Tom von Holstein

Founder of @RouteUpApp. Broke my word to myself too many times. Now I’m building the app I wish I’d had to rebuild self-trust

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

I used to think I had a discipline problem.

Then I realised I had a return problem.

Every app I used made missing a day feel like failure.

So I’d disappear for weeks.

I built RouteUp to fix that.

For me. And for everyone who’s tired of starting over.

https://t.co/HszQrWkOs3

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

My own experience gives me a reason to build RouteUp but it doesn’t tell me how everyone else will use it. I care a lot about the problem, which probably makes it even more important to notice when someone needs something different from what helped me

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

My brother has exited a business and just raised 1.5m for his newest venture, so when he said my RouteUp pitch was too long, I listened 😂 Funny how you can spend months adding things, then realise the next bit of work is taking some out

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

@BrandonLuuMD I wonder if reminding yourself you’ve got through something similar before works differently from just telling yourself to keep going

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

@itsAkankxa Remembering the promises you did keep matters too. I can have a rough week and suddenly talk about myself as if I’ve never followed through on anything. Having something concrete to look back on is part of what I’m building with RouteUp

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

@DrCarlHindy The bit after a mistake feels important here too. Being allowed to get something wrong is one thing; having someone help you repair it and try again gives you an experience to draw on the next time it happens

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

Missed Wednesday and Thursday’s workouts, then did one today. The gap felt much bigger in my head than it did once I started. Funny how quickly two missed days can become a story about who you are, when sometimes the answer is just to do the next one

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

Someone asked me what RouteUp is yesterday. Funny how a simple question exposes how much context you take for granted as a founder 😂 I want someone to picture using it, without needing a tour of every feature before it makes sense

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

My background is in drug and alcohol recovery, and it’s shaped the starting point for RouteUp: what should an app do when someone comes back after a gap? I’m building the experience around that moment, because it’s often where people need the most support.

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

Need to be more specific than “work on RouteUp” on my to-do list 😂 It’s so easy to lose a couple of hours tweaking bits and chasing new ideas, then realise I haven’t finished the thing I actually sat down to do

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

@rorysutherland @neildrewitt I wonder how much of the reluctance to sell is that selling makes the loss feel final. While the house is still listed, you can keep believing the higher valuation was right and the right buyer just hasn’t arrived yet.

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

Raising for RouteUp means separating what I believe from what I can already show.

I can be ambitious about where this could go and honest about what still needs testing.

I want investors to see both, without having to guess which is which

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

Sometimes I get so caught up in how far there is to go that I forget what’s already changed.

I’m building an app I care about, getting healthier and taking a chance on myself.

Still plenty to figure out, but plenty to look forward to this week too 👊

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

Useful feedback this week: people understand why RouteUp exists before they understand how it works.

That’s encouraging, but also a warning. A strong idea can sound clearer than the product feels to use.

My job now is to close that gap.

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

@jayvanbavel I wonder what happens when the source corrects itself. Could admitting a mistake reduce trust in its accuracy while increasing trust in its honesty?

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

@BrandonLuuMD If low mood is shaping what someone clicks, I wonder how often a feed learns that as a preference and gives them more of it.

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

Something I’d love to explore with RouteUp is what we could learn from the data around returning.

How long was the gap? What promise did someone come back to? When did they act? What happened in the days afterwards?

Over time, those patterns could help us develop and test better support. Does a smaller promise help? Does timing matter? Do different people need different things?

Helping the person using it today, while learning something useful for the next person struggling to return to exercise, learning or everyday routines.

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

@NTFabiano Maybe the useful part of optimism is believing your actions can still change something, even when you can see exactly what’s going wrong

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

@BehaviorChange Could gratitude be part of a longer cycle of being helped and then helping others? If so, I wonder what that would mean for advice to practise gratitude 🤔

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

I’m trying to build a psychological version of a health app.

A way to understand your patterns and see how self-trust develops through the promises you keep and the times you come back.

RouteUp is my attempt to turn the psychology I care about into something useful in everyday life.

[Tom von Holstein @TomVonHolstein]

@marcrandolph @shaneparrish @alfviktr The tricky bit when you’re building something is knowing which boring work needs repeating and which isn’t working. I’m finding that much harder to judge than whether I’m willing to put the hours in.