From developer to solo builder: the POOPIEMATE story

When AI started doing a developer’s job

Working remotely as a developer at ComfyUI, a Silicon Valley AI startup, I learned a lot from brilliant teammates and grew. But as AI took over more and more of a frontend developer’s work, I started rethinking my job.

I used to joke that AI would replace developers someday and that I’d cash in and retire before then. Now that the moment is actually here, I’ve had a lot to think about. So I decided to leave ComfyUI and build my own product.

In March, the Suwon Startup Support Center selected me as a resident company, and in April I left. I built POOPIEMATE as a solo builder. Planning, design, development, video, store reviews, marketing: all of it!

What POOPIEMATE does

POOPIEMATE is an app that logs an outdoor-only dog’s poops and pees and sends real-time alerts. When one family member logs one, everyone gets a notification right away, and a daily timeline shows who walked and logged, and when. On a busy day you can ask someone else to walk.

It scores walk safety from details like your dog’s build, and if rain is forecast for your walk time, it alerts you early so you can walk before it.

It started with our dog Melona

It started with our dog Melona, a Jindo mix WAA rescued from abuse. Like most Jindos, she only goes outside, so rain or snow, she needs three walks a day.

We both work and split the walks, so we kept calling each other to ask, “Did Lona poop?” I wanted to turn that call into one tap. I wrote more about Melona in Why I built POOPIEMATE.

The first version, and what the data said

My JellyLetter was picked as an outstanding project at a Naver CLOVA X hackathon. I built POOPIEMATE’s first version quickly on top of JellyLetter’s design and code, and it reached 120 users.

Then the data showed that people caring for a dog alone almost all left. Multi-dog homes and families sharing one dog stayed. So I shipped multi-dog support first.

Three weeks without a laptop

After running nonstop, I went to Europe alone for three weeks to recover from burnout. I left my laptop at home, a forced digital detox, and kept thinking: when I get back, I’ll redesign POOPIEMATE and build it properly.

Better AI models came out in those three weeks, and development, design and even motion graphics got much easier. When I got back, I turned POOPIEMATE into a family care app. In one week I redesigned and built 2.0.0 myself, made motion graphics with Claude and set up our social accounts.

No need to ask. POOPIEMATE tells you

The first tagline was “Keep the outdoor potty routine, rain or snow.” Now we have a character, Poochie, and a new line.

“Did Poochie poop this morning?”

No need to ask.

POOPIEMATE tells you.

Our tagline today

Logging is gamified. The poop and pee gauges change their faces based on the walk routine you set during onboarding, so the family can see when she’s been holding it, and you send a thank-you heart to whoever walked her. In 2.1.0, coming soon, walk requests fly off as paper planes and hearts pour out of a pink letter.

About 150 people use it now. Around 10 log every day, and about 30 log four or more days a week. Small numbers, but they keep me going.

What I want POOPIEMATE to do

POOPIEMATE exists to make caring for medium and large outdoor-only dogs easier. I believe that when care gets easier, more families will welcome Jindos and Jindo mixes. As most people who know me probably know, I’ve also worked as staff at the rescue group WAA, and I’m all in when it comes to dogs.

In the age of AI, I think it matters to be someone who creates their own goals and values. My goal is that Korea’s native dogs are no longer euthanized in shelters. The value I want to create is helping medium and large dogs be loved at home and go on happy walks.