Healing Product Pain Points: The Story of Boggl.ai & Swarna
Swarna Hebbar's dedication to solving real problems and her ability to balance her many roles make her an inspiration to founders and dreamers everywhere. Check out her inspiring story here!
Swarna Hebbar is a doctor turned founder with 8+ years of product and design experience. Currently, she is building a tool to manage the entire product lifecycle in one AI-powered workspace, Boggl.ai, which also ranked #4 Product of the Day on the Product Hunt.
Throughout her journey, she has worn many hats and encountered more challenges than she can count. As a mother and a passionate product enthusiast, she found herself captivated by the world of design and product management. What began as a curiosity grew into a calling, and she set out to build something that could make a real difference in the product space.
I’m a founder, designer, and—once upon a time—a dermatologist. My path into tech and startups has been anything but ordinary, and honestly, I never planned to be a founder. But life has a funny way of opening doors you didn’t know existed. Here’s how I ended up here: building a tool to make life easier for product managers everywhere.
Finding My True Calling
While passionate about helping others through a medical specialisation, I always had this artistic side I didn't know what to do with. I loved art, illustration, and design, and soon enough, I found myself drawn to UX design, taking on freelance projects on the side while still practising medicine.
I guess I was looking for a way to blend that creativity with the scientific part of my brain.
Then came COVID-19. With clinics shut down in Bangalore and dermatology being a non-emergency field, I had time to think about what I wanted to do. This is when I decided to jump full-time into UX design and product development. I began working with several startups and realised that I enjoyed building things from the ground up—figuring out what users needed and designing experiences that made sense for them.
As I started working more closely with product managers, I noticed a massive gap in how people handle product documentation. I watched PMs struggle to keep everything organised—PRDs on one app, roadmaps on another, and task management on yet another. It was all so scattered and frustrating to deal with. Why didn’t anyone make a tool to pull it all together?
That’s when I thought, “Well, maybe I could make something better.” And just like that, Boggl.ai was born!
How Boggl.ai Evolved?
Initially, Boggl.ai was a very simple tool meant to streamline PRD (Product Requirements Document) writing, and it took off from there. With AI becoming increasingly mainstream, I realised there was an opportunity to make Boggl.ai even more valuable by helping product managers generate all sorts of assets from their PRDs—things like test cases, release notes, and even blog posts.
We launched on Product Hunt in August 2024 and trended as the #4 Product of the Day! Even though it’s a great milestone, my favourite was getting our first paying customer this year. That moment was so validating—it felt like all the long hours and late nights were paying off.
Now, I plan to make Boggle.ai an all-in-one product process tool, helping PMs manage the entire product lifecycle, from requirements to launch, in one place.
The Hard Parts & Tough Choices
Building a startup, especially a bootstrapped one, isn’t without its challenging moments. Being completely self-funded, I’ve had to stretch every dollar, sometimes make cutbacks, and even let go of some people.
At times, I had to cut features I’d spent weeks or months creating because they didn’t fit the bigger vision. It’s hard to let go of things you’ve poured yourself into, but in tech, you must learn to adapt and stay focused on what brings value.
It’s part of the journey, but it never gets easier. I think that’s what they don’t tell you about being a founder—there are a lot of highs, but you have to weather the lows, too.
Balancing Motherhood & Being a Founder
Balancing being a mother and a founder is no joke! I’m fortunate to have a supportive family that helps make it possible. Having that support system is everything, especially for women founders who are already underrepresented in this space.
But if you’re a mom thinking about starting something, here’s my advice: don’t be too hard on yourself. It’s easy to get caught up in all the things you think you “should” be doing, but remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Give yourself permission to take breaks and celebrate small wins—they add up!
My Motivation
As any founder will tell you, this journey is all-consuming. When you’re a founder, you’re constantly switching hats—sales, design, operations, customer support—there’s no limit to what you’ll find yourself doing.
In all of it, I’ve realised how important it is to have something to keep you grounded. For me, it’s spirituality. Having that inner anchor reminds me that there’s more to life than the daily hustle of building Boggl.ai.
I still make time for things I love—digital illustration, getting outside in nature and listening to music. Those little things help me recharge and keep me sane, especially when the startup grind gets intense.
If Not This, Then What?
I’m open to anything. I’m endlessly curious—I’ve even developed an interest in alternative healing methods like Ayurveda and homoeopathy, even though I come from an allopathic background.
I love exploring new things and challenging myself, so who knows? I don’t fit neatly into one box, and I think that’s been one of my biggest strengths. Life rarely goes as planned, but sometimes, the detours end up leading to the most meaningful places.
At Rize, we’re constantly inspired by founders who turn unconventional journeys into relatable and impactful startup stories. Swarna Hebbar is a perfect example of this—the kind of founder who shows us that there’s no single “right” path to success.
Like so many great entrepreneurs, she didn’t start out planning to be a founder. Her startup was born out of personal experience. Frustrated by the inefficiencies and fragmentation she saw in product workflows, she decided to do something about it. What makes her story so relatable is how she took her own frustrations and turned them into a solution that’s helping product managers everywhere.
And here she is, inspiring all of us at Rize and beyond to think differently, tackle big challenges, and find our own unique ways to make an impact.
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