scribbles to product

 in the summer of 2016, I was struck with an idea to bring more kindness to people around me - all the people around me - not just people i knew.  i wasn't sure how exactly - but i knew it'd involve a mobile app - after all we're living more of our lives through our devices - so why not create something focused solely on lifting people up.  i'd already been working on some other app side projects so i had a bit of experience and a few folks who could help with design, ux and coding.  i also had a name for the app, bKindly.  my goal was to keep the app as simple as possible and just create a basic mvp (minimal viable product) - so i sketched out the 4ish screens that would inevitably become bKindly - albeit 3 years later.

Does it really take 3 years to launch a simple app mvp?  No, it took us about 4 months to actually put it together and get it launched - but the idea "sat on a shelf" for about 2.5 years.  why - you might ask?  it's a bit of a long story - but the short version is that i was already committed to another app side project that i continued to work on for the next 2 years.  after that went sour - i needed a bit of a break, but the whole time i had this nagging voice in my head and tug on my heart that it was time to get moving on bKindly.  so, i recruited the best partner i know, my wife, and she and i along with our 2 young kids decided to make this a family project that focuses on and holds true to our mission, scaling kindness.
- jon