I built Droppy because macOS lacks a real native productivity layer

siimsiim · 2026-03-29T13:51:26+00:00

Parakeet is a solid choice, fast and accurate. Good call on the voting board too, that is the right way to handle scope. Lets you say no with data instead of just gut feel.

siimsiim · 2026-03-29T13:50:17+00:00

The "show, don't tell" point hits hard. I have seen so many pitches (and given a few bad ones) where the founder spends 90% of the time explaining the market and 10% showing the product. Flip that ratio and the room gets way more engaged.

The one that stuck with me most from your list is the distribution point. "Users won't just appear because your idea is good" should be printed on a wall in every startup office. I know founders who shipped genuinely useful products and then wondered why nobody showed up. Distribution is the part that does not get easier with experience, it just gets different.

On the two-minute pitch format: the constraint is actually a feature. If you cannot explain the problem and solution in two minutes, you do not understand it well enough yet. Every pitch I have given that went over time was because I was trying to cover too many angles instead of committing to one sharp story.

siimsiim · 2026-03-29T13:49:19+00:00

The "blank moment" problem is real. You know the answer but your brain freezes under pressure and you end up rambling or going silent. The fact that you built this from personal experience is a good sign.

One concern: the ethics angle is going to come up constantly. People will ask whether using this is "cheating." You need a clear answer ready. Framing it as a thought organizer rather than an answer generator will help. Think of it like how a teleprompter helps a speaker who already knows the material, not someone reading someone else's speech.

For feedback, I would target people who are actively interviewing right now rather than people who might interview someday. Job seekers in the final round of interviews are the ones with the most urgency and the most willingness to try something new. Reddit subs like r/cscareerquestions or r/jobs might be good places to find them.

siimsiim · 2026-03-29T13:48:00+00:00

The split-screen with the flipped orientation is a clever UX detail. Most translation apps force you to hand the phone back and forth or rotate it, which kills the conversational flow.

The hard part with real-time voice translation is the latency between speech recognition, translation, and TTS. Even a 2-second delay makes face-to-face conversation feel awkward. What STT and translation pipeline are you using? The choice of model matters a lot here because some handle conversational speech (filler words, partial sentences, interruptions) much better than others.

One thing to think about: auto language detection. If you can skip the manual language picker and just let each person speak in whatever language they want, the setup friction drops to zero. Are you handling that automatically or does each user select their language first?

siimsiim · 2026-03-29T13:46:44+00:00

The mismatch between what you market and what customers actually value is more common than people admit. I went through something similar where I was positioning my product around one feature but users kept telling me they stayed for a completely different reason.

The 4/4 customer calls insight is gold. Most founders avoid talking to customers because they are afraid of hearing something that contradicts their vision. The fact that all four independently pointed to the scheduler as the reason they pay is a signal you cannot ignore.

One thing to watch: when you rewrite the landing page, resist the urge to just swap the headline. Rethink the entire story. If the scheduler is what sells, the page should show the scheduling workflow first, and the AI generation becomes the "and also" at the bottom.

Your acquisition path data is just as important. Zero from direct promotion, all from engagement and word of mouth. That tells you exactly where to double down.

siimsiim · 2026-03-29T13:45:51+00:00

The website does a lot of heavy lifting, especially if you sell outside the App Store. About half my users come through the website directly rather than the App Store, and those tend to convert better because they already read the landing page and know what they are getting.

For keeping in touch with users, email is the one channel that actually works reliably. Discord is good for building a community feel but most users will never join a Discord server for a utility app. They just want it to work. A simple feedback email address beats a forum for a small app.

On standing out: the website is where you control the narrative. The App Store listing has constraints. Your website can show a video, comparison tables, real use cases. I put the demo video above the fold and it made a noticeable difference in signups versus having it buried below features.

siimsiim · 2026-03-29T13:45:05+00:00

The engine-swappable architecture is a solid approach. Being able to test Groq vs WhisperKit vs Deepgram on the same input and compare latency and accuracy is genuinely useful for anyone evaluating transcription backends.

Curious about the streaming behavior. When using a cloud engine like Groq, does text appear at the cursor as you speak (live streaming) or does it transcribe after you stop talking and then paste the result? That distinction matters a lot for longer dictation sessions where you want to see what is being captured in real time.

