doingbetter

doingbetter delivers real-time AI coaching that feels magical and transformative, guiding people through mindset shifts, habit change, and personal growth.

Comment

Inspiration

Not so long ago I was going through a difficult personal phase. I began using ChatGPT and Claude as a daily journal and coach. First typing, then moved to voice dictation. It helped, but something felt missing. Eventually I tried using voice agents. This felt better, but it still didn't feel like how a real session with a coach or therapist would feel. I missed being guided through a session, phases, special moments, and an AI that would gently move through various topics, going at my own pace. Something that had the magic of talking to an actual real person, that knows and understands you.

When I saw the shipyard contest's ideas something clicked. What if I could build an experience that felt like calling a real person? An AI experience with presence, memory, phases, skills, and a face that feels alive. Something that could talk to me like a real coach would, guide me through a real session, and feel real at every moment. That’s when doingbetter was born.

I wanted to build a real-time coaching experience that feels human, immersive, and transformative.

What it does

doingbetter is a real-time AI coaching avatar platform.

You open the app, call your coach, and start talkin, just like FaceTiming a personal friend. It helps you prepare for meetings, shift mindset, build habits, and reflect on life.

I personally use it while driving to work or sometimes before heading into meetings. A short session can completely change how I show up, get my mind together and build habits.

It’s designed to feel magical.

How we built it

The app is built with React Native on the frontend, Express and Python on the backend, and integrates OpenAI, LiveKit, ElevenLabs, Simli, and Letta.

At its core is a custom coaching engine:

  • A brain for real-time conversation
  • A brain for deep reasoning and pattern analysis
  • Long-term memory across sessions
  • A YAML-based prompt system with configurable phases and skills

Coaches operate in phases (intro, coaching, reflection, meditation) and dynamically activate skills like clarity, mindset shifts, or decision support.

There was no framework that could do this out of the box, so I built the entire pipeline myself.

Three weeks. Late nights. Weekends. Lots of debugging.

Challenges we ran into

  • Making voice, avatar lip-sync, memory, and multi-brain logic work together within reasonable round-trip times to make conversations feel natural
  • Designing prompts that feel natural instead of robotic
  • Creating coaching that feels alive, not scripted
  • Balancing real-time speed with deep reasoning
  • Creating a feeling of a 'session' taking place, being 'guided'

The biggest challenge was making it feel magical.

Because for this project, conversation IS the UX. conversation IS the magic.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • A working real-time AI coaching avatar
  • Persistent memory across sessions
  • Multi-phase coaching flows with dynamic skills
  • A creator MVP that lets anyone build their own coach
  • Most importantly: a coaching experience that genuinely feels alive

Being able to instantly call your coach and have a meaningful conversation still feels surreal.

What we learned

This entire project was coded with AI.

I hadn’t seriously programmed in over 15 years yet here I am shipping a full real-time AI system. It showed me how powerful human creativity becomes when paired with AI.

Also: transformation doesn’t come from features.

It comes from presence.

What's next for doingbetter

Next steps focus on making the experience even more real:

  • Journaling connected directly to your coach
  • Scheduled sessions where your coach calls you
  • WhatsApp-style voice notes between sessions
  • Multiple session types (quick check-ins, deep coaching, meditation)
  • Surveys and reflections between meetings

On the creator side:

  • Multi-phase coach builders
  • Skill injection via forms
  • Advanced prompt configuration
  • Data-driven refinement based on real user sessions

The goal is to empower anyone to create magical, transformative coaching experiences, not just consume them.

doingbetter is currently in closed beta.

Built With

Share this project:

Updates