ZipKeep

I'm a solo dev with a day job. I just shipped my second indie app. Here are the realities.

Apps shipped so far:

🌙 NightCurve — iOS, mindful drinking tracker

🔒 ZipKeep — macOS, secure file archiver

Both shipped this year. Built in evenings and weekends between my full-time work.

Why I'm posting:

1. Just to say hi to the IH community

2. To stop lurking and actually participate

3. To learn from people doing the same thing

What I've learned in year 1 of indie shipping:

NightCurve went through 3 App Store review iterations before approval. Apple's guidance pushed me toward zone-based positioning instead of numerical claims — which turned out to be better UX anyway. Approved on round 4.

Lesson: framing matters as much as features.

ZipKeep started as "I don't trust the other Mac zip apps." Most look like Snow Leopard. I wanted modern UI + encryption. Built it in 4 months between projects.

Brand: I went with "Apps by Marcin" as the umbrella.

— Marcin

appsbymarcin.com