### **Empty**

Empty is a fasting tracker that I'm building with [Rafael](https://read.cv/rafs). We’re launching on Tuesday March 12th, 2024.

### **Features**

Empty is simultaneously minimal and rich with features. The app includes:

* Custom Scheduling (daytime & overnight fasting routines, cheat days)

* Data Visualizations (calendar and weekly summary stats)

* Rich Personalization (6 color themes, 18 icons, + light & dark mode)

* Widgets & Live Activities

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FsujVuZcNHsVtklMVn94KG5wNhQq2%2FuMngreadFNp8pHJjvI25%2Fa8ee529f-c356-469b-8a11-d58a19b7be9f.png?alt=media&token=d407fa29-f3a9-49dd-9459-7b873a5a05ec","id":"a8ee529f-c356-469b-8a11-d58a19b7be9f","width":2540,"height":1520,"filename":"home.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### **Why make a fasting tracker?**

I decided to pick up intermittent fasting again at the start of 2024 and wanted a simple tool to keep myself accountable. When I went to the App Store I was somewhat let down.

The big fasting apps all had extra features that I didn’t want like water tracking, weight tracking, and meal planning. It felt like they had gotten bloated over time in order to justify their premium subscriptions, and I really only wanted a nice timer tailored to the cadence of my fasting practice.

There were also many free indie apps that worked well, but they felt just a bit too bare. The more I thought about it, the more a fasting tracker felt like a great product to go deep on…

> From a technical perspective, a fasting tracker doesn’t need to do much more than start, stop, and cancel/reset a timer. At the same time, fasting means so much to those who practice, so every moment of the experience matters. The presentation of data (history and streaks) are especially important since most people have strong intent to build and maintain healthy habits when downloading this sort of app. Our hope is that a cleaner UI can create stronger feedback loops and improve accountability.

I started building an early prototype in December and brought Rafael onto the project in February. Once he took over the code, things really kicked into gear.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FsujVuZcNHsVtklMVn94KG5wNhQq2%2FuMngreadFNp8pHJjvI25%2F0d511952-ab5d-435b-8b37-65283f269c6f.png?alt=media&token=5d46fc16-62dd-4a38-aa47-1367c73a5c43","id":"0d511952-ab5d-435b-8b37-65283f269c6f","width":2540,"height":1520,"filename":"actions.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### **About Us**

Rafael and I were introduced to each other by our friend [Raphael](https://twitter.com/raphaelsalaja) (I know 😅). Before Empty, Rafael was the solo developer of [Dime](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/dime-budget-expense-tracker/id1635280255) (a popular budgeting app) while I’ve been working on an exercise planner called [Steddy](https://www.steddy.health/).

Both of us are mobile app fanatics and followed each other’s work closely on Twitter, so when the opportunity to collaborate showed up we jumped on it. It was pretty obvious right away that a simple and practical utility with a focus on craft would be the right intersection for us. Rafael is in Singapore and I’m in Chicago, so we’re constantly syncing up at odd hours to jam on the product.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FsujVuZcNHsVtklMVn94KG5wNhQq2%2Fempty%2F42e170d9-78a0-4dc2-8814-25ec43376499.png?alt=media&token=46d2fab6-d164-40c1-8e56-509bb79181d9","id":"42e170d9-78a0-4dc2-8814-25ec43376499","width":2540,"height":1520,"filename":"customize.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

We’ve also had the pleasure of collaborating with a bunch of other people around the world while building Empty. Our app icons were designed by [Hannah Lee](https://hannahlee.ca/), our landing page was developed by [Cory Etzkorn](https://www.coryetzkorn.com/), and we’ve received technical advising from a bunch of friends, including [Raphael](https://bento.me/raphaelsalaja), along the way.

We’ve even had some of our beta testers offer to translate the app into different languages, which we hope to do soon! Special thanks as well to Toni, Adam, Sulley, and Miles who have been consistent sounding boards for Empty and many other mobile apps and concepts that I’ve worked on.

