Built a simple app from a problem I kept seeing in real life

I didn’t start this as a “startup idea”.

I just kept seeing the same awkward situation over and over: friends at restaurants, bars or trips trying to calculate who owes what, passing phones around, forgetting payments later, arguing over receipts etc.

I tried existing apps, but most felt either too bloated, too slow, or designed more like finance platforms than quick real-life tools.

So I started building SplitSnap as a solo project.

The goal was simple:

scan receipt

split quickly

keep UI simple

reduce friction and awkwardness

Right now I’m mostly trying to validate whether people still want focused/simple apps instead of giant all-in-one products.

Still early, still learning, and honestly just trying to build something useful.

Would genuinely appreciate feedback from other solo founders:

how do you validate ideas this early?

what usually tells you an app has real potential?

and what’s your biggest mistake when building solo?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.splitsnap.app