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I'm Parker 👋, creator of the write, remember, and share *things* tool, Twos ✌️. AMA
Hello there! I'm Parker, co-founder, creator, and developer of Twos ✌️ (https://www.TwosApp.com).
I first experienced the benefits of writing things down when I had depression as a freshman in college and use a Word document to express myself.
During a summer internship, my mentor recommended I write down tasks and accomplishments to reference them in future job interviews.
That summer I thought of a private first, social media platform that would allow you to write down any*thing* you wanted to remember privately, but then you could choose individual *things* to share and connect with important people in your life.
I built v1 of Twos my senior year, launched it just before graduation, and used it to remember my post-college trip with my friends and brother.
Since then, I've worked at Google, Qualcomm, and a start-up in San Francisco called Trustwork, all while continuing to develop this private-first, social media platform Twos, to write, remember, and share *things*.
I left Google two years ago to pursue Twos full-time and have since raised a pre-seed round, grown the user base by over 7500%, and continue to work towards our goal to create the best place to write, remember, and share *things* to help people stay organized, remember more, and create meaningful connections.
We're launching for the first time on Product Hunt next Tuesday (Twosday), July 18th, but...
Today I'm here to answer questions about software development, productivity, mental health, big tech, start-ups, and everything in between.
AMA 👇
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André J
I would drill down that this is a todo app and highlight why this is a better todo app than the competitors. That's my ✌️cents 😏
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@sentry_co Thank you, André! That's a wonderful suggestion :). I think it's a better, more effective all-in-one (notes, to-dos, reminders, calendar, lists, and social) app than spreading out between many apps. Really appreciate your ✌️ cents :)
@parkeraklein Your welcome. I would maybe add more images from the notes feature and less from the todo feature. Or balance it out somehow. Im sure you will figure it out 🚀
@cameron_pak1 Hi Cam! Thank you for the question :). A lot of people think you need to be the most productive person ever and work crazy hours to be successful. A lot of companies will push their employees to work 100-hour weeks. This was my experience at the start-up I worked at. I would work 15 hours a day and we worked 6 days a week. My views have changed and think consistent progress is more important than pushing yourself too hard for a shorter period of time and then burning out.
I also think there is a lot of emphasis nowadays on work-life balance and seeing work and life as separate areas of life. I believe it makes more sense to find a job you enjoy doing and make it part of your life since we spend so much time working. It can create much more fulfillment in life and how you spend your time and help you accomplish much more. I think about one of my idols, Lil Wayne, and how he's always working and is able to accomplish so much because he really loves what he does and sees it as his purpose.
I definitely believe everyone's journey and perspective is different and should be able to make their own decisions to live the best life for them, so it all comes down to self-awareness and making sure you're taking good care of yourself so you can reach your own potential :)
@parkeraklein what's the old adage? "Love what you do, and you'll never work a day in your life." Appreciate the response! and love Twos!
What's up, Parker! With all the ups and downs of early-stage startup life, what's one thing you would do differently in retrospect? And one thing you've done really well?
Excited for the launch next Twosday!
@michael_otis Hi Michael! Thank you for asking :).
Since spreading the word is so challenging for consumer apps, I wish I had spent more time spreading the product rather than "hiding" and building. You can learn so much from getting it out there and listening to users and early feedback.
One thing I think I've done well is to ensure the sustainability of the product. Professionally, we run a very lean start-up with very little burn so we can last as a company and personally, I am very minimalistic which has allowed me time to focus on building and save money so I could take the leap and focus on Twos full-time for a long time.
@jon_tavarez Hi Jon! Great question. Yes, we currently have calendar integrations for Apple, Google, and Outlook calendars through our mobile app and text and email integrations, but we have Zapier, IFTTT, Reminders, Slack and Readwise integrations on our short term roadmap.
Are there any you'd like to see?
@parkeraklein would be cool if there was a feature to remind you to follow up with contacts imported from phone and other sources. Without having to actually type it out.
