Monk - The Monk Mode App

Inspiration

Scrolling culture is frying our generation’s brains. I built Monk as the #1 Monk Mode app to fight brainrot and spark a Mental Renaissance.

What it does

Monk locks your phone into Monk Mode, guides rituals that block distracting apps (Silent Start, Deep Work, Digital Sunset), and tracks your Monk Mode Score. More than a tool, it’s an identity.

How we built it

Designed in Figma with a cinematic Bruce Wayne aesthetic, built in Swift with RevenueCat SDK powering subscriptions. Launched with a film on YouTube, IG stunt, and an IRL Steve Jobs–style event at Yale — 50 students went Monk Mode live, turning the launch into a cultural activation.

Challenges we ran into

App Store review hurdles, Screen Time APIs, UI polish, and distilling a cultural vision into viral content.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• 1,000+ downloads within 48 hours of public launch
• 50K+ YouTube views (30K in the first 48h), 150K+ IG views, 30+ organic reposts
• 150+ 5-star reviews worldwide (including 50+ in the U.S. App Store)
• 100+ trial activations on $99 annuals in the first 48 hours through RevenueCat
• Monk’s design praised as ‘beautiful’ by top Gen Z app founders building $100K+/month apps
• Achieved entirely with $0 spent on ads or influencer pay — 100% organic, founder-led buzz

What we learned

Identity + status + design drive Gen Z adoption as much as features. Speed of iteration matters.

What's next for Monk - The Monk Mode App

Scale Monk as the official software of the Mental Renaissance: adding social components, challenges, deeper retention, and partnerships with anti-brainrot creators.

Built With

• figma
• firebase
• revenuecat
• screen-time-api
• swift
• testflight
• xcode