JohnnyChen

Building:

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

@claudeai @safaorhanTR This is great!

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

KiddoMap is on the App Store 🎉

what today actually looked like: app gets approved → I open it → debug panel is showing to users 😅 → reviews are half machine-translated gibberish → my deploys were going to the wrong site entirely

cleaned all of it, shipped v1.0.2.
solo, no-code, AI-built. ship the mess, fix the mess.

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

Found my deploys had been going to the wrong Netlify site this whole time.

Fun. iOS now in review again 🚀

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

almost shipped AI-generated tips labeled as “parent reviews” today

caught it. moved them out

weird how easy it is to fake the thing that’s supposed to be the whole point

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

9am: stuck on a Google API 403.
Tonight: 200+ real KL venues, a personalized home feed, age + distance + occasion sorting.

Solo founder.
Vibe-coding my way through.

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

Talked to 10+ parents after the latest KiddoMap update.

The answer is pretty clear:
Add more good places first.

AI, social, and other "cool" features can wait.

Today's lesson:
Useful > fancy.

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

Shipped 27 versions of KiddoMap today — v14 → v41.

Solo dev. No coding background. Pure vibe coding with AI.

But the real bottleneck isn’t code.

It’s getting real photos for family spots in KL.

- Google Images? Copyright issue.
- Venue websites? Copyright issue.
- AI images? Look fake and kill trust.
- Email venues? Sent 15, zero replies.

For a family app, no photos = no trust.
Current solution: use real photos where I have them, and redirect to Google Maps for the rest.

Honest > fake.

Lesson: building the product is only half the work. Real-world content is the hard part.

#buildinpublic

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

@Babayanski_12 This looks so good and professional👏

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

@jurree @om_patel5 Looking forward to see updates!

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

Sorry for the late reply😅

I've been fixing post-launch bugs these days. The biggest surprise with Codex is that it can actually control my computer and solve technical things I don't fully understand.

The UI is still tricky, so I'll probably use Figma to refine it. For now, my focus is getting the MVP tested by more parents.💪

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

KiddoMap just passed App Store review.

I first had the idea in late April, 2026.
In early May, I started validating the problem — first from my own experience as a parent, then by speaking with 3–4 other parents.

Small sample size, but the pain felt real: parents spend too much time deciding where to take their kids.

I have no coding background, but I couldn't stop thinking about the idea. So I started exploring how to build it with AI.

ChatGPT helped me think through the product.
Codex helped me build most of it.

A little over a month later, the first iOS build is approved.

The app is still rough. There are bugs. Many things need to improve.

But for me, this is already a meaningful milestone.

AI didn't make the journey effortless.
It made it possible.

Building in public, one small step at a time.

#buildinpublic #indiehackers #AI #iOS #KiddoMap

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

@marclou @VacarciucF @mathorde @TarkleHQ @SowaKillian @damjan_malis Followed all those founders.!

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

@marclou man!

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

I used to think it was my only problem.

[Marc Lou @marclou]

AI is so good at backend, but so bad at UI/UX.

Any recent models one-shot my new features, but I'd have to spend another 10+ prompts to get the design right.

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

@vitaliidodonov This is so inspiring, Vitalii.🫡

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

@kekkodamato_ Thanks Kekko!
Hopefully I can have some good news this week.

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

KiddoMap 1.0 submitted to the App Store.
Waiting for review now.

Small step, but real progress.
Building with AI, shipping fast, learning from parents.

#BuildInPublic

[JohnnyChen @johnnybuildsnow]

@vitaliidodonov sleep well is very important