@jon_tavarez Love that! We do integrate with contacts to find people to follow and connect with inside the app. Could be cool to pick when contacts you'd like to stay in touch with. Great recommendation ✌️
How does Two's compare to other note-taking apps out there, and what makes it different?
@tracyingram Hi Tracy!
Twos is designed around writing *things* down which is different than traditional note-taking apps.
Other app's "notes" would be like our "list" or "day" and then you capture "things" on days and lists. *Things* can be any*thing* you want to remember—to-dos, thoughts, reminders, events, links, etc.—and are much more dynamic because they can be reordered with drag and drop, moved between different days/lists, marked as important, and even shared individually rather than sharing an entire list.
Twos isn't just a notes app, it's also a task manager, calendar with integration with Google, Apple, and Outlook calendar, uses AI to set reminders, and has a social side of the platform for sharing and discovering with others.
Overall, it's a very different way to remember, organize, get *things* done, and share in one app.
Hi Parker! It's great to hear about your journey with Twos and how you found the benefits of writing things down. As a co-founder of ProApp, an edtech application, I understand the importance of productivity and mental health in the digital age. We focus on providing tools and resources to help students and learners stay organized, enhance productivity, and foster meaningful connections within an educational setting. If you have any questions related to edtech, software development, or anything else, feel free to ask. Good luck with your launch on Product Hunt!
@twosjoe Howdy Joe! Complementary skillsets! (As you know 😉). I'm much more of an introvert who likes to build, think, and create, so it's been extremely helpful having a partner who likes getting out there and talking to people ✌️❤️
@treebel_solimani_masihi Hi Treebel! It took a long time 😂 about a year before any meaningful traction. The biggest change was probably multiple changes. We made the tool more of an all-in-one productivity app to integrate with calendar, reminders, and introduced a new type of *thing*: to-do. This made the platform much more powerful for staying organized, saving time rather than switching between many apps, and remembering *things* (tasks, reminders, events). Great question!
@parkeraklein really appreciate your response Parker! I’m so happy you finally got the traction. I’ve had a similar journey so far will lots of iterations, but hope to see more traction soon! This is so different than my decade long corporate experience haha
How did you know it was the right time to leave Google and pursue Twos full-time?
@allie_felix Hi Allie! Great question :). There were two main reasons.
1. I felt a constant pull internally to take the leap with Twos. I had tried to ignore it for a long time, but eventually, I had to make the leap for my own happiness to see what would happen. I was also restricted from sharing Twos with anyone while at Google because of Google Keep and I would always use Twos over Google Keep so I felt it was the right move to start promoting and sharing Twos.
2. I realized I was only staying at Google for the safety of the paycheck. I was lacking meaning in the work and I had saved up enough money to survive on my own for many years so the money even lost meaning. I knew I had to face my fears to take the leap and see what I could do. It was a bigger purpose for me to dedicate more time and share my unique talents with more people.
Have you ever taken a risk like that?
@parkeraklein Such a great point! I haven't taken an entrepreneurial risk like this, but it's reminiscent of putting into the universe my dream and vision to build the startup community in Tampa - my personal "bigger purpose". Eventually, you have to take the leap! Excited for you to launch on PH.
Hey Parker! How did you realize that there wasn't a perfect way for you to write things down?
@peteraw Hi Peter! Thank you for the question :).
I was thinking about all of the things I was writing down and working on privately that none of my friends or family had any idea about.
I had an idea to help you capture anything privately, but it would also allow you to choose to share any of those things with the people you care about to create more meaningful connections.
This started a journey to create the best place to write, remember, and share *things*, or pieces of information you can quickly capture and organize throughout your daily life.
Some *things* are notes or to-dos or reminders or events, which has led to this extremely powerful, all-in-one tool to organize, remember, and share your life with a quick and simple system of days, lists, and *things*.
There was nothing like that out there, still isn't, as most apps are built around notes, documents, and pages (I started with Apple Notes, Google Docs, and Evernote), which are aren't quick and easily organized as just writing *things* down.
Sorry for the lengthy response 😂, but I really appreciate the question and prompt ✌️😊
