Validation Request: Collaborative Weight Loss Application
Hi hi Indie Hackers,
I've struggled with weight loss for most of my life. Back in high school, I hit a high of almost 300 lbs. During my senior year, myself and a friend got our acts together and were able to lose nearly 100 lbs each.
Fast forward about a decade. I'm a software engineers working primarily on backend systems at a large tech company. I've been yo-yoing back and forth about 20-30 pounds a year. I've never been able to recapture the same success I had when I had a friend with the same goals to hold me accountable.
For the last few years, I've had the idea to create a application that will automatically match users with others that have similar weight loss goals. They will be able to track their progress directly against other people.
I think two things that would potentially set it apart from existing apps are:
While plenty of apps let you track weight, the ones I've seen that let you overlay your progress with others either have poor design or include a betting component (which I'm not interested in).
Similar apps I've seen require you to already have a friend to invite. Many people don't have such friends or aren't comfortable sharing their weight with people they know. A matching algorithm would let users find accountability partners even if they don't have any in their existing circle.
The main problem I have right now is that, while I'm comfortable with writing a majority of the code, I don't know anything about good app design or marketing. I have a solid savings account that I've earmarked for creating this application, but I don't want to invest a large amount of time and money for an app idea that is not going to get off the ground.
Would love to get some general feedback and advice on the idea. Does this sound like something you'd use? Any features you'd want to see, or concerns that would hold you back? Has anyone built a similar project and had success? What is some advice you'd give to someone just starting out in the space?
Really appreciate any and all feedback!
Product designer here. Interesting idea and I definitely see the buddy system can make a huge difference to many people!
I think tracking progress against other people (I'm assuming in the same group?) is cool, but have you thought of a group leaderboard against other groups too? Let's say:
This way you're not only encouraged to reach your own goal to avoid your personal shame but also for the "victory" of the group. This system will keep everyone in the pact accountable for themselves and each other, and help them grow their attachment to their buddies (= better retention, less dropouts). You can use this point & leaderboard system even if you introduce other metrics like exercise and calories, if you decide to in the later phase.
As for the app design, Mobbin has an extensive collection of screenshots from tons of apps. It's a great place to study both UI and user flow, and there's a lot you can learn from app in totally different categories from where yours is. I recommend you to start from taking notes on what you would do differently for the similar apps that you didn't like and just implementing it in your own product.
Best of luck in your journey!