Entry #4: Let Me Cook is ready to test!
Good morning from LA!
After spending a few weeks in Seattle with my dad, I'm back in LA with my grandma. I enjoyed spending time with my dad. I saw my mom and brother as well. At the same time, I'm glad to be back in LA. A routine is important to me, and it was difficult to keep one in Seattle. I'm also happy to be making progress on Let Me Cook again.
Which brings me to an ask! The time has come to roll out Let Me Cook. I also want to hop on a video call with some of you to learn more about you cooking habits in general. If you're interested in testing the app, jumping on a video call with me, or both please fill out this (short!) survey.
What I'm working on
If it isn't clear enough yet... Getting Let Me Cook ready for testing is my top priority. What does that look like? Mostly just using it. I've been cooking from recipes recently. I find a recipe that sounds good, copy and paste the URL into Let Me Cook, and then ask questions as I cook. Recently I made some tuna tostadas, shallot pasta, and a mushroom-barley soup. I find using the app makes cooking from a recipe more fluid. I can focus on what I'm doing instead of having to go back to the recipe, find where I was at, read what to do next, and then keep it in memory.
As I test I'm really keeping one thing in mind: how do I make using the app more seamless and valuable? There are a few big areas of improvement:
Onboarding, which is teaching the user what they can do with the app. We all have different context when we use a product and with a consumer product it isn't possible to have a conversation with every user so the app itself must guide new users.
Decreasing response times. While the responses to questions are surprisingly accurate they are slow. At best it's annoying.
Supporting Instagram / TikTok / YouTube links. The app supports normal recipes, but does not support videos yet.
The feedback you give will directly influence which of these (or something else!) is prioritized so please fill out the survey above. 😊
What I'm thinking about
Balance and responsibility have been top of mind for me recently. For most of the year I've been trying to find a balance between building a business and showing up for family. Without a boss, or even investors, I often deprioritize work. To a large extent I want to and am grateful that I am in a place in life where I can deprioritize work to help family. However, life isn't free and I'm still spending my savings. I have an opportunity to build a business to support the life I want. I continue to try to find a balance between those two.
Writing that says a lot about my life prior to this year. "Balancing work and family" is something most parents, and many others, have to do constantly. This is my first experience where balancing work and life does not mean travel, exploring hobbies, and trying new restaurants but being of service to people I care about. I find it much more meaningful. That paired with not having direct accountability makes that balance trickier for me to navigate.
What I'm feeling
Relieved, excited, and anxiety.
I feel some relief being back in LA. I have more of my own space, more control over my time, and more of my habits in place as I mentioned.
I'm excited about where Let Me Cook is. I'm excited to get your feedback on it and learn more about your cooking habits in general.
This phase of life for me has a quiet, background anxiety. Sometimes I think I talk and focus too much on the anxiety. The anxiety itself can become a habit. At the same time, there's a lot of uncertainty in my life right now. It always helps to remind myself that whatever happens, I'll be okay.
What I'm enjoying
I had fun going back to some childhood experiences when I was with my dad. I found comfort in them. So here are a few:
Eating popsicles! My dad has taken a recent (I think?) liking to popsicles. I haven't had a popsicle in years and am honestly sold. Great dessert, pretty low calorie, and you can get 100% fruit juice ones.
Watching planes take off. The cancer clinic in Seattle looks out over the Lake Union landing strip. My dad is a pilot, and we both enjoy small planes so it was fun to watch them come and go.
Playing a GameBoy emulator. I had heard of the emulator apps for phones, but hadn't tried one. There were many short periods of downtime at the clinic so I started playing games I did as a kid. Delta is the emulator I downloaded.
I hope you have a great week. As always, thank you for reading and here is the survey again if you haven't filled it out yet.
- Grant