David Kim | Tablow Dev

Solo dev from Canada. Built Tablow after a silent Korean-Japanese family dinner. Live translated captions in 60+ languages, guests need no app. 日韓家族のための字幕翻訳アプリ

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

弟が日本人と結婚しました。両家の顔合わせを韓国でしたのですが、一番つらかったのは料理でも手続きでもなく「沈黙」でした。うちの親は日本語ができず、あちらのご両親は韓国語ができない。弟は両方の通訳役で、食事どころではありませんでした。

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@HONEY1220__ ありがとうございます！！ そう言っていただけて本当に嬉しいです🙏

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@HONEY1220__ 使ってくださって、しかもこんなに紹介までしていただいて本当にありがとうございます😭

整形や皮膚管理のカウンセリングでも使ってもらえているなら、すごく嬉しいです。使っていて不便なところがあったら、いつでも教えてください！

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@SaniAiTech Thank you! That's the hope. Curious how it goes in other families, so I'm hoping some parents chime in.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

I asked parents raising kids abroad how much Korean their kids speak.

The replies were all over the place. Some kids are fluent. Some understand everything but answer in English. Some barely speak it.

So now I'm curious about the next part. When your kids video call their grandparents, who translates? You? Or does the call end at "Did you eat?"

In my family the gap was my parents and my Japanese sister-in-law. I added video calls to the app I build on my own so they could talk without my brother in the middle. Only one side installs it. The other side opens a link, and both screens show captions in each person's own language.

I think it could work for kids and grandparents too.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

https://t.co/AOkBl0KQ2B

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@YasKTechTips Agreed on both. The risk is real: what fixes my family's table might not fit everyone's. The upside is I never had to wonder whether it mattered. I just had to watch my brother eat.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

First interview as a solo founder. One question: "How did you validate demand before building?"

Honest answer: I didn't.
My brother married a Japanese woman. At family dinners he sat between my parents and her, translating both ways, barely eating. That was all the market research I had. I wanted an app my family could use before an app that made money.

Six months of building after my day job later, families I've never met use it too. I validated in reverse.

#buildinpublic #indiehacker

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@VantixAgency ありがとうございます！まさにそこが作り始めたきっかけです。弟が両親と義妹の間でずっと通訳していて、食事どころじゃなかったので。

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

旅行なら翻訳アプリで十分だと思います。

困るのは家族の食卓。会話が速くて、ボタンを押しているうちに話題が2つ進みます。

テーブルの真ん中にスマホを一台置くだけで、みんな自分のスマホで自分の言葉で読める。そういうアプリを作っています。

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@SaniAiTech Thanks. Family dinners are why I built it, but it works on trips too. Make a new friend abroad, they scan the QR, and you just talk.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@VeyraWithAI Not quite there yet, but it's a better place to start than a guess.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@corhoonx Thanks, that means a lot. It's still the scene I think of whenever I decide what to build next.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@gaurav0bhowmick That's the bet. The dinner gets someone to install it, the calls are the reason they keep it.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@bollineni1234 Haha, he got promoted from interpreter to dinner guest.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@gaurav0bhowmick Exactly. And it doesn't end at the first dinner. After the wedding it turns into weekly video calls with the parents, which is why I added captions on both screens of a video call next.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@raiyanj3_ haha, he'd agree. A hungry brother turned out to be the best product manager I've had.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@SaniAiTech Agreed. When it was my own family at the table, I noticed every little thing that didn't work.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@gaurav0bhowmick Fair risk. What surprised me after launch: Korean-Japanese wasn't even the only big pair. Korean-English families use it just as much, and the messages I get are about fiancés and partners' parents, not only siblings. Every family seems to have someone stuck in the middle.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@yesadok Exactly. The first dinner where both families laughed together without my brother in the middle told me more than any survey could.

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@rishabhnasa Love that. Building for someone you see struggle every day keeps you honest about what actually helps. How does your partner use it now? Daily sessions?

[David Kim | Tablow Dev @tablow_dev]

@aaapinen Thanks for the follow!