Hey friends 👋

Last month, I took on a challenge to build and launch a real iOS app — all while freelancing full-time hours and running a 30-day challenge for other indie developers inside the Indie App Accelerator community.

The result?
I built and launched a minimal app to help reset and refocus ADHD minds with one-minute breathing sessions.
Box Breathing – Calm ADHD Mind App was built in just 33 hours of actual development time spread across mornings and weekends.

📱 The Numbers After Launch

Here’s what the first month of real-world data looks like 👇

• 1.57K App Store impressions
• 404 product page views
• 16.3% conversion rate
• 142 total downloads
• 0 crashes (yay!)
• Average 2.8 sessions per user
• Top markets: Germany 🇩🇪, USA 🇺🇸, France 🇫🇷
• Primary source: 58% organic App Store Search

🧠 What Worked

1️⃣ Hard deadline is creative fuel.

With limited hours, I focused only on the breathing experience. No onboarding. No extra features. Just core functionality to solve the problem.

Constraints = clarity.

2️⃣ Launch before you polish.

My first user test failed — they couldn’t find the start button 😅.

It hurt, but that feedback was worth more than a month of overthinking.

3️⃣ Data from day one.

Adding Analytics (Mixpanel) immediately gave context: I could see where sessions dropped, what patterns repeated, and how users were using the App.

What I’d Do Differently

• Add onboarding right away (context is key, even for simple tools).
• Show progress or micro-rewards to boost engagement beyond week one.

The Bigger Lesson

This app is tiny — but it’s alive.
And it’s the clearest proof that indie developers can ship meaningful products in the cracks of daily life.

That's it for today. Keep shipping 🚀

Aivars