ParentPilot
A peer-to-peer support chat app for new parents — built on 12 in-depth interviews and iterative user testing.
What I Built
ParentPilot is a mobile app that gives new parents a safe, easy-to-use space to talk about the challenges of parenthood. It connects parents in group chats by topic, lets them exchange solutions, and builds community around shared experience.
Group Talk
Find rooms by topic and join freely. Parents can share frustrations, seek advice, and connect with others going through similar experiences.
Thumbs Up!
When someone says something that resonates, a quick thumbs-up encourages them to share more — creating a positive feedback loop.
Share Solutions
Parents help parents. When someone faces something tough, others can mark and share useful content directly in the thread.
Research & Process
12 in-depth interviews
We interviewed 12 parents with diverse backgrounds across the nation. Two team members were personally facing the transition to parenthood, which gave us raw empathy for the problem space.
Color-coded affinity mapping
We categorized joy-affecting factors with cold colors (decrease joy) and warm colors (increase joy), then coded every interview transcript. This revealed unexpected patterns — the #1 factor wasn't childcare logistics, but emotional isolation.
Pivoted from babysitter app to peer support
Our first concept was a babysitter-finding app. User testing revealed fundamental trust issues that an app alone couldn't solve. We pivoted to peer-to-peer emotional support — inspired by alcohol rehab group dynamics — which tested much stronger.
Design Decisions
Topic-based rooms over direct messaging
Research showed parents needed to feel "not alone" — group conversations around shared topics (sleep struggles, partner tension, etc.) created more empathy than 1-on-1 chat.
Mood-first onboarding
Instead of a standard form, we ask parents how they're feeling first. This sets an empathetic tone and routes them to relevant rooms immediately.
Children info added to signup
User testing feedback led us to add a children's info step during signup — so the app can connect parents whose kids are the same age, making advice more directly relevant.
Outcome
Strong positive reception — Multiple testers said the app potentially solves many of their mental health concerns and children issues.
Pivot validated — The babysitter app concept was killed early through user testing, saving development time and proving the value of rapid prototyping.
Key learning — Be cautious but never assume. Designing with empathy requires being extremely sensitive to topics around parents and family while letting research guide decisions, not assumptions.