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From Idea to Google Play in 4 Months - The cre8pet Journey

12/30/2025

Hello! I’m the developer behind cre8pet.

We’ve finally submitted cre8pet for Google Play Store review! 🎉

In early August 2025, we started with a simple idea: “Let’s create a dog walking app.” About 4.5 months have passed, and I’d like to share what I’ve learned while taking full responsibility for everything from planning to design, development, and marketing.

📅 Complete Journey Timeline

DateAreaWork
Early Aug 2025Business PlanningMarket research, competitor analysis, core feature definition
Aug 12, 2025Technical DesignArchitecture design, tech stack selection
Aug 29, 2025DevelopmentAndroid project initialization
Early Sep 2025BrandingApp name, logo, color system design
Sep 5, 2025Globalization5-language multilingual support implementation
Mid Oct 2025UI/UXComplete screen design and usability testing
Oct 20, 2025Deployment PrepRelease build system setup
Early Nov 2025MarketingLanding page creation, domain purchase (cre8pet.com)
Nov 7, 2025LegalTerms of Service, Privacy Policy in 5 languages
Mid Nov 2025PromotionSocial media account creation (YouTube, X, Instagram)
Mid Dec 2025Beta TestingReal user feedback collection and implementation
Dec 27, 2025Quality ImprovementMajor UX improvement update
Dec 29, 2025SubmissionGoogle Play review submitted

🎯 From Start to Finish - How Was It Possible?

1. Business Planning: Finding Market Gaps

Common issues found in existing walking apps:

  • Complex UI with steep learning curves
  • Missing or inconvenient family sharing features
  • Lack of global services (country-specific only)

cre8pet’s Differentiation:

  • Intuitive UI (even grandma can use it)
  • Truly useful family sharing (real-time location, notifications)
  • Global from day one (5 languages simultaneously)

2. Design: Developers Can Make Beautiful Apps Too

How did we do it without a designer?

  • Material Design 3 guidelines strictly followed
  • Figma free version for mockups
  • Flaticon, unDraw and other free resources
  • Consistent color system (Primary, Secondary, Surface)

“You don’t need design sense if you follow a system.”

3. Development: Tool Selection is 90%

  • Kotlin + Jetpack Compose: 3x productivity boost with declarative UI
  • Supabase: Auth, DB, Storage, Realtime all solved without backend servers
  • Hilt: Dependency injection for easy maintenance
  • GitHub: Version control and backup (essential even solo!)

Supabase saved 1-2 months of backend development time.

4. Marketing: Prepare Before Launch

If you launch after development is done, nobody will know.

  • Landing page (cre8pet.com): Built quickly with Astro
  • Social media: YouTube, X, Instagram accounts created early
  • Blog content: Build interest by sharing development process
  • 5-language support: Global market entry preparation

Legal documents required for app launch:

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Account Deletion Policy

Used ChatGPT and legal templates to write them directly, then translated into 5 languages.

6. User Feedback: The Most Important Asset

Beta tester feedback was implemented immediately. Improvements from the last 3 days:

  • Map zoom flickering removed
  • Speed measurement accuracy greatly improved (GPS drift filtering)
  • Auto-navigation to home screen after walk ends
  • Album photo detail screen UI improvements
  • Marking icon intuitiveness improved (pee/poop distinction)

The principle of “fix it now” instead of “fix it later” built trust.

🚀 Final Tasks Before Launch

Completed the following for Google Play submission:

1. API 35 Targeting Upgrade

Upgraded targetSdk to 35 to meet Google Play’s latest requirements.

2. Permission Optimization

Explicitly removed advertising ID permission not used by the app to protect user privacy.

3. Version Management

  • versionCode: 4
  • versionName: 1.0.2

🤔 Technical Challenges and Solutions

Obsession with GPS Accuracy

Even major company walking apps sometimes show inaccurate locations. We’re different:

  • Stationary state detection algorithm (measure actual movement only)
  • GPS drift filtering (ignore errors under 3m)
  • Real walk data-based tuning (dozens of tests)

Result: Completely fixed the bug showing 11km/h while sitting still at home

Real-time Family Sharing Perfection

“When family members are walking, you get real-time notifications.”

Easier said than done. Achieved notification delivery within 0.5 seconds with WebSocket-based real-time sync.

📊 cre8pet by the Numbers

  • Development Period: 4.6 months (planning to launch)
  • Supported Languages: 5 (Korean/English/Japanese/Chinese/Spanish)
  • Max Family Members: 6
  • Max Dog Registration: 5
  • GPS Updates: Real-time (every 1 second)
  • Offline Support: Full support (works even if internet cuts during walk)

🚀 Future Plans

2025 Q1 (Post-Launch)

  1. iOS Version Launch - iPhone users join us!
  2. Gallery Photo Add Feature - Edit and upload photos after walks
  3. Advanced Statistics - Monthly/annual reports

2025 Q2~Q3

  • Popular Photo Spot Feature - Discover hotspots where others take photos
  • Dog Community - Find walking friends in your neighborhood
  • AI Walk Route Recommendations - Route suggestions based on dog age/stamina
  • Health Data Integration - Share walk data with veterinarians

Vision: Recording Walks for Dogs Worldwide

Starting with 5 languages, our goal is every dog in the world.

💡 Lessons Learned

Business Perspective

  1. Done Over Perfect: Better to launch at 80% and get feedback than delay to 120% perfection. The market tells you what’s really needed.

  2. Global is Default: Supporting 5 languages from day one expanded the market 5x. Translating later is 10x harder.

  3. Power of Branding: A good name (cre8pet = create + pet) and consistent design build trust.

Development Perspective

  1. Tool Selection is 90%: Supabase alone saved 2 months of backend development. “What to build with” matters more than “how to build.”

  2. Documentation is for Future You: Code from a month ago is someone else’s code. Comments and docs are essential.

  3. User Feedback is the Best QA: 10 beta testers beat 100 of my own tests.

  4. AI as Partner: Aggressively using ChatGPT and Claude accelerated legal document creation, translation, and debugging. In 2025, developers who collaborate with AI are 10x faster.

Marketing Perspective

  1. Market While You Build: Promoting after development is too late. Share the development process via blog and SNS.

  2. Landing Page is Essential: People are curious even before app launch. Build it early and gather interest.

Execution Perspective

  1. Sustainability: Work 6-8 focused hours daily to prevent burnout. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

  2. Solo PM Efficiency: No meetings, instant decisions, immediate execution. The biggest advantage of dedicated projects is speed.

💝 Closing

Over 4.5 months, I took full responsibility for everything from planning to design, development, and marketing to complete this project. It wasn’t easy, but we got here with one sincere desire: to make every moment with your dog special.

cre8pet may not be as fancy as big company apps, but has more sincerity.

We’ll share the news again when launch is confirmed. Thank you for your support! 🐾

Let’s Build Together!

Feel free to reach out anytime for beta testing participation or suggestions!

cre8pet - Create Every Moment with Your Pet 🐾

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