Selfrell

You know it's a viable solution because I'd rather write down my emotional conflict and happiness on Selfrell rather than on other apps.

A soft launch of the first version of my app. I probably launch it too late but asking for feedback from people was not the best thing for Selfrell.

I needed to know what kind of experience I want the users to have and the way it could help them. Although the app hasn't implemented the RPG aspect of it yet, I'm happy with it.

In the meantime, other compounding growth aspects are kicking in. And the system design for the RPG excites the hell out of me. It's just really hard to put the puzzle together when some pieces are still missing. Zero traction still, but that's ok.

All in all, I'm happy to continue to put importance on the emotional wellbeing in personal relationships through fun empathy. I even hope to create a new industry called Augmented Reflection of Psychological Reality (ARPR).

If you can start to feel or taste that dream, don't let anyone else tell you it's not possible.

I felt really accomplished after finishing writing the Selfrell system design whitepaper.

For once, I get to taste the vision that I had for a product that combines important aspects of relationships, psychology, software, and game design into a strong foundation and direction.

If I keep following the conventional wisdom of talking to users or "just ship it" it won't lead me anywhere. All the feedback I've received so far will only bring me away from where I want to be.

Nobody is going on this path before so I have to first make something that I truly want to see in this world. That is making something difficult like facing your emotional pain and turning it into a learning opportunity in a fun and epic way.

I got better at delivering my pitch and conveying my ideas to people. This new version of RPG emotional wellness makes them intrigued and curious, but not enough to signup since it's too hard to imagine.

I've been working on the mental framework since the ideation and I've personally experienced it and applied it in my relationship.

Although it wasn't using the app, I've written down my thoughts long enough to be a good search database for my mind to find new perspectives.

It helped me to reframe my emotion and transform it into a positive opportunity for action that leads to an evolutionary step for the relationship.

Even after a year of no result in terms of income, I stayed true to pursuing a vision that will be much more rewarding after solving my core life problem. Others couldn't see it yet, but my mind and heart are already living in that future. If this solution can truly help transform my life, I believe it can help others.

Emotional wellness and the personal relationship dynamics in your past and current life affect our mental health greatly. The more we can regulate our emotions and heal our wounds, the better relationships we can have with ourselves and with others.

After going back solo, I've been exploring more with no-code software development tools. I made quicker prototype iterations and talked to dozens of people about my product and vision.

It just seems difficult to find the value of the app and the subject seems boring to many people. And when it comes to hardcore mental health solutions, I felt the impostor syndrome kicking in for not having the proper degrees to help those in need.

So building a community as someone that doesn't have credibility in that area was challenging.

The no-code tools were not complex enough and while my technical skills were not high enough to do all in code. Once you find no-code as a founder, it's kinda hard to go back to code for me.

So back to more learning, searching, writing ideas, synthesizing, iterating, day dreaming, no sleeping, and all your regular mental challenges we go thru as founders.

By the time I received YC's rejection email, I knew that I won't get accepted. It actually made my conviction stronger.

I was starting to feel closer to that vision from learning more about Psychology, Neuroscience, and writing down my personal experiences and any ideas that come through.

A friend from college was kind enough to assist with the UX design for the app. It gives me a taste of what it was like to work as a team. It made me feel motivated to have a more concrete sense of direction and what to do. It helped me to continue forward after a small doubt bump on this startup path.

I used Vue, Ionic, and Firebase to create the half version of my product as a self-taught developer.

It's half because it is nowhere close to the vision I have in mind for the solution to the problem. I just can't quite put into words how to translate my thought process into a good user experience.

I also found out about YC thanks to @csallen mentioning it on a podcast somewhere. Brave or reckless depending on your perspective, I decided to apply anyway with my naive vision, idea, and half-cooked MVP.

Had a chat with my wife to create a platform where people can talk more about the stories of their intimate relationships.

There's a lot of growth in career development but not enough in relationships, which is key to a better quality of life.

I had a unique insight by looking at the emotional perspective through the traits and decisions we make when an opportunity presents itself at the moment.

The key was having more self-awareness to understand the goal as a couple. Basically, trying to scale my strengths and ability into a system to help others make better choices that align with their values.

Inspired, I wrote down my ideas and start looking at ways to make this happen. It reminds me of how I always follow my instinct and don't look back when the feeling is right until I make it happen!