### **Business Model**

Empty will be listed on the App Store as a paid app and sell for $1.99 in the United States. We think the “buy once keep it forever” model makes sense for this sort of app which stores data locally on your device and has almost $0 in overhead costs.

The large fasting apps (Zero and Fastic) charge up to $70 - $100 per year for their premium versions and justify this with personalized plans, extra features, and educational content.

While this may work for some people, there are also many others who *just want the tool*. Many of our beta testers frequently tell us that they are annoyed by the feature bloat and constant upselling, which is why they were so eager to give Empty a try in the first place.

Of course, Zero and Fastic are listed as free apps on the App Store and rely on in-app purchases to get you to upgrade… but are they really free if this is what you see when you open the app?

```cv
tweet
https://twitter.com/emptyfasting/status/1766282442636214425
```

### **Contact**

If the story behind Empty resonates with you and you’d like to write about our app or just chat with us, please reach out!

**Email**

[raffi.chilingaryan@gmail.com](mailto:raffi.chilingaryan@gmail.com)

[rafasohhh@gmail.com](mailto:rafasohhh@gmail.com)

**Twitter**

[Raffi's Twitter](https://twitter.com/raffichill)

[Rafael's Twitter](https://twitter.com/rarfell)

**Links**

[App Store Product Page](http://apps.apple.com/us/app/steddy/id)

[Product Hunt Page](https://www.producthunt.com/posts/empty-7)

[X (Twitter) Account Page](https://twitter.com/emptyfasting)

Building Empty

This post describes [Empty](https://emptyfasting.com/)'s current metrics and how we plan to navigate through the *Trough of Sorrow*.

For starters, here are our current daily downloads since our March 12 launch:

We got 451 downloads on day 1, hovered between 80-150 the following week, and recently stabilized at around 30 downloads per day over the past 6 days.

Since Empty is a $0.99 paid app you can understand our revenue as about 80% of this number thanks to the Apple Tax.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FsujVuZcNHsVtklMVn94KG5wNhQq2%2FxxFbjecQLJrxkkWMj4mN%2Ffeb6c503-5200-4fa4-97df-d7b6a00565b9.png?alt=media&token=bb83500e-d653-4496-8ce2-8db51432ed39","id":"feb6c503-5200-4fa4-97df-d7b6a00565b9","width":828,"height":401,"filename":"CleanShot 2024-03-28 at 18.55.03.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

### The trough of sorrow

Paul Graham coined the term "Trough of Sorrow" to describe the challenges that all products face after the novelty of a launch wears off (usually quickly).

All TOS articles show this chart, so catch up quick if you haven't seen it yet:

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FsujVuZcNHsVtklMVn94KG5wNhQq2%2FxxFbjecQLJrxkkWMj4mN%2F594e65ae-43f3-4810-9cbe-881417d5372c.png?alt=media&token=8a0a8dec-31f3-4c58-9e2d-c01162d8fce2","id":"594e65ae-43f3-4810-9cbe-881417d5372c","width":685,"height":460,"filename":"CleanShot 2024-03-28 at 19.01.49.png","type":"image/png","caption":"","border":false}]}
```

The chart offers hope and reminds you (like any good How I Built This episode) that all you have to do is not quit and your success is guaranteed.

But here's what I find most challenging about fighting through the trough:

### Why the trough sucks

For me personally, the trough sucks for two main reasons:

1. There is now a number to look at every day

2. Growth is a totally different skill from product

**Looking at the number**

Having this metric constantly available makes me yearn for the good old TestFlight days. The days when we could tease the app and have 20 people beg to get in. When launch day was ahead of us and we could secretly hope - like every builder does - that Empty would be so good we could just coast afterward and it would magically grow itself.

**Growth and distribution is a different beast**

On Tuesday I sent cold emails to pop science doctors and fasting influencers to ask if they would test our app and consider a paid plug.

Yesterday I posted a TikTok, selected the voiceover named "Jenny," and paid to promote it.

Every day or two I try to post at least 1 Empty related tweet to @raffichill, @emptyfasting, or both.

Tonight I am pretending to write a blog post in the name of transparency when all I truly care about is how many of this post's likes and views funnel into downloads.

