Week 1 of launching #kobofxapp on the App Store.

50 downloads.

99,950 downloads to go.

This should be a fun journey.

Got a bunch of bugs that need to be addressed on android.

I also think it's time to update the landing page.

#buildinpublic

Distribution of #kobofxapp users on mobile.

There are still a bunch of bugs on android I haven't addressed yet.

It's gonna be a busy week....😎😎

#buildinpublic

How do you convert a bug into a feature?

I released @KoboFxApp iOS app on Friday and less than 12 hours in I get my first MAJOR bug report from users.

It turns out the iPhone app did not work when users had "dark mode" on.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

No testing server, no staging server, none of that.

Why's that?

Well the code started as a prototype to quickly test WhatsApp's api.

Turns out, WhatsApp's API does not give you a staging / production server option when deploying...lol

and...

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

It still blows my mind what you can achieve by simply tweeting about ur progress...🤯🤯

- Thousands of people have typed 'rates' to check rates on #kobofxapp WhatsApp bot.

- There are WhatsApp group where it's been recommended by folks organically. .🤩

#buildinpublic

The last few months have been the most difficult.

There's a quote from Mike Tyson that's defined it.

"Everybody has a plan till they get punched in the mouth".

I thought I had an investor lined up for #kobofxapp but he pulled out last minute

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

The last few months have been the most difficult.

There's a quote from Mike Tyson that's defined it.

"Everybody has a plan till they get punched in the mouth".

I thought I had an investor lined up for #kobofxapp but he pulled out last minute

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

5 more reviews for @KoboFxApp to hit 100 reviews.

Super Stoked.....🤩🤩.

Loving the feedback from everyone.

Thanks a lot....👏🏾👏🏾

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

How to start a side project in 30 days.
Day 1:
Get a twitter handle @kobofxapp
#kobofxapp

Two things I track religiously with #kobofxapp.

- The number of bugs in production
- Response times for users.

Released an update on Sunday, and the number of bugs have gone down significantly....😍😍.

P.S there is no perfect software.

#buildinpublic

This weeks wins..💪🏾

- Hit the highest DAU for #kobofxapp since launch.🤩

- Got some really good feedback from daily users, will address next week.

- Overall, users gave us a 4.7 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#buildinpublic

Hit the highest Daily Active Users (DAU) for #kobofxapp today.....🤯🤯🤯

#buildinpublic

As a solopreneur you spend a LOT of time by urself.

You build something, and you wonder if folks find it useful at all.

I sent out my first survey to folks using #kobofxapp and here are the results so far.

I think the people have spoken...🤩🤩🤩

#buildinpublic

In the last few weeks I have spent $0 in marketing #kobofxapp and yet users keep signing up.

There are only two possible explanations.

- My meme game is 🔥🔥 on social media..🤣🤣

- Users ❤️ it so much they are referring their friends.

Either way it's fun

#buildinpublic

A recurring theme from @startupschool.

Talk to your users
Talk to your users
Talk to your users.

Finally nailed the first user survey for #kobofxapp
Goes out to our most active users tomorrow.

#buildinpublic

How to get a logo when u r bootstrapping.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

Yesterday I hacked together the first version of #kobofxapp for @telegram.

The fun part is that the bot was developed in one sitting.

I signed up for telegram around noon, bot was released at 11:30pm.

The bot is now available at t.me/kobofx_bot

#buildinpublic

When u r bootstrapping your company,
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) hits different.

There's a conference I'm thinking of attending, there will be a ton of 🇳🇬🇺🇸, My exact target market for #kobofxapp.

Dude, airline ticket prices are crazy....🤯🤯

#buildinpublic

A fantastic morning to all modern day Dads out there.

