Serious question. I'm asking because some days I genuinely don't know.
It's 2025. Social networks are either billion-dollar platforms or graveyards. The "build a community app" space is littered with startups that burned through millions and still failed.
And here we are. Two people. Building Future You — a social goal-tracking app.
No VC money. No team of 50. Just a developer and a designer trying to ship something people actually want to use.
The Rational Arguments Against This
I've heard them all. I've told them to myself at 2am.
"You can't compete with the big players."
Every productivity app is adding social features. Every social app is adding productivity features. The space is getting crowded by companies with actual resources. Why would anyone choose yours?
"Social networks have a cold start problem."
A social app with no users is useless. But you can't get users without value. Classic chicken-and-egg that has killed better-funded attempts than ours.
"The economics don't work."
Social apps need scale to monetize. Scale needs marketing budget. Marketing budget needs funding. Funding needs traction. Traction needs... see point above.
"Two people can't maintain a social platform."
Moderation. Spam. Abuse. Infrastructure. Support. There's a reason these companies have hundreds of employees.
I know all this. And yet.
Why We're Doing It Anyway
A few reasons I tell myself when the doubt hits:
1. The tools have changed.
Five years ago this would've been impossible. Today?
- Supabase gives us a full backend with auth, real-time, storage
- Flutter lets two of us ship iOS and Android from one codebase
- Cloudflare Workers handles scale we don't have to manage
- AI (yes, really) helps with everything from copy to debugging
The cost to build and run what used to require a full team is now... manageable. Not easy, but possible.
2. We're not trying to be Instagram.
Future You isn't about followers and likes. It's about small groups of people actually helping each other achieve goals.
We don't need 100 million users (yet). We need enough people who want something different — goal-tracking that isn't lonely.
3. Big social networks are optimized for engagement, not outcomes.
They want you scrolling. We want you closing the app because you did the thing you said you'd do.
That's a different product. Maybe there's room for it.
4. Honestly? Someone has to try.
The current social media landscape is... not great for mental health. Especially around self-improvement, where everything is highlight reels and hustle porn.
If we think something better should exist, complaining about it from the sidelines feels worse than trying and failing.
What's Actually Working (So Far)
We've been live for a while now. Not a rocket ship, but not dead either.
- People who use it actually stick around
- The community is genuinely supportive (no moderation nightmares yet)
- Growth is slow but organic — mostly word of mouth
Is that enough? I don't know. Ask me in a year.
The Honest Answer
Am I crazy? Probably a little.
But I think the window for small teams building meaningful products is wider than it's ever been. The tools are too good. The distribution channels are too accessible. And frankly, the big platforms are too distracted with their own problems.
Will it work? No idea. But I'd rather find out than wonder "what if."
If you've ever built something against all reasonable advice, I'd love to hear how it went. And if you want to see what we're building: futureyou.me
Now back to shipping.
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