage."

What I've built so far.

Eight apps and counting. Tap one to see how it works.

What I believe.

01

Ship before you're ready.

A small thing in people's hands teaches you more than a perfect plan in a drawer.

02

Show your work.

Talk to the camera, share the progress, show what you're worth. Cringe fades. Results stay.

03

It's never too late.

35, 45 or 55+: the years you spent in an office are exactly what makes your ideas good.

Your turn. Let's build.

Want to build something together, or join a community of people doing the same? Write to me on LinkedIn or come say hi in Skool.