Launching homeWODsquad was one of the most fun projects I've ever done. It also taught me a lot about the product and marketing sides of the software business that being a developer, I rarely see. My four biggest takeaways were the importance of having the right audience, knowing what that audience will see as essential, what creates user value in user interactive apps, and the unexpected value of monetization.
#1. Find your audience
Every time I've built a project in the past, I have usually been motived just by creating something interesting that I would like to use, apart from any community. The downside to that is there is seldom an easy way to share the useful tool or product I've built with people who may be interested. A huge difference with homeWODsquad was the existing group of dedicated users who were eager to try my solution. The encouragement and energy of the group kept me going and also motived me during the development process.
#2. Cut corners and launch early
As an engineer, I always prefer the most elegant and complete solutions. I want to do things the "right" way. Because I was under a time crunch building homeWODsquad, I couldn't do everything the way I'd want to if I had all the time in the world. I had to prioritize working code over perfect code and known tools over shiny new solutions. Sitting back after the dust had settled, the project was actually not in a bad place considering I'd done the majority of the work in 4 days. Best of all, I made my deadline and had users involved from the get-go which made it easier to see what features were necessary and which could be done later.
#3. Prioritize user interactions
After I launched and people started using the app, I realized there weren't good ways to give encouraging feedback to other users or interact with what they were doing in the app. I eventually developed a clap button on workouts and comments. Although on the surface it doesn't sound like much, these micro-interactions allow for users to give easy, positive feedback to one another. Someone telling you "good job" in the form of a clap encourages you to continue to interact with other users and encourages a more vibrant community.
#4. Monetize on Day 1
One of the most surprising things about the awesome community that formed around homeWODsquad was their willingness to send financial support my way, completely apart from me asking for it. After I sent out the launch email, I had a couple of people email back asking for a way to send me some money as a "thank you" for my work in putting the site together. I didn't build the app with monetization in mind but the seeing that people valued my work enough to voluntarily send me some cash was both humbling and inspiring.
Building the homeWODsquad platform and seeing the community that formed around it has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Having the opportunity to learn and grow as a software engineer has just been icing on the cake. Thanks to the incredible homeWODsquad community for your patience and encouragement and for being my workout squad during the pandemic!