Liv - AI Life Coach

Liv is a voice-first AI life coach that turns big dreams into daily micro-actions. One conversation, one goal, one tiny task today.

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I created a webpage that tells the story of Liv, including how it was built, how I approached designing it and how I did market research.

The full story can be read here: https://livaicoach.com/

Inspiration

I built Liv for Gabby Beckford (@packslight), a TikTok creator with 308K+ followers who inspires women to pursue solo travel, financial independence, and life design. But I noticed patterns in her comments that were unsettling:

"I'm in my 40s and no degree, I'm always concerned I'm too old." "What about the college dropout???? Like I feel like I'm stuck." "Would anyone like to help me figure this out after I graduate?"

Her community is full of ambitious women who consume hours of inspirational content but never take the first step. They're stuck between dreaming and doing. Paralyzed by overwhelming, age-related doubt, imposter syndrome, and the belief that opportunities aren't for "people like them." I wanted to build the bridge between Gabby's inspiring content and real-world action. An app that doesn't just motivate but mobilizes.

What it does

Liv turns big dreams into tiny daily actions.

  • Goals: Users define what they actually want. Solo travel, a career pivot, financial freedom, or going back to school.
  • Daily Micro-Actions: Instead of overwhelming 47-step plans, Liv serves one small task per day. Fifteen minutes. That's it.
  • Streaks & Celebrations: Confetti explosions for completed tasks. Because small steps deserve big moments.
  • Lessons: When users feel stuck, guided lessons address the real blockers — money mindset, age-related doubt, family obligations, lack of credentials, and the need for permission to pursue their dreams
  • AI Coaching (Liv): A warm, encouraging AI coach that sounds like a supportive friend, not a productivity robot

The tagline says it all: Make It Real.

How I built it

I started with deep community research. I went through Gabby's TikTok videos — not the travel vlogs, but the educational content — and read thousands of comments to understand what her audience actually struggles with. I identified six core pain points:

  • "I'm too old" syndrome
  • Feeling stuck without traditional credentials
  • The inspiration-to-action gap
  • Family responsibilities as barriers
  • Women abandoning their own dreams
  • Burnout and overwhelm

From there, I built three detailed personas (Stuck Sophia, Reinvention Rachel, and Dreamer Destiny) to guide every product decision.

Tech stack:

  • React Native with Expo for cross-platform mobile
  • RevenueCat for subscription management and paywall
  • AI-powered coaching using conversational design principles
  • Gamification system with streaks, milestones, and celebration moments

Liv's content is warm, casual, and permission-giving. Not "Here are 5 tips for budgeting" but "Let's find the money that's hiding in your life."

Challenges I ran into

Finding the right voice. Early drafts of the lesson content sounded like every other self-help app — generic and preachy. I had to rewrite everything to match how Gabby's community actually talks. Phrases like "sign me up," "walk me through this," and "I feel stuck" became my north star.

TTS quirks. The way we write is not the way we talk. It took a lot of tweaking to get Liv to speak as if she were in a conversation rather than writing text down. I had to work to eliminate things like lists, em dashes, and awkward phrases which sound terrible when reading aloud via TTS.

Balancing structure with flexibility. The app needed to guide users without being prescriptive. Someone saving for solo travel to Portugal has different needs than someone pivoting careers at 40. I solved this with modular lessons that trigger based on what users say they're struggling with.

Making it feel celebratory, not cheesy. Confetti can feel patronizing if done wrong. I wanted celebrations that feel earned and genuine — acknowledging that doing something scary (even something small) is worth celebrating.

Scope creep. I had ideas for community features, accountability partners, Gabby-exclusive content... but I had to ruthlessly prioritize the core loop: Goal → Daily Action → Celebration → Repeat.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

  • Research-driven design: Every feature traces back to real comments from real people in Gabby's community
  • Branding: I spent a lot of time thinking about the imagery, logo, colors, typography, and voicing, in order to create a cohesive brand that feels like a person.
  • The lessons: Liv has 7 complete lesson modules with 35+ sections addressing money, age, family, credentials, safety, overwhelm, and permission. All in a voice that actually resonates.
  • The name and tagline: "Liv: Make It Real". Simple, action-oriented, and memorable.
  • Building something that could actually help: This isn't a generic habit tracker. It's specifically designed for women who've been told (or told themselves) that their dreams aren't practical.

What I learned

Your users' words are your best copy. The phrase "I feel like I'm stuck" appears in my app because that's exactly how the community describes their experience. I didn't have to invent language, I just had to listen.

Permission is a feature. So many people don't need more information. They need someone to tell them they're allowed. The "Give Yourself Permission" lesson might be the most important one.

Small > Big. The whole app is built on the premise that tiny daily actions beat ambitious plans that never happen. That philosophy shaped everything from the UX to the content.

RevenueCat made monetization simple. Setting up the paywall, managing subscriptions, and handling trials was straightforward. It let me focus on the product instead of payment infrastructure.

What's next for Liv

  • Creator partnership: Working with Gabby to integrate her content and potentially exclusive coaching
  • Community features: Connecting users who are working toward similar goals
  • More goal templates: Pre-built paths for common dreams (first solo trip, career pivot, side hustle launch)
  • Expanded lessons: Deeper content on topics like solo travel safety, remote work, and building confidence
  • Android launch: Currently launched on the app store given time constraints but publishing for Android is an easy post-launch goal. It's built with React Native, making cross-platform publishing simple.

My north star remains the same: help ambitious women stop scrolling, start doing, and finally make their dreams real.

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