Kardio
Challenge
Heart health apps are either boring medical utilities or fitness trackers that don't speak to casual users. Kardio's vision was different: make heart health engaging through gamification, community, and a distinctive pixel-art aesthetic.
Solution
I grew from PM into leading both product and development. Built out proper test suites and CI/CD pipelines that cut deployment time from weeks to under 10 minutes. Shaped the product direction while shipping code myself.
Outcome
Successfully launched on the App Store. Built a sustainable development process that let a small team ship with confidence. Learned that the line between 'product' and 'engineering' is mostly artificial.
The Journey
I joined Kardio as a Product Manager. That title lasted about a month.
The startup needed someone who could both shape what we were building AND help build it. So that’s what I did. By the end, I was Director of Product & Development — which really meant “person responsible for making sure we ship good things.”
What Made Kardio Different
Pixel Art Aesthetic
Most health apps look like medical equipment. Kardio looked like a game you’d actually want to play. The pixel-art style wasn’t just aesthetic — it signaled that this wasn’t your doctor’s app.
Gamification That Works
Points, levels, avatars, challenges. But not gamification as manipulation — gamification as motivation. The mechanics were designed around genuine engagement with heart health, not dark patterns.
Community First
Heart health can be isolating. Kardio built community challenges that let people support each other. Competition when you wanted it, encouragement always.
Technical Wins
CI/CD Pipeline
When I joined, deployments took weeks. Manual testing, manual builds, manual everything.
I built out:
- Automated test suites that caught issues before they shipped
- GitHub Actions pipelines for consistent builds
- TestFlight integration for seamless beta distribution
Result: deployment time dropped from weeks to under 10 minutes.
Data Visualization
Heart rate data is inherently visual. Using D3.js, we built visualizations that made the data meaningful — not just numbers on a screen, but patterns you could understand at a glance.
Tech Stack
- React Native: Cross-platform mobile development
- D3.js: Data visualization for heart rate trends
- Supabase: Backend services and database
- TestFlight: iOS beta distribution
- GitHub Actions: CI/CD automation
Lessons Learned
The PM/Engineer divide is often artificial. The best product decisions come from people who understand both what users need AND what’s technically feasible. Don’t silo yourself.
Invest in infrastructure early. That CI/CD pipeline paid for itself within weeks. When you can ship with confidence, you ship more often.
Gamification is a tool, not a strategy. Points and badges mean nothing if the underlying experience isn’t valuable. Start with genuine value, then ask how game mechanics can enhance it.
Where It Is Now
Kardio has sunset. The app was taken down from the App Store in 2025. But the work mattered — we proved that heart health apps don’t have to be boring, and the CI/CD practices I built there still inform how I ship software today.