Aura

AI coaching that meets you where you are: in-app, voice calls, and WhatsApp.

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Inspiration

Professional coaching is a powerful tool for career growth, productivity, and well-being, but it remains inaccessible to most people. Traditional human coaching typically costs alot, requires scheduling synchronous sessions, and is often limited to a single domain like wellness, career coach.

We built Aura to answer a simple question: What if you had a team of world-class experts in your pocket, available 24/7, for the price of a Netflix subscription?

Inspired by Simon @ BetterCreating's "Minimalist AI Coaching" brief, we wanted to build a solution that merges the empathy of human connection with the scalability of AI. We believe personal development shouldn't be a luxury—it should be a daily habit.

What it does

Aura is a mobile app that gives everyone access to AI coaching. Users get default AI coaches and can create and share custom coaches, and talk to them in-app, by voice, or over WhatsApp. Aura uses RevenueCat for Pro subscriptions and in-app tokens so creators can sell coaches in the marketplace. Built for Simon’s “Minimalist AI Coaching” brief: simple setup, clear value, and a premium experience.

Core Features

🤖 7 Specialized AI Coaches

  1. Focus Friend (🎯) - Time management & productivity systems
  2. Money Montor (💰) - Financial planning & money mindset
  3. Mama Guide(🧘) - Pregnancy Experts (Pro) Inspired by my wife
  4. Career Coach (🚀) - Career development & job strategy (Pro)
  5. Fitness Friend (💪) - Exercise & nutrition coaching (Pro)
  6. Creative Coach (🎨) - Creativity & artistic pursuits (Pro)
  7. Balance Buddy (🧘) - Mental health & self-care (Pro)

🛠️ Custom Coach Builder

  • Create unlimited custom coaches (Pro)
  • Upload knowledge base documents (PDFs, Word docs)
  • Generate AI avatars with FastShot AI (Pro)
  • Share coaches with the community

💬 Triple Communication Channels

  1. In-App Chat: Rich text conversations with context awareness
  2. Voice Calls: Real-time voice conversations powered by Gemini Live API
  3. WhatsApp Integration: Chat with coaches via WhatsApp (seamless sync)

🎨 Beautiful, Intuitive Design

  • Modern, luxury aesthetic
  • Smooth animations with react-native-reanimated
  • Dark mode support
  • Accessible UI/UX

🏘️ Community & Creator Economy

  • Public Communities: Join open groups tailored to specific interests (e.g., "Productivity Hackers")
  • Private Communities: exclusive invite-only groups for coaching cohorts or organizations
  • Coach Marketplace: Buy and sell specialized custom coaches using in-app tokens
  • Coach Sharing: Share your custom coaches with specific communities or publicly

⏰ Smart Actionable Reminders

  • Proactive Accountability: Coaches send you reminders based on your conversations
  • WhatsApp Check-ins: Receive morning briefings and evening reviews via WhatsApp
  • Context-Aware: Reminders are specific to your goals ("Did you finish that report?")

💰 Monetization Strategy

Free Tier

  • Access to 2 coaches (Productivity Pro, Budget Guru)
  • 1 custom coach with knowledge base
  • 10 minutes of voice calls per day
  • WhatsApp basic text chat and two voice notes per day with any of the two free coaches
  • Join public communities
  • Purchase custom coaches with tokens

🌟 Pro Tier ($9.99/month or $79.99/year)

  • All 6 default AI coaches
  • Unlimited custom coaches
  • AI-generated coach avatars
  • Unlimited voice call minutes
  • Create & manage Public/Private communities
  • WhatsApp voice replies & dashboard briefings
  • Sell custom coaches in the marketplace and Sell Coaches in your community too
  • Priority support

💎 Coach Marketplace (Creator Economy)

  • Virtual Currency ($TKN): Users buy tokens to unlock premium community coaches
  • Revenue Share: Creators earn a % of tokens spent on their coaches (Future roadmap)
  • Private Access: Coaches can be exclusive to private communities