```cv
gallery
{"layout":"hscroll","images":[{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FsujVuZcNHsVtklMVn94KG5wNhQq2%2FxxFbjecQLJrxkkWMj4mN%2Fd73b3352-314c-40e2-b7eb-5fbf15b9278d.png?alt=media&token=854909fd-4667-4234-b2fd-7b04cc1d0093","id":"d73b3352-314c-40e2-b7eb-5fbf15b9278d","width":926,"height":874,"filename":"CleanShot 2024-03-29 at 00.15.15@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Still not sure how this didn't go viral.","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FsujVuZcNHsVtklMVn94KG5wNhQq2%2FxxFbjecQLJrxkkWMj4mN%2Ff702adaf-8e63-4665-8192-976571818045.png?alt=media&token=23ad714c-abae-457c-8a51-7324dee1ee8a","id":"f702adaf-8e63-4665-8192-976571818045","width":2160,"height":2160,"filename":"Untitled 1.png","type":"image/png","caption":"Let's hope this is worth the $$$","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FsujVuZcNHsVtklMVn94KG5wNhQq2%2FxxFbjecQLJrxkkWMj4mN%2F5c18cab3-7595-4ebc-af83-018e74877de2.png?alt=media&token=60990aaf-4992-4380-9572-881477117a34","id":"5c18cab3-7595-4ebc-af83-018e74877de2","width":672,"height":538,"filename":"CleanShot 2024-03-29 at 00.18.28@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"No collab with Dr Fung :(","border":false},{"src":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/maitake-project.appspot.com/o/pages%2FsujVuZcNHsVtklMVn94KG5wNhQq2%2FxxFbjecQLJrxkkWMj4mN%2Fd37bede2-94bb-4b0e-b032-13e62124f8b7.png?alt=media&token=1b36daa2-395c-472c-9a1f-21373fc0bb46","id":"d37bede2-94bb-4b0e-b032-13e62124f8b7","width":1820,"height":1638,"filename":"CleanShot 2024-03-29 at 00.56.16@2x.png","type":"image/png","caption":"✍️ ✍️ ✍️","border":false}]}
```

I am objectively bad at these things relative to what I most enjoy doing (designing UIs, scoping projects, soliciting feedback for prototypes on Twitter).

But these are the tasks that I will either have to get good at or pay someone to do, and the kicker is that all of the other stuff remains just as necessary:

If we want the product to improve we still have to do our time in XCode and Figma. We just get to do it with a fresh sense of guilt: knowing that in this moment we're choosing creature comforts over other tasks that might actually move that stupid number.

### The reward is worth it

Now that I've gotten all that off my chest I'll add a bit about why I'm so excited to battle through the trough:

1. The numbers look promising

2. The notch on my belt

**The numbers**

Don't get it twisted. By numbers I mean **money**.

Empty is being run by 2 people (me + [Rafael](https://read.cv/rafs)) and has 0 hosting costs as it runs entirely locally.

If we can climb our way back up to a stable 70 or 80 downloads per day and assume the price of Empty lands at $2.99 while we progress there, that's a pretty decent incentive to keep maintaining the app (in addition to our pride and the opportunity to make users happy of course).

**The notch**

I look forward to many Troughs of Sorrow in my future as I continue to build and launch products.

It certainly can't hurt to practice some new skills along the way (if not to become a great marketer myself then to get just a bit better and develop a stronger appreciation for the craft).

But even more importantly than any specific skill is the confidence you get from doing something for the first time. Even if the variables shift around a bit, having that notch will make the next TOS feel less intimidating.

I know this is true from my experience teaming up with internet strangers to build apps: the first time I did it I had literally no idea what would happen and was paranoid asf. I am now less so, and the same will be true for growth.

### That's all

If you got this far (or even half this far) I genuinely appreciate you, and I wish you all the best with your troughs. You can't avoid them, so try to pick projects you won't give up on. 🙃

Raffi Chilingaryan

2024