Ruffbooks

I have started a new iteration of Ruffbooks.

The last version I put out was a React Native version across both iOS and Android. Retention was lower than low even though everyone told me they loved the idea. I got frustrated and shut it down.

I started to get this itch in my head that I maybe did not do things correctly the first time. I asked myself :

If so many people liked the value proposition, why did they drop off?

When Apple featured the app in the US app store, why did 3000 people install it but only 80 users signup?

Both these questions led me to admit the problem was the UX. As a UX designer, I had a very hard time admitting this. I had fallen in love with my own UX and I wasn't listening to people - hahaha unreal considering I had made a pretty good career off being a human-centered designer at IDEO.

I am rebuilding from the ground up. iOS only, swift UI, and rearchitecting the entire service to be offline and local to the device with no auth blockers. I am also not focusing on any UI design until I know the UX works. You know, the stuff people were trying to tell me ;)

As they say, hindsight is 20/20.