Building and Baby-sitting…😂😂

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

- You can also see details of the Highest and Lowest rates for every currency so you know if u r getting a fair offer.
- If you use the bot, type 'kobo' to try the new command.
- Update rolls out for everyone starting Monday
- Have a great weekend....✌🏾

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

A few small wins for the week.
- We've hit version 1.0 for #kobofxapp bot...🎉🎉
- We now separate buy rate from sell rate (our most requested feature).
- Rates are now updated 3 times a day 11am, 1pm and after 3pm....💪🏾
- We now report 🇨🇳 ¥ (Ndị Igbo Kwenu..🙏🏾)

#buildinpublic

I think we have a contender for v0.5....🤩🤩

What do y'all think?

Not sure about the search bar at the top.

Not sure of an image header, might use a gradient instead.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

Long Day but I think we have a contender for v0.5....🤩🤩

What do y'all think?

Not sure about the search bar at the top.

Not sure of an image, might use a gradient instead.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

How It Started ➡️ How It's going .

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

The best day of #kobofxapp are when you have new users with zero ad spend....🤩🤩

#buildinpublic

A few small wins for the week...💪🏾

- Optimized #kobofxapp's home page for SEO, seems it's now paying off.

- We had the most DAU of @KoboFxApp WhatsApp bot yesterday still 🤯 on demand

- Changed the way we report rates, and the team is testing reporting 🇨🇳 ¥

#buildinpublic

A week ago @jayodeji_ told me WhatsApp opened it's messaging platform to all developers.

I knew the potential would be huge for #kobofxapp,

A couple hours ago, I released version 1 of the @KoboFxApp bot and the response has been crazzzy....🤩🤩🤩

#buildinpublic

Me this summer, when we meet in person:
- How's ur summer coming along?
- Have u downloaded @KoboFxApp ?
- Have u left a review?

We can only continue the conversation after u have answered yes to number 2 & 3....🤩🤩

Almost ready....🙌🏾🙌🏾

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

When I was a young kid in Nigeria, I wanted to be a millionaire.

This is the equivalent of ₦30,000,000 to Dollars (USD) using @KoboFxApp and today's street rate

Life Lesson:

Make sure u dream in the right currency

#buildinpublic
#uiuxdesign
#kobofxapp
#uidesign

When I was a young kid in Nigeria, I wanted to be a millionaire.

This is the equivalent of ₦30,000,000 Naira to dollars (USD) using today's street rate using @KoboFxApp

Life Lesson:

Make sure u dream in the right currency

#buildinpublic
#uiuxdesign
#kobofxapp
#uidesign

Dear Nigerians in the UK,

We are creating an app that gives you the best street rates for your hard earned British pounds...💪🏾

We'll be launching soon.

Follow us for updates

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp
#Nigeria
#nigeriansinuk

One drawback of doing dev, qa, and marketing is that you ship a promotional video with a bug.🫣

This previous video had a bug, notice that when the user switches 🇬🇧, It still shows the $.

Here's the updated video without the bug.

#buildinpublic
#uidesign
#uiux
#kobofxapp twitter.com/iamugoumeh/sta…

How do you compare "official rates" with "street rates" before you send money to your loved ones in Nigeria?

Use #kobofxapp

Coming soon. Follow us for updates

#buildinpublic
#Nigerians
#nigeriansinuk
#Nigeria
#uidesign
#uiuxdesign
#uiux

You know you have achieved Product Market Fit when

ur product's twitter page is getting more video views than your twitter page.

Because: We can use "video views" to pay for server costs...😂😂😂

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

Dear Nigerians in the UK,

We are creating an app that gives you the best street rates for your hard earned British pounds...💪🏾

We'll be launching soon.

Follow us for updates

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp
#Nigeria
#nigeriansinuk

Android users, we haven't forgotten about you.

Been steady fixing bugs, here's a sample calculation for converting £ to ₦ using @KoboFxApp.

P.S the calculator uses daily street rates updated daily,
Getting closer to releasing.
#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp
#uiux
#uxresearch

🚨 F**k It, Ship It Fridays 🚨

A currency calculator that allows you to see how major currencies converts to the Naira using black market rates.

For e.g what is ₦5M to USD ? when converted using @KoboFxApp

kobofx.app/currency-conve…

#buildinpublic
#KoboFxApp
#uiuxdesign

🚨 F**k It, Ship It Fridays 🚨

A simple tool that shows you the "street rate" of major currencies in Nigeria sorted by dates.

