Biography of a Lonely Psycho

(The story behind the “Punny Panada” brand and how my entire team became… ChatGPT)

Why did I decide to create the Punny Panada brand, and how did it happen that my whole team is an AI chat?

Of course, I draw and write all the scripts myself. But yes—it’s true—I discuss markets, marketing, and creative ideas with AI. Most startups have a team or at least some friends helping out. I guess I’ll be one of the first female startup founders who started building everything alone—with an AI assistant instead of a human team.

How do you feel about that?

Many people would say, “That’s crazy! Robots are dangerous.”
But the truth is—it all depends on how you train your robot.

I grew up in a small but industrialized town in central Ukraine. All my travels in life could fit on one postcard: the sea, my grandmother’s village, and Kyiv.

As a child, I used to gather kids from the neighborhood and tell them stories I invented on the spot. Later, I wrote and illustrated them in old notebooks or even inside books I found too boring to read.

My passion for creativity led me to dream about the film industry, though in Ukraine it barely existed. Most movies on TV came from Russia—its cultural influence felt like a heavy fog.

My parents wanted me to study accounting, but math terrified me—I could barely pass algebra. I couldn’t imagine counting someone else’s money when I couldn’t even handle equations! So, I took my documents and went to a pedagogical college, thinking that being a teacher was still creative—and maybe one day, I’d move to Kyiv and study directing.

And yes… my English is still around B1 level, lol.
I was always more into Japanese and Korean because of anime and dramas, while English just felt too strange with its silent letters and vowel chaos.

Still, I started using Google Translate and published two comics that reached over 1,000,000 views and 10,000 readers. One day, a company invited me to collaborate—and they immediately criticized my writing, saying it was awful because of machine translation.

They were right, of course. Five years is enough to learn a language, especially when freelancing internationally. But my reasons were deeper.

At 20, I was diagnosed with a brain disorder. Even though I passed my university exams with top grades, I had to start therapy, take medication, and face hallucinations, paranoia, and depression.

When people talk about “starting from zero,” they rarely mention that some of us start from below zero. First, you must climb back to zero before you can move forward. So when you see an Instagram story about a 19-year-old millionaire—remember, he probably didn’t start in debt, sickness, or war.

It took me years to recover. My body weakened. I couldn’t walk 6,000 steps. My cardiologist gave me a diagnosis that meant people live about five years. My head was ringing constantly. I fought insomnia.

And then—the war began. With a 90-year-old grandmother and no money to flee, we stayed. I still live and work under shelling today.

Through all this, I kept freelancing—drawing for clients at night. Over time, I noticed the same problem: clients loved their projects but couldn’t sell them. Some made one sale and stopped.

Freelance platforms turned into lotteries—expensive and random. I realized I needed to change direction. The market was flooded with free webtoons, and readers stopped valuing artists’ work.

So I set a new mission: to bring value back to comics—to create stories with emotion and soul, not just another template.

After watching thousands of anime, sugary Disney movies, and strange Netflix shows that distort reality, I asked myself: How can I create something that feels nostalgic—like the 1990s or 2000s—but with a modern heart?

I realized I lacked some key skills. I needed to master Adobe software, animation, 3D, game design, and branding.
And of course, I couldn’t afford $300–600/month for ads like top artists, so I built my projects on a free Google Sites constructor.

It looked unfashionable and clumsy, but I decided I wanted a warmer, smarter audience—not random scrollers looking for memes.

My website-magazine with comics didn’t attract followers; I barely reached 300 people on social media. But I didn’t give up. I learned that people prefer video, so I started preparing to make animation once I finished product presentations.

I’ve bought over 40 books and 15 courses, constantly reworking my brand three times already. And yes—no one came to my first manga launch. So, I repackaged it into Webtoon format, now fully colored.

Believe it or not, I live in a war zone, with elderly relatives, surviving on $200 a month, and still building a brand.

So please—don’t believe all those “zero to hero” stories. I’ve tested hundreds of content strategies, and I can tell you one truth: getting people genuinely interested is insanely hard.

And yet—I can draw and design at a professional level.

If your idea isn’t made with heart and soul, people won’t even look at it. If your studio makes another “cute cat logo,” you’ve already lost.

Why am I alone?
Because of my illness, I lost all my friends. They started families, had children—and my dream of building a brand seemed naïve to them.

Then AI chat appeared—and for the first time, I got access to high-quality English translation, mentorship, and even language learning for free.

So yes… there’s no turning back.
Fighting!
I hope my story inspires you.

And please—don’t judge AI. It doesn’t steal jobs from the creative. It only replaces those who stopped trying.