# Abode

Abode is a fresh take on staying connected with friends without the pressure of constant chatting. It’s like a private home with fun widgets—games, polls, fitness trackers, and more—where you can hang out, stay updated, and feel connected without endless messages or scrolls.

## Get to know Abode

Hey, I’m Joseph - founder of [Look Engineering](https://www.look.tech/) - a VC-backed, consumer software startup focused on crafting stellar products without compromise, currently building Abode. My journey into coding started almost by accident when I was 12, just messing around with HTML and realizing I could build things from scratch. That kind of sent me down a rabbit hole, learning CSS, JavaScript, PHP, MySQL - basically whatever I needed to create things. I always wanted to build social networks, especially after my sister invited me to Facebook back when you needed a university email to join. I landed my first client at 15, met him at McDonald’s with my mom because she didn’t trust some random guy would just pay me to code. From there, I just kept going. In engineering there’s always something new to learn, always a new tech to get your head around. For me, it was the perfect thing because I’m never satisfied and always satisfied at the same time.

I’ve always worked in startups, jumping between frontend and backend, running my own dev studio for a while, then getting into bigger projects. I built the frontend (and a lot of the backend) for a journaling app called Jour, which got acquired for $20M. And that's when I realize that, okay, startup life is cool, you get to work with your friends and do something you’re truly passionate about.

Getting an idea like this off the ground is no easy feat, and what makes Abode special today is that I managed to build this team with Peter and Alex - they’ve been a huge part of getting us to this point. Peter, our founding engineer, handled 90% of the backend and is an insanely talented engineer with a consumer background. We’ve known each other for 12 years, and when I had the chance to bring him on, I knew he was the perfect fit. Now he’s even jumped into iOS with me. Alex, our designer, is incredible - without her, we’d just be stuck with an idea. We’ve got three full-time members, including myself, and it’s all a super collaborative effort. Everyone puts in equal work, which keeps things running smoothly.

What really stuck with me was the shift in social media from connection to consumption. We used to have fun, interactive platforms like MySpace and MSN, but now it’s mostly passive scrolling. Real social interaction moved to gaming and group chats, but those weren’t designed for deep connections. And that’s where the idea for Abode came from - rethinking how we stay connected with friends without it feeling like a chore.

Abode is all about creating a space where friends can hang out without the pressure of constant chatting. It’s like having your own private home, but with fun widgets - games, fitness trackers, polls, and more, that let you stay updated without needing to message everyone. The goal is to keep people connected in a way that’s more relaxed and fun, helping you stay close to those who matter most, even from far away.

## Tool Stack of Abode

I built the MVP of Abode in two weeks, mainly for a small group of users. After the successful raise, I started from scratch, focusing on stability, security, and scalability. We self-host everything to avoid relying on third-party services, and made sure everything from the widgets to the custom features had a lot of effort put into it.

For Abode, the tech stack is pretty straightforward but effective. On the frontend, we do everything natively, using Swift and UIKit. We went with UIKit because it offers a higher level of control, especially when it comes to optimizing things like frame rates and smoothness. SwiftUI is nice for prototyping, but when you get into the gritty details, UIKit just makes more sense for me.

On the backend, we’re using Node.js with a distributed server and microservices. Each layer, whether it’s the WebSocket, API, or database, is kept in a private network. We also use OpenAI for a few functions to enhance user experience, but AI is just an enhancement, though it’s not the core of the product.

## Do you use any other tools to run the business?

For team communication, we primarily use Slack. For issue tracking, we use Linear. On the design side, we rely on Figma, and for coding, it’s Xcode for the frontend and VS Code for the backend.

## Anything else you’d like to share?

At this point, lots of things change at the drop of a hand. But, definitely, what's coming next is Abode is going to the public app store, and we're going to try and do that as fast as possible. For now, we’d love for you to give Abode a try via TestFlight and let us know what you think.