Looking for MVP feedback 🚀
Longtime lurker here, sharing a small project I’ve been working on. This isn't a landing page per se – just the core MVP I've been noodling on.
I’ve recently struggled with anxiety, and built a lightweight web app with my favorite calming exercises. I often get anxious at work, but due to the nature of my job I’m in meetings all day. I wanted a product that I could use to quickly re-center without having to hop into a room to meditate:
I already use the app, and am planning more functionality around which I can build a subscription service.
First, I want to get hard insights on my own habits. I’ve noticed that there are patterns around when I feel unsettled, and being aware of them has helped me a lot.
Second, I want a product that helps put my thoughts in the right place, and helps improve my ability to manage anxiety over time. Many of the products I’ve used help you get calm in the moment, but haven’t helped to improve my overall thought patterns: each session is a point in time rather than a step towards growth. I have some ideas on features that can help that.
Welcome any feedback!
Hey, I spent a few minutes on the app. congrats on launching the app, have put some of my thoughts here. https://docs.google.com/document/d/16daT0gxWxY5gqIKNpVW3ZJFd0aDNzdECuRJabgEr0b0/edit?usp=sharing
Hey, thanks very much for this feedback – it's really helpful! Curious what your thoughts are on whether there's a viable business in the direction of this MVP?
This space has seen several good companies come up in the past 3 to 4 years. IMO most turn out bad as either they become bloated, the process is long and complicated or requires long term commitments. If there could be a way to help people when they need them and remind them of simple daily good practices it would be very beneficial, also provide them a simple tracking to help them see the progress they made over a period of time.
Yup, I totally agree. I think that most products in the space focus a lot on meditation, which is great but not my goal. Meditation to me is like working out - it helps you be stronger in the long term, but it doesn't help you when you have an acute issue. I want something that helps give relief fast, and that adapts to help people improve their mental health over time.
Curious what products you view as the strongest in the space specifically?
Love the concept! As a developer, I immediately noticed several scroll bars on the right side. I didn't take a look at what was causing it but I found that the excess scroll bars affected my viewing experience. Overall, the site made me feel very calm!
Thanks! Yeah, I think I have some kind of slight CSS issue that I haven't gotten to the bottom of yet. If you have a moment would love to know what browser / OS you were using.
Sure! I was using Chrome, but I don't know what version
Awesome, thank you!
I think you are doing a good job. You've nailed the colour scheme (it is calming). Definitely an audience for this. I assume there are many others like this so unsure how you would break through. Having it as a web app not a download app may help (I don't know the space). My assumption is only a small percentage of your users would pay.
Thanks! This space is indeed very crowded. My intent is to target people such as busy professionals or new parents (basically anyone who doesn't have much time in their day), but it'll take more validation.
Agreed that only a small % of users will pay, this is a consumer play and definitely carries those sorts of conversion / addressable market risks. My thinking is that even assuming I can get people to use it, the insights I can provide will be the ultimate determinant of whether there's a small business here.
Thanks again for the feedback.
Definitely decrease the delay, a lot of the users might not be patient enough if they try it for the first time
Thanks for the feedback. I've been receiving a lot of feedback around the delay, planning to make some changes here. Appreciate the help!
also, the feedback the app gave to me is to take a walk. It's a bit cold to walk right now, so basically i did nothing. I would have considered other options but the website didn't allow me to go back i think
Yup there's no back functionality but I'm planning to change that based upon feedback I'm receiving. Thanks!
Sounds good. If you want to get more feedback, we're giving online feedback for the entire week. It's as simple as hopping on a video call.
Check it out here: flounders.io
Hey! I tried really fast and my quick thoughts:
I really like the color scheme, it's really relaxing, I'd add some music, noise (rain for example) to the app as well.
Thanks!
Thanks for the landing page feedback – I'm figuring out my next move and this seems like a likely next step.
Makes sense on the delay. I introduced the delay to "force" the user to take a moment and not rush, but without some explanation I can see how it's confusing. Curious if you have thoughts on whether the delay is good (with some explanation so that people know that their computer isn't broken..), or if it should just be removed.
Thanks for the notes on the color scheme, I spent an embarrassingly long time picking it, haha. I intentionally left music out as the intended use-case is for places, but I like the idea of maybe having it be optional. Perhaps a paid feature for the future..
Thanks again!
Thanks man, for doing this and good luck! We need more of this, anxiety in the modern world is crazy and it's killing us.
Thanks for the additional feedback man. And totally agreed, anxiety is out of control these days and it's a bummer. Trying to do my part to help!
Thanks for sharing it!
Going through it, and echoing some sentiments, I think the overall design (color scheme, animations, etc.) is appropriate for the app. To start, I felt a little uninitiated (what is this?), and a go back/restart button would reduce the perceived commitment. When it gets to the options (breathe, checkin, etc.), I wasn't sure what the choices were/what to do.
Overall, it's cool to see what you built. You should consider sharing it to joinhelm.com for more feedback!
Helm seems very cool, I'll check it out as I widen the field of where I'm posting this. Thanks for your post, I really appreciate it!
Regarding your feedback: as someone stumbling upon this site, do you think that a more explanatory landing page would be helpful, or just more instruction within the app?
Congrats on the launch! I agree with all of @udayprakash notes. Just to add a few more:
• I love the get-right-into-it approach
• there is too long of a wait period before I could respond with answers
• Didn't really understand the 2-question mood checker. I was feeling pretty calm/relaxed, for example, but didn't really find matching boxes.
• I didn't know how to breathe with the circle
• would've liked a button to go back/restart
• Checkin -> Should probably be "check in" or "checking"
• Probably same as Udaya's note, but I would've liked some context when I got to my current levels. How am I to read those graphs? What is the connection between activities and my levels?
• Love to see people working on apps that can improve mindfulness. All the best!
Thanks! This is really helpful stuff, appreciate it.
The wait period was intentional (to force you to reflect on your physical/mental state), and I'm wondering if it was a bad decision overall or if it was a good idea but needs more UI guidance. Would love to get your thoughts!
Ah okay. Sounds practical. I think you'll just have to inform the user with a message or countdown (i.e. "take three seconds to assess your state") to keep it from feeling like a bug. Although deliberately making users wait always seems a little risky; if you get any pushback, I wonder if a small "skip" button might assuage impatient users
That all makes sense and I'm leaning towards removing the delay entirely for the reason that you and others called out. Thanks for the continued feedback, it's extremely helpful!
Hey @serenityapp. Your website doesn't load it. Hope you're aware of it.
In case you’re still looking for more feedback, I’ll be more than happy to give you my detailed thoughts.
Me and my partner will be giving personal real-time feedback in a video chat for this whole week to help other founders.
Check out http://flounders.io/ for the details.
Hope to see you there.
P.S.: Anyone who wants to get feedback is also welcomed 👍
Hm, is that actually the case? Didn't see that feedback from anyone else and the site looks like it's loading for me...
Thanks for the tip otherwise, will check it out.
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Thanks for the feedback!
Couldn't agree more that mobile is key. I built this out as a web app as I'm most comfortable in that environment, but I've always envisioned it as a mobile app in the long run. Mobile app development is a pain in the ass so I've been putting it off until I had a better sense of whether this idea has legs.
Curious if you think that a Progressive Web App + encouraging users to add homepage icons would help to scratch the itch, or isn't worth it?