I'm not a developer. I left KPMG at 38, ran 7 Subway stores, and went onto to build my first app at 70!

Hi IH. First post here, so a quick intro.

I'm not a technical founder. My background is business - I made partner at KPMG, walked away at 38, then built and sold seven Subway stores and ran a restaurant in Cambridge, New Zealand for a decade.

Building an app was never the plan. But a few years ago my dad, in his final years, was on a medication he had to take every 3 days. No phone alarm could do that. A nurse came every two weeks just to sort his pill organiser. He was sharp and independent his whole life, and it bothered me that something this simple wasn't possible on a phone.

After he passed, I couldn't let it go. So I did the one thing I actually know how to do - I found the problem, checked other people had it too, then hired a great developer and paid to build it properly.

It's called Ripple. You set an alarm for any interval - every 3 days, every 2 weeks, every 3 months, any number from 1 to 99. Not just medication - plants, pets, home maintenance, anything on an odd schedule.

We're pre-launch, coming to iOS and Android soon. I'm building in public from here on out, and I'd genuinely value this community's eyes on it.

A couple of things I'd love input on:
⦁ For a simple consumer utility like this, what actually moved the needle for your early downloads?
⦁ Anyone here marketed an app with no ad budget to speak of? What worked?

Happy to share everything I learn along the way. Thanks for having me.