The Problem
We live in a world that is extraordinarily connected and profoundly lonely at the same time. We have more ways to reach each other than ever before, yet most of us struggle to feel truly heard. We scroll past each other. We talk at each other. We long for deeper connection with the people we care about but lack the structure to make it happen.
A quote from Krista Tippett has stayed with me: "Fracture within ourselves—fear, pain, sadness, shame, uncertainty, and other emotions—is at the bottom of fracture within our society." It names something I see everywhere. The division we experience in our communities doesn’t start with disagreement. It starts with the fact that we’ve stopped truly listening—to ourselves and to each other.
So, how do we change this? The answer is not another social network. What if people just need a gentle structure—something that creates room for honest reflection with the people they already trust? Not a platform. Not a feed. Just a quiet space and a few good questions.
The Concept
That’s what Listen is. It’s a 5-day guided reflection app for small friend groups. You gather 2–4 people you trust into what we call a Circle, choose a theme—like Weekly Check-in, Community, Parenting, Work, Marriage, or Spirituality—and for five days, everyone receives a thoughtful prompt to sit with. You reflect by writing or recording a voice memo, then read what your friends shared and respond with care.
You create a Circle, share an invite link, and you’re off. Each morning, everyone gets a text message with the day’s prompt and a link to reflect. The prompts are designed to go a little deeper than small talk: "What are you carrying into this week?" or "Where do you sense life and vitality? In whom?" When the five days are up, your Circle can start another round with the same theme, try a different one or do nothing. It can be a repeatable rhythm but doesn’t have to be.
The key design choice was restraint. Listen is intentionally small, slow, and short. There are no feeds, no likes, no follower counts, no algorithms deciding what you see. Just a few people paying attention to each other for a few minutes a day. The structure keeps it safe. The people make it meaningful.
How I Built It
I built Listen with Claude Code was my AI coding partner throughout the entire process. Claude helped with everything from early architecture decisions to running a full security audit to debugging a maddening timezone edge case in SMS delivery.
The frontend is Next.js with the App Router, deployed on Vercel. The backend is Supabase, which handles both authentication and the database. SMS delivery runs through Twilio, triggered by a daily cron job. Styling is Tailwind CSS. No over-engineering—just enough infrastructure to support the experience.
The build process was iterative. I started with the core loop: create a Circle, invite friends, reflect on a prompt, respond to each other. Once that worked, I layered on features one at a time—SMS notifications, voice memo recording, the ability to choose and change prompt set themes, and more. Each feature was built and refined before moving on.
This is an app where people share vulnerable, honest reflections about their lives. So, security was a priority from the beginning, not an afterthought. I ran a comprehensive security audit and fixed every issue before shipping. The trust people place in Listen by sharing what they share—that’s not something to take lightly.
What’s Next
Right now, I’m rolling Listen out to an initial audience and gathering feedback from real Circles. The goal isn’t to scale fast—it’s to make something that genuinely helps small groups of people listen to each other better. If it works for 10 Circles, that’s 40 or 50 people having deeper, more honest conversations with the people they care about. That matters more to me than hockey-stick growth charts.
I’d love to hear from you. If this resonates—if you have a small group that could use a structure like this—try it out at www.trytolisten.com. Or just reach out—I’m at hello@trytolisten.com.