Just when you think there’s an app for everything, covering virtually every aspect of our daily lives, you catch wind of a new development that makes you wonder how some people ever functioned without it.
When Zoë Desmond explained her app idea to the Studio Graphene team, they knew what a hit it would be. Let’s read the story of Frolo’s creation to exemplify how a brilliant idea can become so much more than that.
What is Frolo?
Frolo isn’t targeted at everybody, specifically for single parents to download so they can more easily navigate their lives for their sake and that of their children. Aspects including community events and dating prospects were
Zoë, the creator, explains that after her relationship had ended, she suddenly became a single mother and was a bit lost with it all.
Zoë previously stated “I didn’t know any other single parents in my life – none of my friends and family. I began to dread the weekends, I would start to panic about how to get by and fill the days. Then there was the guilt of not being able to be my best self for my son, not wanting to impose on friends and family, on their family time.”
She began searching for others experiencing similar circumstances in the form of an Instagram account, which became an overnight success story. This gave her the courage, and proof, that she knew that Frolo as a standalone app would work.
How Frolo Was Developed
So, Zoë had the idea but, needed assistance and guidance getting it off the ground and that’s where Studio Graphene came in.
Collaboratively, the idea was to make this a safe yet vibrant space to celebrate solo parents, this was done with a fun color pattern and asymmetrical patterns to show users that nobody’s journey is the same and Frolo will be accepting.
Because everybody is welcome on Frolo, the reach needed to be to as many people as possible. Therefore, utilizing the power of React Native, so that the same coding works on Android and iOS simultaneously, saves a lot of money, hassle, and time.
Where to get the market research to be successful?
Zoë had done a lot of the work on that front, truthfully, finding everybody who was seeking this sort of community online.
However, Studio Graphene suggested that inviting these members to use an app for founding members would be a great way to test the product and provide a discount for original users. 2,500 people signed up for the full version upon launch.
is a huge advantage for a social media app to have so many users from the start.
Feedback and Future Success
Analytics are fantastic and Studio Graphene encourages any app developer to incorporate them into their plans.
But during the nascent stages, Studio Graphene wanted to hear directly from users to see what could be developed, rather than making assumptions. This allowed Studio Graphene to not only find out what they could do better on but also show users that their opinions are valued, leaning into the inclusivity of the app.
Zoë’s dream became a reality within 6 months, an inspirational story that will hopefully be the motivation for so many others to give it a go.