About the Project - GrowMe
Inspiration
Two deeply personal experiences inspired me to build GrowMe.
First, I resonated profoundly with Simon's work. His YouTube channel speaks to everything I value: minimalist design, attention to detail, typography, productivity systems, and that unmistakable Apple aesthetic. As a fellow design-focused creator and absolute Apple fanboy, I see so much of myself in how Simon communicates. That connection made me want to create something that would genuinely align with his vision and philosophy.
But the deeper inspiration came from my own journey. I was diagnosed with ADHD at a very young age. Over the years, I've had therapy, and since moving into management, I've experienced extensive personalized coaching. I've witnessed firsthand how transformational good coaching can be—how the right guidance at the right moment can fundamentally shift your perspective and unlock new possibilities.
The problem? High-quality coaching remains inaccessible to most people. It's expensive, time-consuming, and requires knowing which type of coach you even need. I wanted to bridge that gap with AI, but not by building another ChatGPT wrapper. I wanted to approach it from a coach's perspective: implicit action over explicit configuration.
What it does
GrowMe is a voice-first AI coaching app designed around a fundamental insight: when you need coaching, you don't yet have clarity—that's why you need coaching in the first place. So the app doesn't make you configure everything upfront.
Instead, GrowMe adapts to you as you talk. The AI automatically selects from specialist coaching archetypes (Goals, Vision, Clarity, Decision-Making, etc.) and applies established coaching frameworks and techniques to guide you toward solutions. It's heavily inspired by Simon's AgentOS mode-switching system—taking that beautiful concept and applying it to coaching.
Key features:
- Multiple specialist coaches with distinct styles, frameworks, and tools
- Automatic coach selection based on conversation context
- Voice-first interface with a calm, minimal design that gets out of your way
- User context system where you can input your values, goals, and current challenges
- Remote configuration via Storyblok CMS so the coaching experience continuously evolves
- Built-in monetization through RevenueCat paywalls on premium coaches and frameworks
- Session memory that builds on previous conversations
- Actionable takeaways at the end of every session
Most importantly, you stay in control. Every AI suggestion can be overridden. You can switch coaches, change frameworks—whatever you need. Because coaching is for the client, not the coach.
How I built it
I built GrowMe as a solo developer using my go-to iOS development stack:
- Cursor for AI-assisted development
- The Composable Architecture (TCA) for unidirectional data flow and state management
- SwiftUI for the native iOS interface
- RevenueCat SDK for subscription and paywall management
- Storyblok CMS for remotely configurable coaching content
- OpenAI API for the LLM integration
The architecture follows TCA patterns with clear separation of concerns. Each feature exposes State, Action, and Reducer types, with dependencies injected via TCA's dependency system. The coaching content (coaches, frameworks, techniques, tools) is structured in Storyblok, allowing me to add new coaches and update the coaching experience without shipping new app versions.
The UI embraces minimalism and voice interaction. I designed it with Simon's aesthetic sensibilities in mind: calming colors, thoughtful typography, subtle ambient feedback. The app gets out of your way so you can focus on the conversation with your coach.
Challenges I ran into
The time crunch was intense. With a February 12th deadline and another project running in parallel, every hour counted.
The biggest challenge was the beginning. I had no initial spark, no clear vision of what this should be. I was unsure how to even start. But I made a crucial decision: dive in headfirst and figure it out along the way.
That exploratory approach became the key to success. Instead of trying to plan everything upfront, I asked myself a simple question: How would a coach design this app? That question unlocked everything. It led me to the "implicit action over explicit configuration" principle, to the specialist coach model, to the automatic coach selection system.
Technical challenges included:
- Designing a modular coaching system that's flexible yet opinionated
- Building automatic coach selection that feels natural, not mechanical
- Balancing voice-first interaction with visual feedback
- Structuring remotely-configurable content in Storyblok
- Making the app feel calm and unintimidating while delivering sophisticated coaching
I learned to focus on the absolute essentials and ship something functional rather than get lost in feature creep. I learned to find my own voice in the project, to make it mine rather than just copying what exists.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
Despite building apps professionally for over nine years, I'm genuinely proud of how quickly I went from zero to a functional, beautiful coaching app.
I'm proud that I found the spark during the process rather than waiting for inspiration to strike. The "coach-first principle" emerged from exploration, not planning.
I'm proud of the design aesthetic—it genuinely feels like something Simon would appreciate. Minimal, calming, voice-first, with that attention to detail that makes Apple products special.
Most of all, I'm proud that I made it my own. This isn't just a generic AI app. It has a clear point of view, a distinct philosophy, and a genuine attempt to solve a real problem in a thoughtful way.
What I learned
About coaching: I dove deep into coaching frameworks (GROW, CLEAR, OSKAR), techniques, and how professional coaches structure conversations. I learned how coaches hold space, ask powerful questions, and guide without directing.
About rapid development: Even after nine years of iOS development, this hackathon taught me how to move faster by focusing ruthlessly on essentials. Cursor and modern AI tooling have changed what's possible in a short timeframe.
About finding your voice: I learned that sometimes you don't need the spark before you start. Sometimes you find it by doing, by exploring, by asking the right questions and following where they lead.
About the power of constraints: The time pressure and tight deadline forced clarity. I couldn't build everything, so I had to build what mattered.
What's next for GrowMe - High quality coaching for any situation
My immediate priority is getting GrowMe into users' hands to gather real feedback. I want to understand how people actually use it, where they get stuck, what coaching scenarios matter most to them.
From there, I have three key features planned:
1. Automatic insight generation — The AI should be able to detect when users share profound insights or revelations during coaching sessions, highlight them, and help users integrate those learnings.
2. Follow-up and accountability mode — The AI should be able to hold you accountable to commitments you made in previous sessions. "Last week you said you'd have that conversation with your manager. How did it go?"
3. Progression tracking with checkpoints — Coaching is a journey, and the app should help visualize that journey with meaningful milestones and progress markers.
Beyond features, I'd love to partner with someone to keep developing GrowMe and make it genuinely great—to turn this hackathon project into something that helps people access the kind of transformational coaching I've been fortunate enough to experience.
Because high-quality coaching shouldn't be a luxury. It should be accessible to everyone who needs it.
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