Hey everyone,

I'm planning to build and publish an app on the App Store, but I'm stuck at the very first step: figuring out what app to actually build.

My main goal is to create something that can:

• Attract real users (not just friends and family downloading it out of pity 😅)
• Have a realistic path to generating income (ads, subscriptions, one-time purchase, freemium — open to any model)
• Be something I can realistically build and maintain as a solo dev / small team

A bit about me:

• I'm still learning to code (mostly beginner/intermediate level with Swift/basic app dev), so I'm looking for something achievable, not a huge project
• I can realistically dedicate around 10-15 hours a week to this
• I have zero marketing/growth experience — this would be my first time trying to actually promote something I built

I've seen a lot of "app idea" lists online, but most of them feel either way too saturated (another to-do list app, another habit tracker) or way too ambitious for one person to build and market alone.

So I'd love to hear from people who've actually shipped something:

1. What kind of app idea worked well for you in terms of getting real users?
2. Looking back, what's a niche or problem that's still underserved on the App Store right now?
3. Any advice on validating an idea before spending weeks building it?

Appreciate any thoughts, even brutally honest ones. Thanks in advance! 🙏

Hi everyone,

My friend and I are trying to build an app for a competition with a deadline in October, and we're trying to figure out whether our idea is realistic given our experience level.

I know a bit of Python, mainly basic concepts like variables, conditionals, but I'm definitely still a begginer. My friend has no programming experience. We would be building this for iOS and neither of us has built a complete app before.

The app we have in mind is somewhat similar to Finch. Users would complete certain tasks to earn points or energy which would then help an avatar.

Another component is that users would be able to take a picture of an object, and the app would analyze the image and generate a list of ideas based on what it sees. We would likely use an AI API for both image analysis and generating the ideas. This is the part I am the least clear on though, and while its a pretty important part of our concept if it turns out to be too complicated we're open to not doing it. Also, I think API with AI costs money and our budget is like 200 dollars.

Our deadline is in October, so we have a few months to learn and build. We've made sketches(?) of the UI and I started learning dart basics through a youtube video posted in 2023 so I don't know how up to date it is. My friend is mainly using ai to making basic test apps on flutter.

Its a student competition so I don't think the judges expect the apps to be perfect but a working demo is needed to apply.

How realistic is this project for two beginners to complete by October? What would be the best way for us to approach learning and building it? Should we simplify the idea significantly, or is this achievable?

Just wanted to throw my name out there if anyone is currently stuck on a Flutter project involving video calling or live streaming.

I specialize in WebRTC and Agora integration. If you're dealing with frustrating stream lag, connection drops, or STUN/TURN server configuration issues, I can jump into your codebase and help you iron it out.

I've got some free time this week, so I'm totally open to taking on small tasks, quick bug fixes, or just hopping on a short call to look at your error logs and debug.

Drop me a DM with what you're working on or what's broken, and let's get it working!Flutter dev specializing in WebRTC / Agora. Anyone need help fixing live streaming bugs or setting up video chat?