Example execution pack
This is a saved public example of an Edge Arena execution pack. It shows the same structure a user receives after a run, using the prompt: “Build me a focused habit-tracking app that actually keeps people coming back past week 2.”
Saved example artifact • Your own pack will reflect your goal, launchpad, and constraints
Executing:
PairStreak — Two-Person Habit Accountability
Use this pack like a working document — review, validate, then execute.
One habit, one partner, one shared streak — $3/month per pair.
Selected from 20 ideas • Winner score 81
A two-person habit tracker where each user picks one habit and is paired with exactly one accountability partner. A shared streak resets if either person misses a day. Built as a 4-week MVP, monetized via a $3/month subscription per pair.
If you execute consistently, you could have a usable MVP in ~4 weeks.
boltStart here - first steps
Have a working daily check-in flow with shared streak math and push notifications between two real devices inside 5 business days.
Build account creation + habit setup + pair-invite link generation.
1–2 days
Implement the daily check-in flow with shared streak math (both yes = streak +1, either no = streak resets).
1 day
Wire APNs + FCM push notifications for the morning reminder and evening partner-status update.
2 days including device-side testing
Why This Won
01. Execution Plan
Get the pair-invite + check-in + push-notification flow working end-to-end between two real devices.
- 1.Build account + habit setup + pair invite link.
- 2.Implement daily check-in and shared streak math.
- 3.Wire APNs + FCM push notifications.
- 4.Run 3 fake pairs end-to-end with the operator playing both sides on two devices.
A working pair flow that survives 7 consecutive days of check-ins on real devices with real notifications.
Push notification reliability on Android is meaningfully worse than iOS in real conditions. Budget an extra day for FCM debugging in this phase.
Resist building badge or level systems. The entire emotional payload is the partner - features that distract from the partner are negative-value.
Onboard 10 real pairs and observe the first 14 days of each pair end-to-end.
- 1.Pick 10 pairs the operator personally knows.
- 2.Onboard the inviter directly, watch the partner accept the invite.
- 3.Monitor daily check-ins for the first 14 days.
- 4.Run the day-14 call with each inviter.
6-8 Pairs survive past day 14, 2-3 specific bugs identified, written notes on what almost made pairs cancel.
A 60% pair-survives-day-14 rate is the realistic target. A 100% rate would suggest the operator chose pairs too aligned with the product. Track which pairs failed and why.
Do not personally remind anyone to check in. The first cohort's drop-off is the entire signal - interfering destroys it.
Submit to App Store and Play, reach 100 paying pairs through TikTok + Reddit organic.
- 1.Submit to App Store and Play with screenshots from the pilot pairs.
- 2.Post 2 short TikToks per week describing the one-habit-one-partner premise.
- 3.Post a single Reddit post in r/getdisciplined and r/decidingtobebetter with the operator's own pair as proof.
- 4.Read the 12-week numbers and decide v2 priorities (multiple habits? group of 3?).
100 Paying pairs ($300 MRR), 4.5+ App Store rating, and a written v2 spec on real day-30 retention data.
TikTok organic for habit content is dominated by 7-second pattern interrupts. A "here is the streak we kept for 90 days" video performs 3-5x better than a product demo.
Do not run paid ads in the first 12 weeks. Habit-app paid acquisition is famously broken - the channel is organic story-driven content.
02. Validation Signals
Solo habit apps see 80%+ user drop-off by day 14 (Sensor Tower 2024 habit-app retention cohort)
Confirms the diagnosis - solo tracking is the structural retention killer, not feature gaps in existing apps.
Limitation: Aggregate data; some categories (meditation, language learning) hold retention better than fitness habits.
Public-commitment studies show 65%+ goal completion when commitments are made to a specific named person vs 35% solo (American Society of Training and Development, multiple studies)
Validates the named-partner mechanic - the effect size is large enough to justify the entire product premise.
Limitation: Studies are decades old and limited to professional/training contexts; consumer habit context may show a smaller but directionally similar effect.
Behavior-change research strongly supports paired accountability over solo tracking. The unknown is willingness to pay $3/month per pair vs continuing to use a free solo tracker - verify with at least 50 paid pairs before scaling.
03. Core Strategy
MVP Architecture
Expo (iOS + Android) -> Supabase (Postgres + Auth + Realtime) -> Stripe subscriptions for the $3/month pair fee -> APNs / FCM for push notifications -> optional HealthKit / Health Connect read for fitness habits.
Tech Stack
Expo SDK 51 (React Native) + TypeScript, Supabase managed backend, Stripe Billing for the $3/month subscription, Apple Push Notification Service + Firebase Cloud Messaging, HealthKit (iOS) + Health Connect (Android) for optional habit verification. Deploy via Expo Application Services.
Scope Boundary
MVP supports: a single account, a single habit (free-text name), a single partner via invite link, daily check-in (yes/no), shared streak count, two daily push notifications (morning reminder, evening "your partner checked in" or "your partner missed"), and a $3/month subscription with a 14-day trial. Out of scope for v1: multiple habits, multiple partners, public profiles, badges, themes, web app, group challenges.
Build Timeline
Week 1: account + habit setup + pair invite link. Week 2: daily check-in + shared streak math + push notifications. Week 3: Stripe Billing + 14-day trial. Week 4: pilot with 10 pairs, bug fixes, App Store / Play submission.
First User Strategy
Start with 10 pairs the operator personally knows. Onboard the inviter, watch the invite go out to the partner, and confirm both daily check-ins for the first 7 days. Skip self-serve onboarding entirely for the first cohort.
04. Risks & Operator Advice
One partner in the pair disengages and the other partner cancels in solidarity
Pair churn is correlated by design - losing one user often means losing two. A 50% partner-disengagement rate would produce a 25% revenue impact within 60 days.
Mitigation: Allow the surviving partner to keep the streak alive by inviting a replacement within 7 days, with the original streak preserved. The replacement option is the entire churn-protection mechanism.
Push notification reliability degrades on Android and silently destroys retention
A missed reminder is a missed check-in is a broken streak. Retention is mechanically dependent on notifications arriving.
Mitigation: Add a backup email reminder for users who haven't checked in by 8pm local time. Email is meaningfully more reliable than push for the safety-net case.
05. Immediate Next Steps
The invite friction determines whether pairs form at all - and shaping it in v0 prevents architectural drift later.
A 4-week MVP without identified pairs in week 0 turns into an 8-week MVP. Pair identification is the launch dependency.
Real billing from day one filters serious users from tire-kickers, and the trial length matches the documented drop-off window.
The constraint is the product. If users arrive expecting features that aren't there, churn spikes in the first session.
06. Supporting Evidence
Claims
Mechanism
Public-commitment studies show 65%+ goal completion when commitments are made to a specific named person vs 35% solo (ASTD, multiple studies).
Retention
Solo habit apps see 80%+ user drop-off by day 14 (Sensor Tower 2024 habit-app retention cohort).
Pricing
Habit-app subscriptions at $3-$5/month per user convert at 5-8% trial-to-paid in published indie-app case studies (Indie Hackers 2024).
Evidence
Industry data
Sensor Tower 2024 habit-app retention cohort data, day-14 drop-off.
Academic research
ASTD public-commitment research, multiple studies on goal-completion rates with named accountability.
Community survey
Indie Hackers 2024 indie-app subscription conversion benchmarks.
System Provenance
AI-generated plan, stress-tested by competing agents for feasibility. May contain assumptions, inaccuracies, or incomplete context. Outcomes may vary—use your judgment.