The Archive

Proof of Concept

The project, originally named 'eventHub', started its life as a modest web application capable of pulling and presenting event data from various sources across the globe. This early iteration, though crude, crystalized a fundamental idea: what if the hassle of finding local activities could be replaced by a seamless, mobile-friendly experience? It was the moment the vague potential of the idea became tangible.

The Wall

The initial burst of excitement that fueled the early concept development finally wore off, replaced by the crushing reality of constructing a scalable, professional backend. This month was defined by relentless burnout. Attempting to manage demanding university coursework while simultaneously learning entirely new database architectures led to countless hours of staring at blank screens.

The Pit

Upon returning to university after a summer break, the grind restarted. Our standard curriculum included a mandatory group project creating a Windows desktop application. After about a week of reluctant planning, I approached the teacher and asked for a monumental concession: could I attempt to build an iOS application instead?

To my genuine surprise, he agreed, giving me a strict four-week deadline to deliver a viable proof of concept. Failure meant immediate reversion to the original desktop project. At the time, I had absolutely no idea the undertaking I was beginning.

WTF Do I Make?

The title truly captures the feeling of the moment. I had settled on the technical stack, but I had absolutely no idea what a viable or meaningful project could even be. That's when a conversation provided the answer: "What about making 'eventHub' into an app? It solves a clear problem we all have finding events through usual social feeds with little awareness of what is actually occurring around us daily."

Back to the Start

It was time to return to the project that unknowingly started it all. I compiled a rigorous list of all features from the original 'eventHub' that were to be retained, alongside those that would be cut. Starting with a blank slate, the basic architecture for what would become rallyp0int began to take shape, initially comprising just three simple, core pages.

Functional Yes, Usable No

We reached a critical juncture where we had successfully connected the front-end to a functioning back-end, allowing development progress to accelerate. With the majority of the main interface pages now roughed in, our focus shifted to adding the essential utility pages that would make the app practical for daily use.

Growing Up: Forming the Company

This was the pivotal moment we transitioned mentally and legally from "hobbyists in a garage" to a recognized entity. We realized the scope of our vision was far bigger than just one event app. We began planning Blank Software Ltd. This new company was designed to act as a protective parent company an umbrella that would not only hold rallyp0int but also future projects like lanc1t, and critically, a contracting arm designed to help fund our more ambitious ideas.

Lost in Translation

Data is inherently messy. When we attempted to integrate global event data into a specific New Zealand context, the application began crashing repeatedly. The root cause was simple yet brutal: computers are fundamentally literal. If the app's database expected a mandatory "State" field but a New Zealand address only provided a "Region," the entire system would break.

First Submissions

Before the trial app was ultimately released, we endured a total of thirteen failed submissions to Apple. With each rejection, we diligently absorbed the feedback and continually resubmitted, all while the deadline for our planned local demo release was bearing down on us. The final submission attempt was made late the night before the demo party.

The next morning, I woke up to no update. I drove to the venue feeling the heavy weight of disappointment. Then, I checked one last time. On our fourteenth submission, on the very day of the party, we had been approved. rallyp0int was officially live.

The Design Reality

During the beta phase, we received some refreshingly brutal feedback: "It works great, but honestly, it looks like an engineer designed it." They were right. We had been so intensely focused on the robust backend code that the UI felt clunky and utilitarian.

Closing the Curtains

The comprehensive test phase officially concluded. We intentionally pulled the beta version down to begin final preparations for the real launch. We had gathered sufficient quality feedback to know precisely what users actually wanted versus what we *thought* they wanted. The time for testing was over; it was time to get ready for the main stage.

The "Bad Actor" Problem

Just before our planned re-launch, Apple intervened. They pointed out a significant gap: if we allow users to post public content, we must have an immediate mechanism to stop bullying or inappropriate posts. We didn't have the resources for a human moderation team, so we built automated tools.

Transparency & The Fine Print

We introduced a $200.00 annual subscription for premium business features. However, asking for that kind of money requires extreme clarity. You can't just have a simple "Pay" button; you need contracts and explicit transparency.

rallyp0int Goes Live

We had finally passed the final gauntlet of reviews. rallyp0int officially hit the App Store. Since we had virtually no marketing budget, we relied on "shoe-leather marketing" physically running around university campuses putting up 150 QR code posters and talking directly to people in bars.

The Win: Despite the rushed, chaotic launch, the core app held up beautifully. We achieved a 0% crash rate in the first month. All the time spent stressing over data "translation" and safety checks had paid off.

The True Beginning

From this day forward, we truly began to publicly formalize and promote the application. We are immensely grateful for the involvement and belief of everyone who has supported the project so far!

The Invisible Cost

We were celebrating the successful launch of two platforms when the first truly terrifying bill arrived. Cloud computing feels free during development, but once you have real users uploading high-resolution images, storage costs explode.

It's Working

The data is in. Nearly 50% of our new users are finding rallyp0int simply by searching the App Store we aren't paying for them to come to us. This is the industry definition of "Product-Market Fit." It confirms that we successfully solved a real problem. Now, our focus shifts entirely from building the engine to meticulous tuning for maximum speed as we head into the summer.