About Ignacio Montenegro

Ignacio Montenegro is a Chilean entrepreneur, product builder, AI educator and close-up card magician based in Santiago. He has been an entrepreneur since age 10. He founded AsesorIAs for personalized 1-on-1 AI classes, launched Popl Chile for NFC digital business cards, and co-created the limited-edition USPCC 3D Playing Cards with Miguel Santos. In September 2026 he founded Comunidad CachAI, a WhatsApp community for young people who want to learn about AI and talk about it.

I've always been curious about how things work. Not just devices or systems, but people, ideas,
and the quiet rules that shape our decisions. That curiosity became a habit: I read,
experiment, and treat learning as the most fascinating kind of work.

My journey

Ten years of building, with a lot of overlap. Most of what I build runs in parallel with something else.

2016 – 2026
  1. 2016

    J&B

    2016–2018

    Handmade soap I sold to family, friends, and even in parks and plazas. It taught me the essentials of a business: customers, product, sales, all on my own.

  2. 2019

    Popl

    2019–Now

    Popl Chile brought digital business cards to professionals. My first step into tech and branding, and into how design shapes behavior.

  3. 2021

    3D Cards

    2021–2024

    A line of 3D Playing Cards made with USPCC and sold through the largest magic wholesaler, reaching shops worldwide.

  4. 2021

    Guital & Partners

    2021–2024

    An internship I did mostly during school breaks, plus one day a week during the school year. My first close look at how a professional firm works with clients day to day.

  5. 2022

    iFrame

    2022

    A small series of iPhone art pieces, made purely for the joy of making something original.

  6. 2023

    AI

    2023–Now

    Found AI weeks after ChatGPT launched. Curiosity became a daily habit of testing tools and reading everything.

  7. 2023

    Stress Straws Chile

    2023–2025

    A small product brand I ran end to end: sourcing, selling, and marketing a calming everyday object.

  8. 2025

    Vibe coding

    2025–Now

    Building with AI seriously. Ideas become working prototypes in hours instead of weeks.

  9. 2025

    AsesorIAs

    2025–Now

    AsesorIAs teaches AI hands-on, so people can apply it in simple, practical ways at work.

  10. 2026

    Comunidad CachAI

    2026–Now

    Comunidad CachAI gathers young people who are passionate about AI to swap tools, ask questions and learn from each other.

  11. 2026

    Always exploring

    2026

    I'm always looking for the next problem worth solving: new ways to make an impact on the world and on the people around me.

My story with AI

I found AI in 2023, a few weeks after ChatGPT launched, and knew right away this was the future. Since then I haven't stopped: a large part of my day goes to using AI tools, learning about them, and building with them. About a year ago vibe coding became one of my favorite ways to create.

Every week I test new products and share feedback with the teams behind them. If you have an app and want honest feedback, I'd be happy to try it.

Beyond work

Reading

  • Tiago Forte
  • Tim Harford
  • Isaac Asimov
  • Mark Manson
  • Robert Cialdini
  • Martin Lindstrom

Fun

  • Series
  • Movies
  • Tinkering
  • Podcasts
  • Journaling
  • Board games
  • Documentaries

Music

  • U2
  • Rush
  • Eminem
  • Metallica
  • Pink Floyd
  • Dire Straits
  • The Beatles
  • Guns N' Roses
  • Imagine Dragons

Interests

  • AI
  • Tech
  • Sci-fi
  • Design
  • Marketing
  • Innovation
  • Economics
  • Geopolitics
  • Privacy / Security
  • Behavioral psychology

An unstoppable curiosity

When I'm tired, learning is how I rest. A good documentary or something educational is what recharges me.

Learning has become so natural that I rarely notice how much I absorb in a single day.

Stay curious, keep asking, keep building.

I figure things out by making them, not by waiting until I'm ready.

Want to talk business, ideas, AI, or anything else? I'd love to connect.