Same data @KoboFxApp uses when it launches.

Best viewed on a desktop, but responsive.

kobofx.app/naira-to-black…

#buildinpublic
#uiuxdesign
#KoboFxApp

First draft at trying to get the landing page for @KoboFxApp responsive.
That animation looking a bit janky. I wonder if folks notice?...🤔🤔
#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp
#uiuxdesign

Here's the first draft of the currency calculator for the landing page for @kobofxapp

You can convert currencies from $, €,or £ ⇄ ₦ using the "street rate".

Useful for when your village people call asking you to send money...😂

#buildinpublic
#uiuxdesign
#kobofxapp

The first landing page for @KoboFxApp was done in 4 hours.

It has a 3.2% conversion rate. not bad for a page with zero marketing so far.

Taking the time to clarify the messaging in the redesign.

Here's the 2nd draft of version 1.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp
#uiuxdesign

One step closer to releasing the first tool for the new landing page.

Do you see the bugs in that Calendar component?

Not responsive ready yet.

Not sure about that font yet.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

I had an insightful conversation on WhatsApp a few minutes ago and it confirmed two hunches I've had.

- @KoboFxApp might be a data company...🤷🏾‍♂️

- Every Nigerian founder who has raised money in dollars now runs an "unofficial" digital BDC....🤣🤣

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

Landing page redesign for @KoboFxApp v1 and questions.

What do you think?....👇🏾

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp
#uiuxdesign

Redesigning the landing page for @KoboFxApp, and I am blown away by how much I don't know about the basics of search engine optimization....🤯🤯🤯

The beauty is there is so much to learn.

Person wey dey ask question no dey miss road.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

💡I don’t know who needs to hear this but u are given free AWS credits “as benefits”,

It takes 7 - 10 business days for AWS to verify ur startup before applying the credits to ur account.

Make sure u account for that time when planning.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

One beauty of building in public:

You get to kill your ego

My 2022 resolution:

Kill my ego.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

🚨 Friday Update 🚨

The team's process for getting rates for @KoboFxApp is going smooth....#winning on that front...💪🏾💪🏾

We got 4/5 of the rates on times....Friday's rate didn't come on time....🫤

Need 4 more days of rates on time so we can ship

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

Here's version 2 (V2)

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp
#uiuxdesign

Hey guys,

I could use ur vote here.

Redesigning the app store page.

Which of these two designs do you prefer for the app store?

Version 1 (v1)

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp
#uiuxdesign

For some weird reason it's recommended that you do not set up more than 3 email addresses in your new domain.

Not sure the reasoning behind this, but I'll investigate further and report next week.

Have fun shipping this week...💪🏾💪🏾
#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

💡 to warm up your domain, manually send your first set of emails to people you know.

We know the most popular clients are apple, google, outlook and yahoo.

Test manually send emails to your friends in those clients and ask them where it ends up.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

- It takes ~ 3 months for your new domain to gain trust among email providers.

- Do not send emails with "suspicious frequency". So, gradually onboard users versus sending 100 emails at once helps you build trust with email providers.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

The most popular email clients used to view emails.

- Apple 60.66%
- Gmail 26.50%
- Outlook: 4.09%
- Yahoo mail: 3.33%

While in dev, make sure emails are shown properly in these clients before pushing to prod.

Source..👇🏾
litmus.com/email-client-m…

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

There are also a bunch of performance improvements I've also made to the app, but I'll save that for next time.

Have a great week ahead.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp.

We'll be running the tests again this week, and assuming we can nail down the timing, we should be ready to submit to the app stores by Sunday....🤞🏾🤞🏾

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic

The times shown above are when the analysts reported their rates, but we still need enough buffer for the supervisors to validate and correct rates before the end users get them.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

However, there is the human factor I need to account for.

The rates have to be available to our end users by 11:00am and 3:00pm WAT each morning.

So far internally, we are still cutting it close.

