Product Build | In Progress

Product Build | In Progress

minty

minty

Peer-to-peer vintage & thrift marketplace for the UAE

Peer-to-peer vintage & thrift marketplace for the UAE

Flutter, Firebase, Figma, Product Design

Flutter, Firebase, Figma, Product Design

Designing and building Minty, a Vinted/Depop-style resale app for the UAE. Validated the idea with a 40-person survey before writing any code, then designed the end-to-end UX in Figma and built the working iOS-first app in Flutter, Firebase and native Swift.

Designing and building Minty, a Vinted/Depop-style resale app for the UAE. Validated the idea with a 40-person survey before writing any code, then designed the end-to-end UX in Figma and built the working iOS-first app in Flutter, Firebase and native Swift.

Visit minty.ae

Live now | 30+ people have requested early access

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The 30-second version
ProductFlutter | Firebase | SwiftLive early access
ProblemThe UAE has no direct equivalent to Vinted or Depop, and secondhand buying only works when buyers trust strangers.
What I didValidated demand with a 40-person survey before writing code, designed the UX in Figma, then built an iOS-first app in Flutter, Firebase and native Swift, plus the minty.ae launch site.
Tractionminty.ae is live, with 30+ people requesting early access. A pilot with a real UAE vintage store is being prepared.
01 / Validate first

Before writing code, I asked 40 people.

The survey confirmed real interest, and it split cleanly into three groups with different needs. That shaped the product more than any feature list did.

GROUP 1Everyday resellersPeople clearing wardrobes who need listing to be fast.
GROUP 2Secondhand buyersShoppers looking for vintage and pre-loved pieces they can trust.
GROUP 3Independent creatorsArtists and designers who want to sell their own work.

So instead of three apps, one platform with role-based accounts for individuals, stores and creators. The early-access form on minty.ae asks the same question, shop, sell, both, or create, so every sign-up arrives already sorted into one of these groups.

40people surveyed before any code was written
3distinct user groups the survey surfaced
30+early-access requests through minty.ae so far
02 / The real problem

Secondhand runs on trust.

Could a resale marketplace built for the UAE make trust visible before a buyer even reaches an item page?

The challenge wasn’t building a feed. It was making browsing feel safe enough for secondhand decisions, and every major design choice traces back to that.

03 / Decisions

Small calls, made on purpose.

04 / What’s built

A working app, not just mockups.

Marketplace
  • ✓Browse feed + item pages
  • ✓Transactional checkout
  • ✓Follows + saved collections
  • ✓Purchase-gated reviews
  • ✓Seller + partner store profiles
Native iOS
  • ✓Swift + Apple Vision background removal
  • ✓Outfit builder from cut-out items
  • ✓Liquid Glass UI
Safety
  • ✓Owner-scoped security rules
  • ✓Blocking + reporting
  • ✓Self-serve account deletion
Launch
  • ✓minty.ae site, designed and built
  • ✓30+ early-access requests by role
  • ✓Journal + newsletter
05 / Design direction

Where it’s heading.

1 / 4 | Figma mockups of the final direction. Click to enlarge.
06 / Roadmap

From working build to real store.

DoneCore loop end to endListing, browsing, saving, checkout and seller profiles all work.
LiveEarly access at minty.aeA launch site that has collected 30+ early-access requests from shoppers, sellers and creators across the UAE.
NextReal money + conversationsPayments through a UAE gateway, buyer-seller messaging and seller listing management.
NextCreator modeA fuller mode for independent designers to sell their own work.
MilestonePilot with a UAE vintage storePutting it in front of a real partner store and its customers.

Open to new opportunities.

View CV