Building Apps, Breaking Apps, and Everything in Between

I didn’t plan to be a “founder.”
Honestly, I just wanted to solve small annoyances.

My first app was built because I was sick of saving WhatsApp numbers just to message someone.
So I coded a simple app for it.
It was messy, half-baked, but somehow got 200,000+ downloads.

That feeling was addictive.
So I kept going.

Why Zendiary Happened

After that, I wanted to make something that actually meant something.
Not just another tool.
Something that helped people figure themselves out.

That’s where Zendiary came in. (Zendiary.in) A journaling app with AI insights.
Write your thoughts, get some perspective.

Because honestly?
Most of us don’t talk about what we feel.

I Vibe-Coded Most of It

I’m not some startup CEO in a suit.
But I’m the guy on my bed with my laptop at 2 AM debugging why the app crashes when you press back twice.

I wrote most of the code myself and ofc my dear Claude helped me alot.
The UI, the AI integration, the features.
Firebase blowing up my bills.
Bugs that refused to die.
Late-night deploys that killed things.

It was chaotic.
It still is sometimes.

What Makes Zendiary Different (At Least for Me)

• AI Insight Engine: Not just for dumping thoughts. It actually reads them and gives insights about your mood or patterns.
• Anonymous Community (Boo): Because sometimes you just want to ask things without your name on it.
• Charts of Your Moods: It’s cool seeing your ups and downs over time.
• Privacy-first: Encryption.

What Went Wrong

• Released too early.
• Features broke in production.
• User data issues (fixed now, thankfully).
• Ignored marketing at first.
• Tried to do everything alone.

What Went Right

• Real people use it every day.
• Messages saying it helped someone feel better.
• 25K+ downloads without any big company backing.
• Learned a ton about building, failing, trying again.

What I Learned

• Ship even if it’s not perfect.
• Negative reviews sting, but they help.
• You can’t do everything alone forever.
• Users don’t care how hard you worked—only if it works for them.
• It’s okay to fail. Just fix it and try again.

Final Thoughts

If you’re thinking about building something—do it.
It won’t be perfect.
You’ll break things.
You’ll feel lost.

But seeing something you made help someone else?
That’s worth it.

Pulket (Pulkit Aggarwal)