Hey everyone! 👋

A few days ago, my co-founder and I launched **Fren** – a private voice journal for iPhone.

The idea came from something simple: whenever we needed to clear our heads, talking felt much easier than writing.

So instead of opening a blank page, Fren lets you just speak about your day, your thoughts, or whatever is on your mind.

It can:

* transcribe what you say
* respond with thoughtful reflections
* organize entries into memories
* track moods and tags
* help you notice patterns over time

We wanted the experience to feel less like filling out a journal and more like having a private space to think out loud.

Building the product took months.

Now the problem has completely changed.

Before launch, every challenge was about design, development, onboarding, privacy, and App Store review.

After launch, the challenge is distribution.

Right now, we’re testing:

* Reddit
* TikTok
* X
* Apple Search Ads
* Product Hunt next

We’re still very early, so the goal isn’t to pretend we’ve figured anything out. We’re trying to learn which channels actually bring users who understand the product and want to come back.

For anyone who has launched an app before:

**What channel brought you your first 100 real users?**

App Store if someone would like to check it out:  
[https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fren-voice-journal-reflect/id6761686441](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fren-voice-journal-reflect/id6761686441)

I’ll keep sharing what works, what fails, and what we learn along the way. 💜

Shipping the app was hard. Getting the first users is even harder.