Hi HN, my name is Robin and I teamed up with my girlfriend Leila, who works as a voice coach and speech therapist, to build an iPhone app called Astound. It’s like a fitness app for your voice.
I started working on Astound because I had difficulty with my own voice. For my last startup idea, I went door knocking around Brooklyn, talking to as many artists as I could. However, being incredibly nervous and exhausted, I picked up poor speaking habits and put too much pressure on my vocal chords. At the end of most days my voice was hoarse, and I had the constant feeling that I sounded too timid and unconvincing. Luckily I was able to turn to Leila for some help, and through her training I’m now learning how to keep my voice healthy, and turn it into a more effective communication tool. I always thought that voice coaching is just for singers and actors. Now I think it’s for everyone, whether you use your voice to captivate an audience, build trust with a customer, or sell an idea.
Unfortunately this training is not an option for most people. Vocal health can regress - one in ten Americans actually suffers from some sort for of voice disorder, which can become troublesome as soon as your job depends on it.
I’m passionate about the topic of voice. So after my last startup failed, I learned iOS app development (apologies to all non iPhone users) and built Astound. Astound includes guided breathing, voice, and articulation exercises packaged in different workout plans. The most recent plan is for dating. Yes, research actually suggests that the tone of your voice matters quite a bit. I’m currently working on a plan to help users strengthen their voice for being on the phone all day. It’s a subscription model, but you’ll receive enough free content to decide if it’s worth it to continue.
Just like with physical exercise, you will hear an improvement in your voice with practice. So my current goal is to make it fun and engaging that you’d want to practice everyday. I’d love to hear your feedback and see how I can get closer to this goal. I’d also love to hear your stories. Do you have a similar experience with your voice as I do? I very much look forward to hearing your comments. Thanks for your time!
Looks interesting--I think you're onto something big here. Out of curiosity, did you write the app in Swift or Objective-C? And how long did the initial production version take until app store submission?
Thanks for the note! I wrote it in Swift, and I'd guess it took about 9 months from from the moment I thought this could be of value to the first launch. Hard to say exactly, because of the learning curve.
In case you get a chance to check it out, let me know what you think, and if you start hearing a difference in your own voice.