ChekChat was my 1st attempt to build a startup. You can try the live demo with these credentials or register for one:

• Email: john@example.com — Password: John123456
• Email: jane@example.com — Password: Jane123456
• Email: ben@example.com — Password: Ben1234567
• Email: tom@example.com — Password: Tom1234567

Problem

Most team collaboration apps like Slack, Discord, Trello, etc. requires users to toggle between apps causing context switching.

• For example, developers use Trello to work on a task, then go to Slack to discuss → Users have to toggle between Slack and Trello → Causes context switching.

→ Context switching distracts developers to work on tasks.

Solution

Built an app that focused on tasks where users can chat in a room made for that specific task.

Team

Worked in a team of three to build the app.

• Simon Hu — MBA in Project Management

• Junnosuke Noiri — BBA in Computer Information Systems

Tech stack

Coded the front end with React/NextJS, Redux, and Material UI hosted on Vercel.

Built the back end with SocketIO and Express deployed to Heroku.

Why we failed

Our team lost commitment over time due to not involving users in the process. Actually, we built before validating.

Seeing no validation was probably the biggest reason.