The guy from mmm.page just posted an update showing how he just reached 1.0 even though from my perspective he was already launched.

Obviously he’s already gained traction and is validated the concept, probably not long after he started building it (web builders are such an accessible space).

Bleep so far has been a bit stagnant on the marketing department. I’ve kept building and rebuilding the app to its core essentials because I didn’t think the whole concept made sense in its current form…

When I first started building Bleep the idea was to build something that was “personal” and “private”. I got tempted many times to make it a bit more social, but it never felt quite like what I wanted to build.

Yet I think the app I wanted to build unfortunately isn’t as compatible with the platform and tecnologies I was familiar with.

Surely I could’ve built a web-first personal private and encrypted solution with native clients that have syncing support, but it’s not a sustainable thing to build right now. Requires a lot more surface areas (at least 3 codebases vs. 1) for a solo project and it can be expensive to manage.

I… didn’t realize this at first. I also happened to choose a very personal project (I use it every day). I am effectively trying to design what I think is the best app to process new information & build a mental map of memorable things (I will always struggle to describe it lol).

ANYWAY, I spent about 2 years (2021-2023) from conceptualizing to building the app as a web app, and it wasn’t until I started building something on the mobile app that I realize just how fragmented my approach was. And even then I was in denial, thinking I could solo make a cross platform app with web and api syncing all by myself.

Fast forward to almost 3 years (now mid 2024) and I am finally in seemingly the right platform, working more sustainably… BUT I am a total noob now, so I’m slowed down by my inexperience with SwiftUI and its lower level APIs.

I’m functionally where the web Bleep was (pretty much), but there’s quite a long way to go to feel super polished (fluid animations, transitions and performance, platform specific HIG adherence, etc.)

I would love to win an Apple Design Award. 🥇😥

SO, a lot of this is clearly can create pressure and self-doubt (e.g. am I procrastinating, should I have shipped an “MVP” on web before going down this rabbit hole???), but seeing others talk about how long projects can take before they feel like they’re arriving at a certain direction is definitely reassuring.

So far my main struggle was about deciding how to approach a project without it being a tedious chore, or rather, how to stay motivated. Sadly the activities that help me stay motivated (marketing and product design) are also tedious and out of my comfort zone (my designer days are past me 😅), so they take extra muscle to get going.

The one thing that’s true is that I’ve reached a point where things are converging. At the end of 2023 I decided I was going to go full Apple mode with my apps and now I’m about to achieve that goal, with actual apps that feel native and start to feel competitive.