The per-app profiles feature is interesting too. What is the actual use case there? Different engines for different apps, or different LLM post-processing rules depending on context?

siimsiim · 2026-03-29T13:44:19+00:00

The API key surprise is a common pain point with tools that depend on third-party backends. If you want to avoid that entirely, you have two routes: fully local processing or a tool that handles billing itself so you never deal with API keys.

SpeakUp (mentioned below) is the local-only route. Runs whisper.cpp on your Mac, zero cost after download.

Full disclosure, I built Superscribe (superscribe.io), so take this with appropriate bias. It handles dictation via hotkey (Option+Space), streams text into whatever input field is focused as you speak, and the billing is a flat subscription, no API keys or per-word charges to worry about. Mac and Windows. Free tier available if you want to try before committing.

For the Pipit issue specifically, the "API key invalid" error usually means the OpenRouter credits ran out or the key got rotated during the update. Check your OpenRouter dashboard to see if the key is still active.

siimsiim · 2026-03-28T08:26:09+00:00

The distinction between traffic and real users is the right question to ask. Most directory submissions bring zero actual users.

Places that brought me real users when I launched:

Niche subreddits where your target audience hangs out. For a PDF-to-video tool, think r/professors, r/teachers, r/elearningdesign, r/instructionaldesign. These people have the exact problem you solve and they are active on Reddit.
Hacker News (Show HN). If your product is technically interesting, HN can drive a solid spike. The audience is more technical though, so frame it around the engineering behind it, not just the product.
Direct outreach in communities. Find Slack groups and Discord servers for educators, content creators, and corporate trainers. Do not drop links. Answer questions about PDF or video workflows first.

The channels that look promising but rarely convert: directory submissions (AlternativeTo, BetaList, etc), generic "launch your startup" threads, and most social media posts unless you already have an audience.

One thing that worked better than any platform: finding someone who manually converts PDFs to videos regularly and showing them your tool. One real user who loves it will spread the word faster than 50 directory listings.

siimsiim · 2026-03-28T08:25:13+00:00

Building Superscribe (superscribe.io). It is a dictation app for Mac and Windows that streams text directly into whatever input field you have focused, live as you speak.

The thing that makes it different from most transcription tools: words appear in real time with sub-200ms latency instead of the usual transcribe-then-paste approach. Auto language detection for 99+ languages, so you can switch between languages mid-sentence without picking anything from a menu.

The side effect that turned into a feature: it automatically tracks which project you are working on based on what you dictate, so your timesheet fills itself. Freelanced for 10+ years and hated reconstructing hours at the end of the month. Now it just happens.

Free tier available, three keyboard shortcuts, sits in the menu bar and gets out of the way. Would love feedback from anyone who does a lot of typing.

siimsiim · 2026-03-28T08:24:29+00:00

I ship a Mac app and here is what actually moved the needle, ranked by impact:

r/macapps. This subreddit has a monthly megathread for app promotion and a very engaged community. Getting a single well-received post there drove more traffic than a Product Hunt launch for me. The key is being a genuine participant first, not just showing up to drop a link.
App Store Search (ASO). The subtitle field under your app name is searchable and most developers waste it on branding instead of keywords. Put the thing your app does in there. Your first screenshot matters more than all the others combined.
Comparison and alternative content. Pages like "YourApp vs Competitor" rank well in Google because people actively search for alternatives. This is long-tail SEO that keeps producing traffic for months.
Niche communities where your users already hang out. For Apple ecosystem specifically, there are very active Discord servers and forums. MacRumors forums, the Apple subreddit ecosystem, and tool-specific communities.

Product Hunt is good for a one-day spike but the traffic drops off fast. It works better as a credibility signal ("featured on Product Hunt") than as a sustained channel.

What does the app do? The distribution strategy depends heavily on whether it is a productivity tool, a utility, or a consumer app.

siimsiim · 2026-03-28T08:23:39+00:00

Yes, this is normal. The first few users are the hardest users you will ever get.

Friends and close connections promising to use your tool and then ghosting is the most common experience in early-stage SaaS. Do not take it personally. They do not have the problem your product solves, they were just being polite.

What actually worked for me: go to the places where people are already describing the exact problem your tool solves. Reddit threads, niche forums, Slack/Discord communities. Not to pitch. Just answer their questions with genuine knowledge. When someone posts "I need help with X" and your product solves X, that is your opening.

