# Risk **Published:** 2013-11-19 --- ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*QTnqA6yEkavtWrxMI5QZZw.jpeg) cleu alarm 2.0  ## Risk #### Jumping in the deep end. Just yesterday, I was hanging with a good friend of mine, [Raj](http://instagram.com/rajat). After spending some time fixing watches and chit-chatting about current projects, Raj helped me uncover an interesting weakness of mine, a trait sitting right under my nose this whole time. I had attempted to break this habit years back with a project called ‘topistyle’, but today, I am an entirely different specimen. Throughout school, I never showed my work. Proofs in Math classes? “Nah, I’m good”. Displaying mechanisms in Orgo? “Uh, no”. I don’t know if it was my annoyance for ‘gate keepers’ or I simply had not learned to receive feedback properly enough to churn it into personal development. Today, I want to try to break that habit once more by speaking on “Risk” and how it lead me to work on an alarm clock for over two years. Shoutout to [Big Sean](http://twitter.com/bigsean) for the [inspiration](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VX_jApWiLc). --- > Step 1: Locate your balls. I had spent about a year and a half working in the Apple Retail Stores, creating solutions for consumers and business customers. It was one of the most enriching experiences I have ever had. I was able to engage with thousands of customers using the iOS & Mac OSX platform right at the start. As the iPhone pushed full steam ahead, I was able to observe the growth of the App Store from ~30k apps to just under 500k apps during my last days & when the iPad launched, not only was I one of the first to play with the device, I was able to observe once more, an entirely new market blossom out of nothing. The answer to the lifespan of iOS hardware wasn’t to create identical softwares for each device, the solution was exploiting each of these different devices as tools to expand the possibilities of the platform. The only way I could possibly make a dent was not going to be where I was at the time. To make a true difference, I would have to do something quite drastic. I decided to pursue the challenge via the best way to learn, jump right in. ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*qZpRVNRBaYlHLXsl2_Nlyg.jpeg) I thoroughly enjoyed my time with [Apple Inc](http://www.apple.com/). It wasn’t long before I left Apple. Few weeks later, my [co-founder](https://twitter.com/kylenpatel) did the same. To pursue the dream of starting a mobile internet company, it was only right that we chose Silicon Valley. Roughly 2,100 miles later, a fully packed car, & a small angel investment, Mountain View was in sight. --- > Step 2: Jump in. --- ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/400/1*Kc-yuyBU01vemLQ7uoQNJA.jpeg) Initial designs were done right on our wall. -Mountain View ‘13 Aside from my years of [Photoshop](http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html) use and creating web products through templates and youtube how-to videos, I had never read what the requirements are for an iOS app, more-less what goes in to a ‘successful’ app. What I DID know, however, was what it took for an iOS customer to \*use\* an app. I did what I knew best in this situation, I started sketching. Through tools like [Pages](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pages/id409201541?mt=12) and [Keynote](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/keynote/id409183694?mt=12), I was able to start creating mockups and initial wireframes of myAchy, what we believed to be the best mobile Health appointment tool to compete with products such as [ZocDoc](http://www.zocdoc.com/). ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*uXr4Lh4JwGqWsmT3hgaDtw.jpeg) First Build of myAchy Dental Appointment System. Multiple iterations later with the help of the guys at [Mobisoft](http://www.mobisoftcorp.com/), we inevitably decided to shelf the whole system. We had gotten prototype over prototype completed but when it came time to go live, we were nowhere close to ready. Although the app itself was quite functional and actually quite pleasing, the integration with current dental management systems such as [Dentrix](http://www.dentrix.com/default.aspx) and [Open Dental](http://www.opendental.com/) deemed almost impossible at the time with our resources. When talks about monetization arose, we recognized players like [Groupon](http://www.groupon.com/) and [LivingSocial](http://www.livingsocial.com/) in the field offering elective health services, so we integrated a marketplace within. Again, this was all only complicating the product more and more. ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/400/1*MSKqFZzBaR7CTe-iAdlkOg.jpeg) myAchy Website. Inspiration Credit: [Marissa Louie](http://malouie.com/). Design Credit: [Faiz Zuberi](http://fzuberi.com/) ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*4XC-sr3CeopK4Oi4zRCB4A.jpeg) Retina enhanced UI Design Credit: [Faiz Zuberi](http://fzuberi.com/) --- > Step 3: Adapt or Die _Eight months. No money. No launched product. What the f\*ck now? Iterate._ --- One thing I can’t stress enough is always networking and keeping your brain open for ideas and hidden opportunities. I’ll save the particular topic of networking for another time, but this is where our first set of reality checks started pouring in. Meeting after meeting, we heard, “Great idea…BUT”, “Have you launched?” or my personal favorite, :::send email::: :::refresh mail app every hour::: :::cricket chirps::: :::fml::: After all the dust settled, I soaked two concepts from all the feedback. 1. Build it. 2. Simplify. So we did. [Kyle](https://twitter.com/kylenpatel) started applying his skills in to learning Xcode and I focused on my graphic skills through my [Bamboo tablet](https://twitter.com/uzhussain/status/164210654536941569/photo/1). We got two cheap Ikea tables. Cup of chai on deck. I made images. Kyle coded. Rinse and Repeat. ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*gD0NsnA7RlD9RKXfJU3Yyg.jpeg) Through our knowledge from Retail Stores, we believed the customer would appreciate the aggregation of health data right through the device over a third party accessory. myAchy became a health assistant. ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*dtWtScYdDLWx-pufKLVpfQ.jpeg) The myAchy report included an aesthetics score we created based around health data. ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*eZ-02B5vBMmiIRAgT9DeEg.jpeg) My first design for a ‘Rest’ function. This inevitably grew in to the alarm clock we all know today. ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*o00wRL9r6gYNsJE9pC0fyA.png) Here we can see the alarm functionalities in the first prototype. Notice how a lot of the items aren’t even in the current live version. ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*XmbTV9aYKmEZcfwy3o2ysw.png) The initial prototype had the sliding menu. We changed that. ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*I-lKdH3vxGrx44tia-fxPA.png) Some of our initial mockups for settings and customizations. ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*LiqQ-zkvZUPrBv81gXGpjg.png) Bootstrapping forces you to simplify. We had to axe the social media aspect right before launch. Design Credit: [Mochaleaf](http://mochaleaf.com/) --- > “Great Artists Ship” — Steven P. Jobs --- ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*CE8yih_Q5WZg16I8UDgKTw.jpeg) Cleu 1.0 received the [Mobile FWA Award](http://www.thefwa.com/mobile/cleu) & Featured in the [iTunes App Store](http://appstore.com/Cleu). ![](https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/800/1*fYT_D2-HcWfHWO-hPfX1AQ.jpeg) 19 months to launch Cleu 1.0 — 3 months to launch [Cleu 2.0](http://appstore.com/Cleu) > 4\. Just keep swimming. Just Keep Swimming. Notice how the title of the last section was Adapt or Die? That’s why I say keep swimming. There will not be a scenario where you don’t figure out how to swim. If that happens, you’re dead anyway. I know it sounds all dramatic, but seriously, this is where God or whatever power you believe in, comes in to play. You can not control everything around you. You have to only trust that your work will help others grow and in turn, help yourself grow. Don’t wait for the perfect scenario. Jump In. --- > \-Uzair