Atul Khatri

Working a 9–5 in Bengaluru while building iOS & macOS apps after hours.

Sharing the ideas, launches, bugs, rejections, small wins and lessons along the way.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

The worst time to practise speaking on the spot is when everyone’s already looking at you.

I built YappLab so you can practise that moment on your own, stumble through it, and get feedback for the next try.

It’s finally live on the App Store. This one feels personal.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

@acesley040618 Mine came from friends and family

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

Finding testers has reminded me that solo development is rarely completely solo.

At some point, every app depends on a few strangers choosing to help.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

Two apps launched in one week. I keep looking at this notification to make sure it’s real.

I build apps around my full-time job, so seeing NotchTick go live today feels especially personal. There were plenty of late nights and small fixes behind that little “Ready for Distribution.”

This has been my most productive week yet. And honestly, I’m just really happy.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

My public-speaking app is finally live.

It started as something I wanted for myself. Now it belongs to anyone who feels their mind go blank when asked to speak.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

@TTrimoreau Creating the screenshot of my apps

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

YappLab got 7 downloads in its first 24 hours.

I’ve refreshed this page more times than I’d like to admit. Every new number made me smile a little.

If you’re one of those seven, thank you.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

@DevTenta Marketing as in, paid marketing or something else??

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

As an indie app builder with limited time, where should the focus go after launch?

Improving ASO so more people can discover the app organically, or actively marketing it through content and ads?

I’m starting to feel that a good app needs both—but which one should come first?

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

@LeeWyattCorp That’s a great advice Leo, thanks for it🙌🏻

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

@My_Mynah @Toastmasters Yes that’s what I am hoping to do with the app

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

The worst time to practise speaking on the spot is when everyone’s already looking at you.

I built YappLab so you can practise that moment on your own, stumble through it, and get feedback for the next try.

It’s finally live on the App Store. This one feels personal.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

I started building apps as a hobby.
Somewhere along the way, it became the best part of my day.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

Some nights I make real progress.
Other nights I just stare at the same bug until I’m sleepy.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

I spend my 9–5 building for someone else.
After 5, I slowly build something of my own.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

“In Review” to “Approved” while I wasn’t even looking at my phone🥳

YappLab got approved! I built it to help people practise speaking on the spot, and now it’s one step closer to being in their hands. Still staring at these notifications.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

The fun part of indie development is having complete freedom.

The difficult part is also having complete freedom.

Nobody tells you what to build, what to remove, when to launch or where to market it.

Every small decision belongs to you—including the wrong ones.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

A rejection email can ruin the mood for five minutes.

Then the builder brain quietly takes over:

Understand the guideline.
Change the asset.
Rewrite the description.
Submit again.
Disappointment has slowly become another task in the release process.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

There’s a big difference between:

“Here are all the features in my app.”

and

“Here is one annoying problem my app removes.”

I naturally write the first one because I built the features.

Users probably care much more about the second.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

One short demo showing a real problem can probably sell an app better than ten polished screenshots listing every feature.

People don’t need to see everything the app can do.

They need to recognize the moment when they would use it.

[Atul Khatri @Atulkhatri0877]

A useful way to understand poor app growth:

No product-page visits?
The marketing may not be working.
Visits but no downloads?
The listing may not be convincing.

Downloads but no retention?
The product needs work.
“Low installs” alone doesn’t tell the full story.