Why we're sunsetting the kahla app and why that's exciting
...and introducing our next adventure
When we started building the kahla app nearly 18 months ago, we were convinced that many women shared the same problem as us: wanting to track, manage and understand their health symptoms, but lacking an easy and integrated solution to do so. And indeed, we found those women. But they weren’t many.
When you follow popular startup advice such as solving a problem YOU have because if you have it, others might too, it’s also worth remembering that this is not always equal to building something people want. The latter, you only find out by building your product, iterating and staring at the sad, soul-crushing Google Analytics chart that shows users aren’t using the product.
We talked to our customers, built the features they asked for, iterated further, but still, we did not find product-market fit. We had a small, dedicated “fanbase” of users who loved and needed our solution, but focusing on them alone meant our TAM would be too small to build a significant business around it.
My passion has never been to build a tech start-up. What I’ve always cared and gotten excited about is helping people be healthier. This, along with being self-funded and bootstrapped from the start, has made it easier to take chances, experiment and pivot. While it’s demoralizing to build a product people don’t want, listening carefully to that brutal feedback might reveal that people are - sometimes unconsciously - providing the solution.
Tracking wasn’t that exciting for our users because it took a lot of effort and there was no immediate gratification. However they frequently asked us for wellness tips, particularly how to eat healthy, how to do that in an easy way, and what supplements to take. We might have discarded this insight, had we not also gathered data about our users’ eating habits. Because most women who used the kahla app also tracked their blood sugar with a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), we had tens of thousands of data points and correlations between the impact of certain foods on blood sugar levels. For most users, breakfast turned out to be the “worst” meal in terms of its effect on glucose levels.
Foods like oatmeal, cereal, fruit, morning pastries, oat milk or coffee on an empty stomach had the worst scores (calculated from 1-10) and led to huge spikes in blood sugar levels. The users who experienced these glucose spikes often also complained of energy crashes, fatigue, food cravings and irritability later in the day. The recommendation our algorithm provided in response to these scores was to have a protein and fiber-rich breakfast instead.
Starting the day with balanced blood sugar is important for several reasons:
Balanced blood sugar helps maintain stable energy levels throughout the day. When blood sugar spikes and then rapidly drops, it can lead to fatigue or sluggishness. Protein and fiber both slow down the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates. This leads to a gradual release of glucose into the bloodstream, helping to prevent rapid spikes in blood sugar levels.
When blood sugar levels drop, hunger signals may increase, leading to overeating or cravings for high-sugar foods. Because protein and fiber are highly satiating nutrients, starting your day with a breakfast that includes them can help you feel fuller for longer, reducing the likelihood of overeating or snacking.
Fluctuations in blood sugar can affect mood and cognitive function. Low blood sugar can lead to irritability, difficulty concentrating, and even anxiety. A balanced breakfast helps to support stable glucose levels, which is essential for maintaining mood and cognitive clarity.
Consistently balancing blood sugar, especially at the start of the day, helps reduce the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Stable blood sugar levels contribute to overall metabolic health by reducing the strain on the pancreas and the body's insulin response mechanisms.
And here’s what happened when our users had a protein-rich breakfast: foods like eggs, Greek yogurt with nuts and berries, or our number one recommendation - a protein smoothie - had a positive impact on blood sugar levels leading to more energy, satiety and fewer cravings.
For many years, my go-to breakfast has been a protein smoothie that contains whey protein isolate, a blend of fiber (chia, flax, acacia, psyllium husk) and antioxidant-rich berries. Because our users wanted to eat healthy foods that were also easy and convenient to make, we always recommended the exact smoothie recipe as an ideal breakfast option. Those who tried it loved it, but didn’t have it as often as they would have liked because of issues such as running out of certain ingredients, not having the right type of fiber, experiencing digestive issues from protein powders, etc.
At this point, something interesting clicked: our users didn’t care much for tracking, but they cared about eating healthy. They wanted a healthy breakfast and convenience at the same time. On a whim, I decided to send a poll asking our users if they would buy a smoothie blend that contained all the ingredients in one formula, had something like this existed. The overwhelming response was “yes”.
After working on a DTC product for over two years, I know better than to take a positive response like that for granted. Until you ask people to pay for a product and they vote with their wallets, you don’t know whether you have found PMF. However, the data we had gathered nudged me to follow this thread and start building again. This time, we wouldn’t be solving just our problem, but that of others too - busy moms and dads, health and wellness enthusiasts, people with metabolic issues, and anyone seeking quality nutrition done conveniently.
Pivoting, however, requires making tough decisions. As we continue to be a completely self-funded and bootstrapped business, we have decided to sunset the kahla app in order to focus all of our resources on building our new product. If you are a kahla user, you will have access to the app until June 1st, after which the app will no longer be available in the iOS App Store and, for security purposes, all your data will be deleted. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to drop me a line at sabina@kahla.com.
Closing this chapter does not feel sad because iteration is a natural part of any product or company’s evolution. Success is often a function of longevity - of staying in the game long enough to find what works. Had we not built the kahla app, we wouldn’t have discovered our new ad(venture). We’ve loved building in public since the early days of kahla, and we are excited to continue this process, showing you how we’re doing it every step of the way.
Without further ado, I’d like to introduce our new venture, Good Decisions.
The idea for the name was inspired by our users who often talked about how doing good things for their health - be it even one small habit in the morning - can have such a positive impact on the rest of their day. The words “good”, “start”, “one good thing”, “good for you” kept playing on a loop in my head until we landed on Good Decisions. I always found that there’s power in simplicity and with this name, we are very clear on what our mission is: help you make good decisions for your health.
We decided to call our first product - the smoothie blend - Good Start. Good Start is designed to give you a comprehensive blend of macronutrients for optimal energy, satiety and blood sugar balance. In short, this is the most nutrient dense and convenient breakfast you can make in less than one minute. Good decisions start with good ingredients, and because we care deeply about what we put in our bodies, we are working on a formula that contains only the highest quality ingredients, with no fillers or junk. Good Start will provide over 30 grams of grass-fed whey protein isolate, collagen peptides, a fiber blend that’s easy to digest even for those who suffer from IBS and a blend of antioxidant-rich berries.
We are currently working with a US-based contract manufacturer to finalize the formula and make our first small batch of Good Start. This will be a 100% US-made product with ingredients sourced in the US, Europe or New Zealand (the best quality dairy comes from Ireland and New Zealand). Based on manufacturing lead times, we expect to have the first version of the product ready in 12-16 weeks. In the meantime, we will share every step of the process on our social media, website, and on here.
We will initially launch with one flavor and we’d love your feedback on which flavor to choose.
Vanilla-berry is caffeine-free and contains antioxidants from berries.
Chocolate contains antioxidants from cocoa flavanols that have 30mg of naturally-occurring caffeine.
Please help us decide below:
To our kahla users, thank you for supporting our business from day one, and thank you for providing the inspiration for our next chapter. We hope you’ll follow along and help us make a product you’ll love ❤️.