“Working on my 18th product and loving every second of it.”

Question 01

What made you start what you're building?

A few years ago I went through a bad bout of depression. I was already eating well and exercising, but it wasn't helping much. Then I found out I had low Vitamin D, which is common for many people. It just so happens low Vitamin D can lead to poor mood, low energy, etc. Also being a remote worker, I probably wasn't going outside during the day as much as I should have been. After I found this out, I started using a popular iOS app that let you track how much Vitamin D you were getting from the sun. This was helpful because, as it turns out, just because you're in the sun doesn't mean you're getting Vitamin D. The conditions have to be just right. After using this app for a few weeks I was able to get off the medication I was taking. So the app worked great, the only downside was the user experience was terrible. It was clunky, had poor design, and hadn't been updated in years. Similar apps existed, but I knew I could build something better. That's what led me to start Bask.

Question 02

What was the moment you knew it was worth doing seriously?

I initially built Bask as a personal tool for myself. I wanted the benefit of an app telling me when to go outside at the right time to get Vitamin D, but with a simple and pleasant user experience. I needed someone else to test, so I added my wife as a TestFlight user and installed the app on her phone. She's always been very supportive, but this was the first project she genuinely used without me having to ask her to. She started using it daily and would tell me how great it was. There were also a handful of apps on the app store with a decent amount of reviews, so I knew the idea was validated. That's when I realized I should start pursuing this more seriously.

Question 03

What's your current stack and why?

I alternate between Claude Code and Codex for the majority of my development. As I'm typing this, I'm leaning more towards going all in on Codex. I just prefer the development experience compared to Claude Code. I build my iOS apps using Capacitor with React and usually go with Supabase for my backends. I've been a full stack web developer for 6 years, so I'm most comfortable in the JavaScript ecosystem. I utilize Python for some scripting work once in awhile too.

Question 04

The stack, in one place

What one full-stack dev uses to ship iOS apps solo:

1. 01Capacitor + React — wrap a web stack into a real iOS app
2. 02Supabase — backend, auth, and Postgres
3. 03Claude Code / Codex — the majority of development (leaning all-in on Codex)
4. 04Cursor — editor
5. 05Fal.ai — generation
6. 06Higgsfield AI — creative / video
7. 07Postbridge — cross-posting to socials
8. 08RevenueCat — subscriptions
9. 09PostHog + Umami — analytics
10. 10Vercel — hosting

Question 05

What's the biggest mistake you've made so far?

Falling victim to Shiny Object Syndrome. Sometimes pivoting to a new project too soon instead of continuing to build out an existing project that has potential.

Question 06

How are you finding your first users (or readers, or customers)?

TikTok has been the most consistent user acquisition funnel for me so far, but I'm still in the early days of experimenting with distribution.

Question 07

What rule have you kept that's paid off?

I used to burn out a lot because I would work my 9-5 job, then work for hours on my projects. This usually meant I wasn't getting enough sleep, skipping meals, and just not taking care of myself as much as I should. This would cause me to burn out and stop working on all my projects for weeks or even months. I've slowly pivoted away from that and instead just try to put in a little bit of time everyday. I'd rather consistently work for 1-2 hours a day on my projects and make steady progress. This has been much more sustainable and has allowed me to make more progress in the long run.

Question 08

What would you tell yourself 12 months ago?

Just keep going. It'll pay off. I've been building projects and pursuing business ideas since I was 13-14 years old. I don't see my past endeavors as failures, but instead opportunities to learn from. The harder you work, the "luckier" you get.