These are the times from last week (in PST)....👇🏾

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

The second set of user is a "kobofx supervisor'.

This is someone who validates the first user's input and makes sure that the rates are put in on time.

I've been working on this, and the team finally used it last week with minimal bugs...💪🏾💪🏾

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

The most important part of the backend is that it had to have two types of users.

The first user is called a "kobofx analyst". This is someone who calls currency dealers and uses the system to report the rates twice a day.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

What happened to the launch of @KoboFxApp

Here's what's been going on behind the scenes.

When I was about to push KoboFxApp into the app store I realized that we did not have a repeatable process for getting our backend data (among other things)...👇🏾

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

Going down the rabbit hole of email marketing today.

I'll have a thread to answer the following questions by Monday.

Best practices to avoid the spam folder?

WTF is DMARC & SPF, why should I care?

Best days to send emails? Top email clients?

#buildinpublic
#koboFxApp

Today was a great day...🤩🤩

✅ Made pancakes for wifey. She ❤️ pancakes.

✅ Developed a cron job for getting official currency rates.

✅ Test for cron job is passing.

Throw in 45 minutes on the peloton tonight and you have a fantastic day.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxApp

Wrote some backend code, and a custom "500" error page.

A "500 error" means something went wrong with the server

I think this adds a bit of fun to it.

It's parody on "Houston, we have a problem"...😂😂

Should I add the kobofx Logo?...🤔

#buildinpublic
#kobofxApp

How it started → How it's going.

Everyday team members update rates, we pick the median rate, update the @KoboFxApp and present the rates to our users.

We've been testing for the last 30 days, will share insights soon.

#behindthescenes
#buildinpublic
#kobofxApp

This is sooooo annoyingly simple..I'll probably write a thread next week about widgets to help some dev out there pulling hair over widgets.....😱😱😱
#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

Finalllllllllyyyyyy figured out how to add custom fonts to widgets on iOS......💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾
#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

Oh what a time, to be alive**

Think about it for a minute.

You can sit down in your sweatpants, create a company,
without asking anyone for permission, and have a blast
along the wayy!!!

**In Drake's voice

#buildinpublic
#koboFxApp
#indiehackers

💡Today I learned there is a http server response code when a payment is required by the client to view a resource.

Server responds with 402. Payment required....😀😀

View details here...👇🏾

developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web…

#bootstrapping
#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

So releasing this would have given folks a sub-par experience for at least a week before sending out a fix.

Will have updates in the next few days.....Have a fabulous week ahead folks.

We keep moving....💪🏾💪🏾

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic

So I'm currently working on a fix and we should be ready in a few days.

The tricky part about building for mobile is gatekeepers have to review and approve your app before it's released to users.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

It's a weird bug, I know the exact cause of it, but I didn't think it would be this bad in a real world setting.

The problem with releasing a product like this to the wild is that users (especially Nigerians) are unforgiving on first impressions.

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

A little bummed we couldn't release on Friday....🙃

Releasing for mobile is a bit trickier than releasing for the web.

Was playing around with the app on Friday and this happened...👇🏾

It was taking over 10 seconds to get rates from the server...🤬🤬

#buildinpublic
#kobofxapp

The beauty of creating stuff for your niche is that very few people will understand your sense of humor except your niche.

To the average person, this makes no sense, to a Nigerian Immigrant it might make just them smile....🤣🤣🤣

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 30:

One last bug fix and we submit to the app stores tonight....🚀🚀🚀

It's gonna be a loooooooong dayyyyyyyyyy...😅😅😅

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 29:

Bug Fixing.

I hope I get it all fixed in time for tomorrow....🤞🏾🤞🏾

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping

It must be as simple as changing the Xcode setting to iOS 14 right?

Then this happened....👇🏾

More bug fixes, 2 days to go.

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping

It doesn't seem like a big deal until you factor in that Apple has sold a billion devices and you realize that's a really sizable market.

Also, that data reported by Apple has "some massaging" that's been done.

Can you see it ?..🤔
#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping

"Target settings" is a fancy way of saying which version of iOS do you support.