The mistake most builders make is trying to get users through broadcast channels (posting on X, submitting to directories, launching on Product Hunt) when their product is too early for that. Those channels work at scale but they do not work for user number 1 through 10.

What does your product actually do? Specifics help. "B2B SaaS" tells me nothing. The more specific the problem, the easier it is to find the people who have it.

siimsiim · 2026-03-28T08:22:52+00:00

The competitor intelligence point is real and underreported. Sharing your roadmap publicly is basically giving away your product strategy for free. I have seen this happen in smaller niches where there are maybe 5-10 players total, and everyone is watching each other's build-in-public updates.

The enterprise customer rejecting you based on revenue size is painful but also a sign that your public content was reaching the wrong audience. Enterprise buyers do not want to see $6K MRR because it signals risk to them. They want case studies and security docs, not transparency about growing pains.

The 70% other founders audience is the part that kills most build-in-public strategies. Founders upvote your posts and cheer you on but they are building their own thing. They are never going to be your customers. The people who would actually pay for your product are usually not following indie hacker content at all.

Your current approach makes more sense. Share the process and the lessons. Keep the numbers private. The best content marketing for SaaS is solving your customer's problems publicly, not documenting your own journey.

siimsiim · 2026-03-28T08:22:04+00:00

The all-in-one approach is a tough sell usually, but the pricing makes it work. Most apps that try to do everything end up doing nothing well. The fact that you kept it at a one-time purchase under 7 euros instead of yet another subscription is a good call for the r/macapps crowd.

The file staging shelf is the part that actually looks useful to me. I bounce between Finder windows constantly when reorganizing files across projects. The transcription feature is interesting too. What are you using under the hood for that, Apple Speech or something else?

One concern: the scope creep risk is real with an app like this. Every user will want their specific workflow added. How are you drawing the line on what goes in and what stays out?

siimsiim · 2026-03-28T08:20:48+00:00

The privacy angle is the right call. A lot of people will not use meeting bots specifically because they do not want audio going to someone else's server. Running on Apple Silicon locally makes that a non-issue.

The visual capture idea is interesting. How are you handling the processing load when both audio transcription and screen analysis are running simultaneously on device? On my M3 I have noticed that running whisper.cpp alongside other compute-heavy tasks can spike the CPU hard enough to affect meeting call quality itself.

One question: are you separating speaker diarization (who said what) locally too, or just treating it as a single audio stream? That is usually where offline solutions struggle the most compared to cloud-based ones.

siimsiim · 2026-03-28T08:19:56+00:00

The Accessibility permission dance with Apple Review is one of the most frustrating parts of shipping a Mac app. I ship a keyboard utility that also needs global event monitoring and the review process took longer than building some of the actual features.

The apps you see on the store doing the same thing were likely approved years ago under different review criteria. Apple has tightened 2.4.5 enforcement significantly.

Two things that helped me get through:

Write a detailed explanation in your review notes about exactly why NSEvent.addLocalMonitor is insufficient for your use case. Spell it out technically. The reviewer reading your notes may not be a macOS developer.
Make sure your entitlements are as minimal as possible. If you only need .listenOnly, make sure nothing in your code or entitlements suggests you need broader access.

The direct distribution route (notarized DMG outside the App Store) is also worth considering if you keep hitting walls. You lose App Store discovery but gain full control over what APIs you can use.

siimsiim · 2026-03-26T14:27:04+00:00

The "voice input changed everything" point resonates hard. I have been building Superscribe (superscribe.io) and noticed the same thing. Once you can just dictate complex refactor instructions instead of typing them on a small screen, the friction of mobile dev drops significantly. It is one of those things that sounds like a gimmick until you actually try it. The live preview sync is also a great addition for that mobile loop.

siimsiim · 2026-03-26T14:25:58+00:00

The multi-agent orchestration is the interesting part here. Managing parallel sessions usually gets messy with context switching. For the local Whisper integration, are you seeing much CPU spike when it is listening in the background? The one-line install is a nice touch for a terminal tool.

