I left the company I helped build from day 1 in October of last year.
It took me 3 months to figure out how to go about solving the problem (personal financial planning + budgeting).
I spent the next 6 months building to get to my first Beta users, then was working for the next 2 months to work out some complicated roadblocks and losing momentum.
I had 5 days booked at a house out of the city with a pool and some time to take a much-needed break from grinding away at the app. I came up with a timely app idea the day I got there, in mid-August.
I asked a couple that we were staying with what they thought - and to my surprise, they already were trying to solve that problem just days before. They loved the idea.
Over the next day, I made a full mockup in Figma to get their thoughts. They loved it, even more, when they could actually see it. They had lots of ideas and were excited to use it.
I thought - I have to be absolutely f***ing insane to divert my attention so close to launching the other project.
I could picture how I could get an MVP up in a few weeks. I wasn't sure if it was hubris, or if I have finally started to get a handle on building things.
I needed a break - so I decided to go for it.
As I interviewed more people, I was amazed at how many people had tried to hack together something to solve this problem themselves.
Fast forward 4 weeks, give or take, and the MVP is out.
It's called Cake - you can get there at www.startacake.com to sign up.
Cake helps you organize bringing people together to make someone's day special.
You can start a cake by choosing an occasion (Birthday, Anniversary, Congratulations, Retirement, Get Well Soon, or even a 'friendly' roast of your friend).
You get a link you can send all the recipient's friends and family. They can record a 15-60 second video message, or upload a video recorded with filters/stickers/etc from TikTok, Instagram, etc.
When the occasion's date comes, you can hit 'send' and the recipient will get a link to view all of the video messages, in an "Instagram story-like" format.
A very soon to come feature is also that you can enable gift cards - so everyone who submits a video also has the option of pitching in $$ for the recipient, who can then pick a gift card of their choice.
Would love it if you would take a look and provide any feedback!
Comment here your email after signing up or DM it to me / email me at [email protected] and I will give enable your account as free-for-life.
Thank you!