I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#1

Post by tmshu1 » Tue, Jul 06, 2021, 12:12 PM UTC

I left my tech job to build a meditation app
troyshu.com

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#2

Post by brunoqc » Wed, Jul 07, 2021, 3:22 AM UTC

Any good non-subscription mediation app out there?

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#3

Post by jonathankoren » Wed, Jul 07, 2021, 3:24 AM UTC

I’ve downloaded a lot of mediation apps and they all seem same. Throw rhythmic breathing (maybe make it configurable, but not too configurable), mix in some simple animations, and the same Creative Commons gongs and bells, and call it a day. Hire some people to do some voice overs for “guided meditations”, and charge a $50 monthly subscription fee.

I even started to make my own until I discovered you couldn’t get haptics to work in your own app like how haptics work in Apple’s Breathe watch app.

So my question is simple: in a crowded space with low barriers to entry, how do you plan differentiate your app?

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#4

Post by jonathankoren » Wed, Jul 07, 2021, 3:26 AM UTC

brunoqc wrote: post #2

Any good non-subscription mediation app out there?

There’s several that if all you want is a breath timer. Sometimes that’s even unlocked on the subscription apps.

But there’s a lot of crappy apps out there.

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#5

Post by fermentation » Wed, Jul 07, 2021, 3:26 AM UTC

Congrats! This is something I'd love to do one day if I find myself not tied to a location by social connections.

This stuck out to me:

> I decided to focus on building a meditation app as my main project. I came up with the idea because I saw others around me struggling to stick to meditation...

Do you expect another meditation app to help with this? I think many folks interested in mediation quickly find a good beginner/handhold-y app like Headspace. Yet, like language learning w/ Duolingo, few people actually stick to it. I think Duolingo and Headspace are awesome and to be honest, if I can't make something stick with these two I'm not sure how an app could be "better" at making me stick to something.

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#6

Post by jdmg94 » Wed, Jul 07, 2021, 3:38 AM UTC

jonathankoren wrote: post #3

I’ve downloaded a lot of mediation apps and they all seem same. Throw rhythmic breathing (maybe make it configurable, but not too configurable), mix in some simple animations, and the same Creative Commons gongs and bells, and call it a day. Hire some people to do some voice overs for “guided meditations”, and charge a $50 monthly subscription fee. I even started to make my own until I discovered you couldn’t get hap…

This post could’ve been about a to-do list app and it wouldn’t change the overall feeling of privilege from the author, all the best for him but you can’t pass this as some inspirational type of post

Re: I left my tech job to build a meditation app

#7

Post by option_greek » Wed, Jul 07, 2021, 4:06 AM UTC

brunoqc wrote: post #2

Any good non-subscription mediation app out there?

Traditionally, meditation is taught by various lineages of thought masters without any thought of money or profit. Here is one belonging to heartfulness practice: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hfn.unifie...