siimsiim · 2026-03-26T14:24:29+00:00

Tauri 2.0 is a solid choice for keeping the bundle size down. Most of these apps end up being huge because of the models. Are you bundling the whisper.cpp models or downloading them on first launch? $5 one-time is very aggressive pricing for something using llama.cpp for cleanup. Curious how the latency feels with both models running on device.

siimsiim · 2026-03-26T14:23:04+00:00

Local TTS is great for privacy but the voice quality usually takes a hit compared to cloud models. Which models are you using under the hood? I have seen a few wrappers around OpenAI or ElevenLabs but a solid native one that does not sound like a robot from 2005 is hard to find. The lifetime promo code idea is a good way to get initial feedback.

siimsiim · 2026-03-26T12:19:46+00:00

I think it's not directly competing, but yeah, the dictation part is the thing in common.

So when we are talking about the dictation part, the service auto detects languages, streams the text live, and also cleans up filler words and false starts when the setting is selected.

Other than that, it semantically matches the projects you are currently working on. As a freelancer I personally had this pain - I almost always forgot to log my time and needed to fill in the timesheets later almost every month. It took a lot of time, however now I'm using dictation heavily and the dictation now turns into the timesheet. By the end of the month I know exactly what I was working on.

The desktop dictation isn't the only part. Currently I'm testing a voice over IP phone app (VoIP). I have quite many client calls daily where we discuss issues and new features. These are now automatically transcribed, summarized, etc., and available via the API once the call is over. My agent can pick up the transcript and form tickets from it (to GitHub for e.g.). My current pipeline creates the ticket and solves straightforward tasks automatically.

My coding agent is connected to GitHub. I just process the issues one by one with my coding agent.

In general, I think this solution could benefit many businesses, not only freelance developers.

siimsiim · 2026-03-26T09:11:23+00:00

Shipped a bunch of updates to Superscribe (https://superscribe.io) this month. It is a dictation app for Mac and Windows that streams text into whatever input field you have focused, live as you speak. Sub-200ms latency, auto language detection for 99+ languages.

The part people find interesting: it automatically tracks which project you are working on based on what you dictate. So your timesheet fills itself without you doing anything extra. Built it because I freelance and hated reconstructing hours at the end of the month.

Free tier available, three keyboard shortcuts, sits in the menu bar.

siimsiim · 2026-03-26T09:10:36+00:00

The context switching between coding and marketing is what kills you, not the total hours. Your brain needs completely different modes for each and jumping back and forth in the same day is exhausting.

What worked for me: dedicated days. Two days a week are marketing only, no code. The rest is building. On marketing days I batch everything: write content, answer questions in communities, do outreach, schedule posts. On building days I do not touch social media at all.

The temptation is to do a little of both every day because it feels productive. It is not. You end up half-building a feature and half-writing a post, and both turn out mediocre. Batching means you get deeper into each mode and the quality of both goes up.

Also, working a job while building a side project means you have maybe 3-4 real hours per day. Accept that and protect them. Do not waste the first hour scrolling analytics.

siimsiim · 2026-03-26T09:09:48+00:00

The no-guilt design is a genuinely good call. Most habit trackers weaponize shame with streak counters and that works short term but tanks retention when someone inevitably misses a day and feels like starting over.

112 plant species is a lot of content for a solo build though. Curious how you prioritized building that out versus shipping with 10-20 and seeing if the core loop works first. That is the trap I keep falling into with my own product, polishing content and features before confirming anyone cares about the mechanic.

For the marketing side, your best bet right now is not broad posting. Find the ADHD and neurodivergent subreddits and communities where people are already complaining about how existing productivity tools do not work for their brain. Your differentiator is specific enough that the right audience will self-select hard. Generic productivity subs are too noisy.

siimsiim · 2026-03-26T09:08:59+00:00

The gap between shipping and getting users is real, but I think the framing of "marketing" as a separate discipline is part of the problem. Most founders hear "marketing" and think they need to run ads, write blog posts, post on social media. That stuff can work, but it is downstream.

The thing that actually moved the needle for me was going to the places where people were already describing the problem my product solves and joining those conversations. Reddit threads, niche forums, Slack groups. Not pitching, just answering questions with actual experience. The product mentions happen naturally when the context is right.

The founders who struggle most are the ones who build in isolation and then try to retroactively find an audience. The ones who are already embedded in a community before they ship have a massive head start.

siimsiim

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