Revenue Projections (Year 1)

  • Month 1-3: Focus on user acquisition (Target: 1,000 users, 10% conversion = $1,000 MRR)
  • Month 4-6: Community building (Target: 5,000 users, 12% conversion = $6,000 MRR)
  • Month 7-12: Scaling (Target: 20,000 users, 15% conversion = $30,000 MRR)

Annual Revenue Projection: $150,000-$200,000

How we built it

🏗️ Technical Architecture

Frontend

  • Framework: React Native with Expo Router v3
  • Language: TypeScript
  • State Management: Zustand
  • UI: Custom design system with react-native-reanimated
  • Voice Engine: Gemini Live API for real-time conversations
  • Platforms: iOS & Android

Backend

  • Platform: Nodejs and Supabase (BaaS)
  • Database: PostgreSQL with Row Level Security (RLS)
  • Edge Functions:
    • whatsapp-chat: WhatsApp webhook handler
    • notifications: Push notification dispatcher
    • send-reminders: Cron job for scheduled reminders
    • spend-tokens: Virtual currency management

Integrations

  • RevenueCat: Subscription management, paywalls, entitlements, virtual currency
  • Whatsapp Business API: WhatsApp messaging API
  • Google Gemini: AI conversation engine
  • Expo Notifications: Push notifications

Entitlements

  • Pro Entitlement: pro or elite or premium
  • Grants access to all 6 default coaches
  • Enables unlimited custom coaches, voice calls, and communities

Virtual Currency

  • Currency Code: TKN
  • Use Case: In-app marketplace for purchasing shared custom coaches
  • Integration: RevenueCat Virtual Currencies API with spend-tokens Edge Function

Paywall Experience

  • Trigger: Accessing Pro features (4 premium coaches, community creation, unlimited voice)
  • Design: Custom paywall with RevenueCat Offerings
  • CTAs: "Unlock All Coaches", "Try Pro Free" (if trial available)
  • Restore: Easy restore purchases button for existing subscribers

📊 Validation & Testing

TestFlight Distribution (iOS)

  1. Uploaded to App Store Connect
  2. Internal testing with 30+ beta testers
  3. External testing link available for judges

Google Play Internal Testing (Android)

  1. Uploaded to Google Play Console
  2. Internal testing track configured
  3. Access provided via tester email list

Key Metrics Tracked

  • User Engagement: Daily active users, session length
  • Conversion Rate: Free → Pro conversion
  • Retention: 7-day, 30-day retention rates
  • Revenue: MRR, ARPU, LTV
  • Voice Usage: Minutes per user per day

Challenges we ran into

  • Real-time Voice Latency: Achieving a "human-like" conversation speed was tough. We optimized our WebSocket handling with Gemini Live to get latency under 500ms.
  • Context Syncing: robustly syncing state between WhatsApp and the in-app experience was complex, ensuring that a voice note sent on WhatsApp appears instantly as a transcript in the app.
  • Privacy vs. Intelligence: Balancing deep personalization with privacy. We implemented RAG with encrypted vectors so the AI knows you without compromising security.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Seamless WhatsApp Integration: You can literally have a full coaching session without opening the app.
  • The "Deep Memory" System: It genuinely feels like the AI knows you. It recalls small details from weeks ago.
  • RevenueCat Implementation: features like Entitlements and Virtual Currencies were surprisingly easy to set up, allowing us to focus on the product rather than billing code.

What we learned

  • Context is King: The difference between a generic chatbot and a "Coach" is memory. RAG is essential for this.
  • Voice Changes Everything: Being able to "vent" to your AI coach while walking or driving changes the relationship dynamics completely.
  • RevenueCat is a Superpower: It saved us weeks of development time on IAP and subscription logic.

What's next for Aura

  • Wearable Integration: Apple Watch and Android Wear apps for quick coaching on the go.
  • Web Dashboard: A progressive web app for desktop power users.
  • Coach Revenue Share: Fully automating the payout system for creators who sell coaches in our marketplace.

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