The default setting is iOS 15.

Here's the issue, currently iOS 15 has a "72% adoption rate" according to Apple.

Here's the source
developer.apple.com/support/app-st…

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 28:

I made a rookie iOS mistake, here's what you can learn from it.

So when building in iOS, I went with the default Xcode "target settings".

A big mistake here's why...👇🏾

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 27:

Bug Fixing

Can you identify the UI bug in the screen below? .

Hint:

It's in the iPhone SE screen, look at the T&C text and the 'X' button.

3 days to launch.....🚀🚀🚀

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping
#uiuxdesign

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 26:

Testing every corner case before launch.

Hope you had a great weekend.

4 days to launch.....🚀🚀🚀

Happy Monday

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping
#uiuxdesign

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 25:

First Draft of the widgets for android.
not sure about that right arrow to the right.
5 days to Launch...💪🏾💪🏾

Have a great weekend. See ya on Monday!

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping
#uiuxdesign

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 24:

Bug Fixing....🔫🔫
Some days are like this....🙃🙃🙃
6 days to Launch...💪🏾💪🏾

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#Bootstrapping

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 23:
Onboarding view for android.....🤔🤔🤔
7 days to Launch...💪🏾💪🏾

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping
#uiuxdesign

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 22:

Pricing view for android.

Still rethinking that copy though..too technical?....🤔🤔🤔
8 days to Launch...💪🏾💪🏾

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping
#uiuxdesign

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 21:

Logout / Login view for android.

Too much whitespace???.....🙃🙃🙃

9 days to Launch...💪🏾💪🏾

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping
#uiuxdesign

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 20:

The First Draft of the Calculator settings View for android.

The TextField still needs to be worked on.

10 business day to launch....💪🏾💪🏾

Have a great weekend

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping

I think the text still seems "too technical".

We need to run a test to see if I'm right or wrong.

That's all for today,

Can't believe we'll be live in 11 days.....🤩🤩🤩

The crazy part is the last mile is typically the hardest..💪🏾💪🏾

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping

When you have UI/UX mockups or fancy animation? No

You have a business when you have customers that have PAID you for a service.

I present to you the most important view of all the days so far, The pricing design...👇🏾

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 19:

At what point do you have a business?

When you have wireframes? No
When you have a fancy landing page? No
When you have impressions on your landing page? No

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#bootstrapping

Let's fix that by
- adding a status spinner that lets the user know that we are processing their request,

- add a notification at the end that lets the user know that we received their email.
#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic

The first rule of Usability Experience design is that the user should always be kept informed of the system's status.

In our current landing page design, the user has no clue they have submitted their email

Check out the video below for the UX bug
#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 18:

Today we'll turn a bug on our landing page to learnable moment about usability...💡

Lets get started...
#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#uiuxdesign

The first rule of Usability Experience design is that the user should always be kept informed of the system's status.

In our current landing page design, the user has no clue they have submitted their email

Check out the video below for the UX bug
#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic

How to start a side project in 30 days.

Day 18:

Today we'll turn a bug on our landing page to learnable moment about usability...💡

Lets get started...
#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#uiuxdesign

Day 17:

UI / UX progress:

Our semi-last view....the settings for our FX Calculator....😅😅😅

There's a bug in there, lemme know if you see it.

What are your thoughts on the font selection?
Next, we'll start the backend code

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#uiuxdesign

I think it's crazy what you can achieve by simply being consistent.

This is based on 21 days of being consistent.

P.S This is not a mock-up, this is actual code.

If you want to see the full story, check out my timeline for Day 1.

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic

Day 16:

UI / UX progress:

Our Intro / Onboarding Screen.

We have 1 more screen to go and we can move to our backend code & user research

Happy Monday!...have a great week ahead

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#uiuxdesign

Really looking forward to the week ahead.

So much to learn, so much to share.

It should be illegal to have this much fun while doing what you love....😍😍😍

#kobofxapp
#buildinpublic
#nwayonwayo