SmallStep - AI Mini Coach

SmallStep - An AI-powered mini coach that creates bite-sized daily plans from your prompts - so progress feels simple, not overwhelming.

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Inspiration

SmallStep began with a simple observation: many people, like my friend Alice, have big goals — whether it’s improving health, building wealth, or creating better habits. But they often feel overwhelmed, starting too many plans at once and not knowing the exact steps to take each day.

That sparked a bigger question: what if AI could act as a mini coach, turning vague goals into short, actionable daily plans?

Instead of endless to-do lists or generic advice, Alice could just type a goal and instantly receive a structured, personalized plan — complete with smart reminders and progress tracking. That idea gave birth to SmallStep.

That moment gave birth to the idea of an AI mini coach—and SmallStep was created.

What it does

SmallStep is an iOS app that transforms any goal or prompt into a short, actionable daily plan. Each plan spans a few days, with daily tasks organized into clear, shareable task cards.

  • Task design: Each task comes with one or more AI-recommended times, and users receive smart local reminders to stay on track.
  • Completion flow: Users can mark tasks as complete directly from reminders or within the app.
  • Plan lifecycle: At the end of each plan, users can choose to repeat the plan, generate AI insights, view streak reports, or archive it.

Unlike generic motivation apps, SmallStep focuses on bite-sized, practical steps that are easy to follow and fit seamlessly into real life.

How we built it

  • iOS app: Built with SwiftUI for a smooth, modern user experience.
  • AI engine: A Next.js REST API interacts with cloud-based generative AI APIs to interpret user prompts and generate personalized, step-by-step plans.
  • Data handling: Plans are stored locally with Core Data, keeping the app lightweight and responsive even offline.
  • Subscriptions: Integrated RevenueCat API to manage the paywall and handle Starter/Pro subscription tiers (monthly and annual).
  • Rapid iteration: Used a ChatGPT-assisted “vibe coding” workflow to speed up prototyping, testing, and UI/UX experimentation.

Challenges we ran into

  • Balance between simplicity and usefulness: Making sure daily plans were short enough to feel doable but still meaningful.
  • Prompt variety: Users can enter goals in many different ways, so fine-tuning AI responses to handle diverse inputs was tricky.
  • iOS integration: Managing Core Data and smooth UI state updates required careful debugging.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • Turned a raw idea into a working iOS prototype within the hackathon timeframe.
  • Created a personalized mini coach experience that feels approachable and motivating.
  • Designed an app flow that transforms just a few words from the user into a practical, structured plan.

What we learned

  • The importance of scope—focusing on small, achievable outputs (mini plans) makes AI feel more helpful and less overwhelming.
  • How to combine AI APIs with iOS development quickly in a hackathon setting.
  • That even a simple UX flow can be powerful if it makes the user feel supported and guided.
  • How to build a polished SwiftUI interface with zero experience using formal design tools like Figma—by relying purely on coding, drawing inspiration from posts on X, and iterating with ChatGPT’s guidance to refine the design.

What's next for SmallStep - AI Mini Coach

  • UI/UX upgrades to align with the latest iOS 26 design language.
  • Widget support for quick access to daily plans and task progress right from the home screen.
  • Longer-term: integrate wearables or Apple Health to generate plans based on real activity and wellness data.
  • Marketing & growth: focus on App Store Optimization (ASO), organic content marketing, and community engagement to reach early users and grow adoption.
  • Expanding localizations: currently supports English, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese — with more languages coming soon.

Built With

  • nextjs
  • revenuecat
  • swift
  • swiftui
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