Case study
Independent · Founder & builder · 2026
EarnIt
A family chore app where kids earn screen time or allowance, and nothing counts until a parent approves.
The problem
Our kids kept asking for more game time without helping around the house. My wife and I wanted them to earn it. Tracking that by hand was inconsistent, started arguments, and was hard to manage across several kids.
Any fix has to hold up against kids gaming it. It also has to stop two siblings from claiming the same chore, and let each child use their own device.
What I did
Parent approval as the core rule
Kids mark a chore done, but minutes or allowance are credited only after a parent approves it behind a PIN. Denied chores quietly return to the list. Streaks, levels, and a short celebration keep kids motivated, with no public feed and no chat.
Designed out sibling conflicts
Shared chores can be claimed by only one child at a time, using a Firestore transaction so two taps at once can't both succeed. Personal chores like making a bed are tracked separately for each child. The whole family syncs in real time through a family code.
Carried over the Scroll2Stove workflow
EarnIt got everything I learned building Scroll2Stove. The first screens looked AI-generated. A design system for the app, plus Apple's and Google's interface and tone guidelines, turned them into a real product.
Tested it at home with my wife
My wife used the app every day and led the usability feedback. She judged what worked and what could work better, and most enhancements came from her. Her biggest change: kids earn allowance as well as screen time.
Repriced from the unit economics
A family costs about $0.07 a year to run, so cost wasn't the issue. The issue was the ceiling: a $2.99 one-time buyer can never be worth more, however much the product improves. I moved Parent Tools to a $19.99-a-year subscription, a fair price that funds further work. The core app stays free.
Got through App Review
During review of version 1.0.2, the purchase failed. EarnIt was loading the store products for my other app from a shared RevenueCat project. I gave EarnIt its own project and keys. Later, reviewers asked to see the experience, so I set up a demo family and rewrote the review notes.
The outcome
EarnIt launched on the App Store in August 2026.
One real user beats a test plan. My wife used the app every day at home. That led to the biggest change: kids earn allowance as well as screen time.
AI-generated UX is a first draft. A design system and Apple's and Google's guidelines turned machine-made screens into a real product.
Price is a product decision. Moving from a one-time unlock to a yearly subscription gives families a fair price and pays for continued work.