How we see it
From far enough away, the pattern is obvious. People are busy and tired, and surrounded by technology that wants something from them: attention, data, another subscription. Up close, it's a missed birthday, a streak lost to one bad day, a feed you never meant to open.
We work at both distances. We read the research, look hard at how people actually live, and then build small, focused tools that fix one thing properly.
We'd rather make a few things people love than a lot of things they put up with. We grow slowly, stay independent, and treat everyone's attention as if it were our own.
What we make
Each one does one job well, charges fairly and respects your time. We run them for the long haul.
Live on Android
Torchkeep
Habits, played like an RPG.
Your habits are runes and your streak is a campfire. You level up by showing up, and one bad day doesn't burn it all down.
- One missed day wipes your streak
- Paying to protect your streak
- Guilt-trip notifications
Live on Android
Inner Circle
Keep your people close.
A private way to look after the relationships that matter. It notices who you haven't seen in a while, and everything stays on your phone.
- Forgetting birthdays
- Apps that want all your contacts
- Scrolling instead of talking
What's next
Something useful, probably.
We're always working on the next small thing. If you run a principled product that helps people and want a long-term partner, we'd like to hear from you.
Get in touch →Everything we're fixing, so far
Each crossed-out light is something other apps get wrong, and one of ours gets right.
Our rules
Six rules we build by, in everything we make.
- Rule 1
Fix something real
Every product starts with a problem people actually have. If nobody is bothered by it, we don't build it.
- Rule 2
Your data is yours
On your device wherever we can manage it. Export or delete it whenever you like. No ads, and we never sell it on.
- Rule 3
Build calmly
No guilt trips, no nagging and no feeds without a bottom. We work at a pace we can keep, and our software should give you time back.
- Rule 4
Build kindly
No dark patterns or tricks. Buttons that say what they do, progress you can't buy, and apps that work for people of every ability.
- Rule 5
Show the working
We share how we build, what worked and what didn't, so anyone can learn from it.
- Rule 6
Charge fairly
Clear prices, cancelling in one place, and nothing important locked away if you stop paying.
Say hello
We read everything, and we reply to most of it.
Tell us what's bugging you
If something in your day is needlessly shitty, we want to hear about it. If it bugs enough people, we might build the fix.
admin@synthesistventures.comBuild something with us
Run a small product that helps people? Researching something that should be a tool? We like long conversations with people who care.
Start a conversation →