Speechy.Ai Team
About the project
Speechy is an AI-driven speaking assistant offering personalized feedback to enhance your speaking skills and confidence. Basically, It's like a Grammarly for your voice.
What sparked this project?
Hey folks! I'm Zinovii, the CEO & Founder of Speechy AI. Allow me to share the story of how this project came to be. When I relocated to London as a non-native English speaker, I found myself in amusing situations at restaurants. I unintentionally ordered a "diet c..k" instead of "diet Cola" on multiple occasions. After this amusing mishap occurred about 15 times, I thought, "I don't want to order diet genitals anymore." Later, it dawned on me that apart from dining in fancy restaurants, we often participate in lengthy meetings where English serves as the primary language. As non-native English speakers, we often worry about pronouncing words correctly and using appropriate phrases. Additionally, making simple grammar mistakes can be quite frustrating.
This realization fueled my determination to create a tool that seamlessly integrates into your daily life. This tool can listen to your speech, provide English feedback, and assist you during online meetings, all designed to enhance your communication skills effortlessly. Although it's our first public release, the tool performs exceptionally well and can certainly elevate your speaking abilities. Moreover, it's currently available for free, so I encourage you to give it a try!"
Who was on the team for the project?
Our team is currently working on a solution to improve pronunciation and confidence for non-native English speakers. As a girl from Ukraine living in London, I have personally experienced difficulties communicating with others. Our goal is to create a product that can assist everyone with these challenges.
- Zinovii Zubko - Founder & CEO - Kostiantyn Danylov - Co-Founder & CTO - Artem Konovalov - Co-Founder & Engineering - Daniela Muntyan - Founding designer
Do you have some project metrics to share?
We got the Product Hunt of the day 3rd place, and also the top 3 products of the week in the category Productivity. We are trying to move fast, so we have a lot of iterations of our product during only last month. We are always trying to improve the product with the help of our customers. We got plenty of interviews, and now we are going to create a new version.
What is your approach to working on a project like this? Do you follow a specific process or framework?
We are attempting to shift to a one-week sprint. As a proponent of user-centred design, we aim to test every design decision. Our main principle is to create products that are simple and practical for everyday use. Also, we have a simple design system based on a HIG to create our design decision as simple as possible. Our team have a regular meeting to sync our design and vision, and what we should improve next.
What did the early versions of this project look like? What did you learn from this v1?
Our initial product, the Alpha version, was not up to par. However, we received valuable feedback from our power users that helped us identify areas for improvement. One issue we encountered was our tendency to prioritize the creation of unnecessary features, such as Analytics, over developing the core of the product that actually works.
Additionally, Alpha 1.0 failed to function for 50% of our users, which was a major setback. In response, we have revamped our process and developed a concept that aligns with our strategic vision, decomposing it into the 1.0 version of our product.
Here you can find more screenshots and information.
'We are always trying to improve the product with the help of our customers.'
What was the biggest challenge? Did any part of the project make you step out of your comfort zone?
Developing a new product can be a formidable challenge, particularly in a landscape filled with numerous competitors. While there are several methods available for improving our speaking skills, the real question revolves around the feasibility of crafting a personalized speaking copilot that genuinely adds value to the user's journey. We believe we've charted a promising path toward creating something exceptionally beneficial.
The journey hasn't been without its challenges. Balancing product development with the preparation for a product hunt and conducting extensive customer interviews has tested our efficiency. There was even a memorable night when I singlehandedly designed an entire UI kit in a rush. Moreover, we take pride in handling all aspects of production in-house, from banner design and motion graphics to marketing strategies and detailed analytics. This all-in-one approach keeps us agile and aligned with our vision.
How did you overcome this challenge?
We are trying to work with part-time designers to improve our productivity when we working on motion design or illustration.
What and/or who inspired you during the creation of this project?
I am a huge fan of all MacPaw products. They are an incredible Ukrainian company that has developed a great app for MacOS. https://macpaw.com/
What was your biggest learning or take-away from creating this project?
We realise that people need that. We have a lot of feedback and active users who used our product, and we can be even better.
Can you point out a detail in the project that might go unnoticed but you’re particularly proud of?
Our grammar analyses are incredible.
'Prioritize work-life balance for a fulfilling and joyful life.'
Which part of this project consumed the most time or energy?
Marketing has been a particularly challenging aspect of our journey, primarily because we lacked prior experience in this domain.
What was the result of this project?
Product Hunt #3 brought in a substantial number of active users, which is a positive sign. On the day of our Product Hunt launch, we received over 5,000 unique visitors to the website.
Where was the project created? What do you enjoy about working there?
I used several essential design and editing tools to bring this project to life, including Figma, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, and Screen Studio for creating engaging demos. Screen Studio, in particular, played a pivotal role in expediting the demo creation process, allowing me to quickly showcase the project's key features and functionalities.
If this project had a soundtrack, which one would it be?
Which tools did you use to create this project?
Figma, Adobe After Effect, Adobe Photoshop and Screen Studio for demo.
What are you currently working on, and what's next?
Looking ahead, our priorities include enhancing the initial user experience, refining pronunciation assistance, and exploring the possibilities for a Vision Pro edition.
Who or what are you inspired by lately? Any current influences that you find are seeping into your work
I am a big admirer of design https://twitter.com/sekachov
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice about navigating the design world, what would it be?
I had to create a product to answer this question https://designlibrary.xyz/ My advice is rooted in the belief that when designing anything, whether it's a product or your life, it's crucial to keep people in mind. Prioritize work-life balance for a fulfilling and joyful life.
From the maker
