Launching DiveIn: Embracing the Journey

DiveIn has officially hit the app stores and I couldn’t be more excited! For those of you who know me personally, you’re well aware that Andreas and I literally poured our blood, sweat, and tears into bringing you a bigger, better DiveIn. To finally be able to share it with you means more than I can actually put into words. What I can do, however, is share a little about what this journey has meant to me, what I love about our app, and my hopes for DiveIn’s future.

What I’ve learned

As a first time entrepreneur, the act of building and launching an app was new for me. Believe me when I say, everything you’ve heard about startups (positive or negative) is completely true. The one cliché that particularly rang true to me is that you’ll learn something new every day. Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way.

1. Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone can have unexpected rewards. I've worn many hats at DiveIn but none have fit better than de facto product owner. Having never managed a product development team before, I had no idea what to expect, but I was willing to give it a try. Little did I know I’d be given a front row seat to watching our app go from nothing more than a sign-up screen all the way to an app store listing. And guys, let me tell you, it was pretty freakin’ cool. Having this opportunity was something I didn’t even know I wanted and am so grateful I got to experience it.
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2. If you’re building something for people, make sure those people have a say in what they’re getting. As we took some time to re-design the app we also knew that we needed to check back in with the folks that we were building DiveIn for. To that end, we hosted a workshop with some of our friends and colleagues to pick their brains and make sure what we were creating was something that would be useful. While I knew that a workshop would be insightful, I ultimately learned to appreciate constructive criticism, understand the need for unfiltered brainstorming, and recognize the importance of validation for morale.
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3. Nothing is possible if you don’t have the right support. Friends, family, partners, and employees old and new - today’s success wouldn’t be possible without every single person’s contribution along the way. My biggest takeaway, for anyone who may be looking to start their own company, is to have a great network of people in your orbit. We are lucky to have folks always willing to listen to us vent, offer up their advice, and pitch in to help us achieve our goals.

Fav app feature

Just like any good parent, I can’t actually pick a favorite feature because they are each unique and equally beautiful in their own way. However, there is one thing that brings me an absurd amount of joy, and that’s Divey the DiveIn dinosaur. If you’re confused, scroll back up to the top of this blog post… yep, that handsome little t-rex. Isn’t he the best? As you start to explore the app you’ll see Divey make an appearance when you’ll need him most. And just like each of those unique and equally beautiful features, Divey is close by to offer his assistance and give you a little extra happiness. P.S. Andreas said if this post gets 200 shares we can get Divey tattoos!!!

What’s next for DiveIn?

As you download the app, you’ll hopefully see that we’ve built something special that has the potential to impact millions of lives around the country. My hope for the future, is that our reach extends outside of the United States and becomes a go-to global civic engagement powerhouse. Perhaps sooner than that, I’d like for us to streamline corporate volunteering; and empower both individuals and team members to support any community they work in. If you think your team might be interested in piloting a volunteer solution with us, let us know!

In closing

Bringing the DiveIn app to you has been quite the adventure. And though it’s been tough to comprehend the rewards while I’m actively experiencing them, it's been fun to take a moment and reflect on where we’ve been. Today, I get to fully embrace the journey. I’m so incredibly proud of everything we’ve done, excited for what’s to come, and confident that we’re just getting started. Stay tuned!