Lumio - AI Coaching Platform

Lumio makes expert coaching accessible to everyone. Choose from 6 specialized AI coaches—from career growth to personal finance—add your personal context once, and get tailored guidance instantly.

Comment

Inspiration

Simon (BetterCreating) identified a crucial problem: coaching delivers massive ROI but remains inaccessible to most people due to high costs and scheduling friction. We saw an opportunity to democratize expert coaching through AI—making it instant, affordable, and tailored to individual needs without complex setup.

What it does

Lumio is a minimal, beautiful AI coaching platform where users can:

  • Browse 6 specialized AI coaches (Career Navigator, Productivity Pro, Fitness Guide, Money Mentor, Relationship Counselor, Founder's Friend)
  • Add personal context once (about themselves, goals, challenges) that persists across all conversations
  • Have meaningful coaching conversations with domain-specific expertise
  • Access chat history and resume conversations anytime
  • Start with 10 free messages, then unlock unlimited coaching for $9.99/month via RevenueCat

How we built it

  • Frontend: React with TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and shadcn/ui components for a clean, modern interface
  • Backend: Supabase for authentication, database, and real-time features
  • AI: Claude API with custom system prompts for each coach personality, streaming responses for real-time feel
  • Monetization: RevenueCat Web SDK integrated with Stripe for seamless subscription management
  • Platform: Built on Lovable for rapid prototyping and iteration, deployed as a PWA-ready web app

Challenges we ran into

  • Context injection: Designing a system where user context feels natural in conversations without overwhelming the AI or feeling repetitive
  • Message counting: Implementing accurate message limits across multiple conversations and ensuring they sync properly with subscription status
  • Streaming UX: Creating smooth streaming responses that feel responsive while handling edge cases like network interruptions
  • RevenueCat integration: Working with the Web SDK to properly track entitlements and handle subscription state changes

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Built a fully functional MVP in under a week that genuinely solves the accessibility problem
  • Created 6 distinct coach personalities with clear expertise areas, not just a generic chatbot
  • Achieved the "minimal, beautiful" design Simon requested—clean UI with thoughtful interactions
  • Implemented a natural upgrade flow that doesn't feel pushy (paywall appears after 10 messages)
  • Made coaching truly instant—no appointments, no onboarding friction, just pick a coach and start

What we learned

  • The importance of domain-specific AI coaching vs. generic chatbots—users respond better to focused expertise
  • How critical personal context is for AI coaching quality—small details about goals and challenges dramatically improve responses
  • Freemium monetization works best when the free tier provides real value first (10 quality coaching messages)
  • Users want simplicity over features—we cut many "nice-to-haves" to maintain the minimal experience

What's next for Lumio - AI Coaching Platform

  • Custom coach creation: Let Pro users build and share their own specialized coaches
  • Goal tracking: Help users set concrete goals and track progress over time
  • Voice mode: Add voice input/output for more natural coaching sessions
  • Team plans: Enable organizations to provide coaching access to their teams
  • Mobile apps: Native iOS/Android apps for push notifications and deeper OS integration
  • Coach marketplace: Let expert coaches create and monetize their own AI coach personas

Built With

Share this project:

Updates