February 16, 2026

Lila Got a Big Upgrade. Here's the Honest Story Behind It.

What alpha really means, what our users told us, what we rebuilt, and where we're going.

I want to start with a confession: posting and writing used to feel deeply cringe to me.

I am like a turtle. I hide in my shell and pop up when I need something. That is my defense mechanism, and I have deployed it successfully for years. Starting to share publicly through LinkedIn posts, now blogs — felt like someone ripping that shell away. Why am I doing this? This is so not me. I am exposed.

Looking back at everything I've posted, I've realized something: I am documenting my own journey. And somewhere along the way, writing stopped feeling like an obligation and started feeling like a place to learn, reflect, and keep going. Documenting this journey keeps me grounded when the emotions start to swell. I can go back and read my own story — and somehow that removes a little bit of the dissonance. A reminder that progress is happening, even when it doesn't feel like it.

It took a lot to get here. So let me tell you what's been happening behind the scenes.

The Unsexy Truth About Building

We redesigned. We rebuilt. We stabilized. We redesigned again to add more features. Then we tried to move forward and got blocked by tech debt.

The struggle is real. I know we all love the idea of setting up the right foundation once and building from there. But the reality is that it depends on who is building, how they're being led, and the technical decisions being made along the way.

As a non-technical founder, this part is incredibly painful. Mostly because I don't always know any better in the moment. But I live, I learn, I go forward. My experience at larger companies taught me what progress looks like and what doing it efficiently means. And I've learned that when you have to rebuild the foundation, it usually means the foundation wasn't the right one to build from.

I know startups live and die by speed. But I'm okay with our pace — because it lets me focus on the right areas and get it right.

What Our Alpha Users Actually Told Us

Letting in some friends to see it for the first time was scary. I was like we are not ready, but I reminded myself that sharing with others helps us become ready.

As we worked closely with our early users, here's what we heard:

• The usability was challenging — not because of the flow itself, but because of how buggy it was just to get to the first recommendation.

• The text box would jump off the keyboard, conversations weren't being saved, and as chats got longer, a weird white space started blocking the text.

• Lila's recommendations weren't being saved — so if you found something you loved, it was gone the next time you opened the app.

These might sound like small things. And individually, maybe they are. But together, they broke the experience. And they were all rooted in the same place: architectural decisions in our code structure that we couldn't patch around. We had to redo the whole thing. So we did and when we did the results spoke for itself:

[Before the Updates]

[After the Updates]

Why Getting to the First Recommendation Matters Most

That smoothness — from opening the app to getting your first recommendation — is the most important part of the journey. Full stop.

Think about apps that make you fill out what feels like 700 questions before you see a single result. That friction drives me nuts. Because I believe that AI creates the experience where it meets you where you are — whether you know exactly what you want or have absolutely no idea — and still navigate you to the best outcome. That's a better experience for the user. The intention of questionnaires is to capture structured data so the "right" outcome appears.

Where Lila Is Going

We are far from the version of Lila I envision. And I want to be honest about that.

But this upgrade? This is the beginning.

One day, Lila is going to be a true stylist. She'll recommend full outfits based on what you love. She'll help you and your friends plan looks together. She'll be ecommerce 2.0 — where instead of scrolling through massive catalogs hoping something catches your eye, you're being actively styled. Getting the kind of support that right now only exists in real life, brought online.

That's the vision. And every rebuild, every user conversation, every buggy text box we fixed — it was all getting us closer to it.

We are progressing.

We're not ready to open the doors just yet — but we're close. Get on the waitlist so you're first in when we do. 💚

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About the Author

Maria is the founder of Lila the Stylist — building AI that actually gets your vibe. She writes about product building, AI, and the chaos of turning inspiration into something real.

Follow her on LinkedIn for product building, emotional design, and occasional sass.💁🏻‍♀️