Leo Mehlig, developer of Structured, talks about building and growing his day planner app. Topics include: becoming an indie developer, challenges faced in building and launching an app, unexpected success of 'Structured', implementing a pro plan, app evolution and price increase, navigating paperwork and fear, challenges of collaboration and clean code, the importance of having a QA person, importance of optimization for CEOs, promoting podcast on social media.
Building an app with unique features and focusing on word-of-mouth and App Store search can help gain popularity.
Introducing a pro plan and transitioning from a lifetime unlock pricing model to a subscription model can generate revenue.
Expanding the app to Android and providing inclusive features can reach a wider audience and meet user needs.
Deep dives
Development of Structured Day Planner App
Leo Mille, the developer of the day planner app Structured, is interviewed in this podcast episode. He shares his journey from studying computer science to becoming a full-time indie developer. Leo discusses how he built the app within four months and launched it on the App Store in April 2020. He explains the unique features of Structured, such as the innovative timeline view and color-coded day planning. The app gained popularity through word-of-mouth and App Store search, with Leo addressing the challenges of marketing and monetization.
Transition to Pro Plan and Business Model Changes
Leo talks about introducing a pro plan for Structured after realizing the app's potential and the need to generate revenue. He describes the decision-making behind choosing a lifetime unlock pricing model initially and later transitioning to a subscription model. Leo shares how he considered fairness, user value, and the app's future growth when setting the price. He also discusses the challenges of managing customer support and the importance of evolving the app to add value and drive conversions.
Expansion to Android and Future Plans
Leo addresses the demand for an Android version and the decision to hire an Android freelancer. He explains the motivation to make Structured accessible to a wider audience and serve those who prefer or can only afford Android devices. Leo shares the progress of the Android development and the planned feature set for the initial version. He also emphasizes the importance of inclusivity and responding to user needs in shaping the future of Structured.
Using Help Kit to Improve Customer Support
The podcast episode discusses the use of Help Kit, a tool that allows support documentation to be created in Notion and automatically published to a website. This feature is found to be helpful in reducing the number of customer support emails received and provides a searchable help center with feedback integration.
Bringing on a QA Tester to Improve App Quality
The podcast episode highlights the importance of having a QA tester in the development process. The speaker shares their experience of hiring a student who had been reporting bugs and reproducing issues. Having a dedicated QA tester is found to be invaluable in ensuring app quality, catching bugs, and providing a safety net for more ambitious development.