Hi, I'm Chris Raroque
Solo app developer building beautiful productivity tools and sharing the journey
My Story
I'm a 28-year-old developer based in Dallas, Texas, on a mission to build productivity apps that actually make a difference. What started as solving my own problems has grown into a passion for creating tools that help thousands of people work smarter every day.
Throughout the years, I've done tons of research on productivity apps, testing countless tools and methods to understand what truly works. This website is where I share what I'm learning, the research I'm doing, and the insights I've gained from building my own apps.
I believe in building in public and sharing the behind-the-scenes journey. On my YouTube channel (with over 21,000 subscribers), I document everything from initial concepts to late-night coding sessions, showing the real process of building productivity apps as a solo developer.
"I build productivity apps and make YouTube videos about building them. Taking you behind the scenes of building productivity apps."
My Productivity Apps
Ellie Planner
I built Ellie because I needed a simple system to organize my day. As someone who multi-tasks constantly, things would always slip my mind. Ellie solved this by giving me a space to offload and organize tasks in a beautiful, intuitive interface.
Key Features:
- Infinite Kanban view for seamless date navigation
- Timebox view for time-based planning
- Google & Apple calendar integration
- Advanced filtering and focus mode
- Task roll-over and recurring tasks
Built to 500+ daily active users as a solo developer
Visit Ellie Planner
Luna Budgeting
I created Luna because I was spending way too much money eating out. Luna follows two core principles: it's purposely very manual (for your own good) and has really good UI and design so you don't mind it being so manual.
Key Principles:
- Manual entry for mindful spending
- Beautiful, intuitive interface
- Clear spending insights
- Simple budget tracking
- No complex features, just what works
A budgeting app that makes you aware of your spending
Visit Luna Budgeting
Mogul Networking
A personal CRM for managing your professional relationships
Lily AI Assistant
An AI meeting assistant to help you stay productive
Behind the Scenes on YouTube
Watch me build productivity apps in real-time, sharing the struggles, wins, and everything in between
Building Ellie Planner
Follow along as I build and improve Ellie Planner, from initial concepts to implementing user-requested features. I share everything - the coding challenges, design decisions, and business lessons learned along the way.
Building Luna Budgeting
Watch the development of Luna, my budgeting app designed to help people become more mindful of their spending. See how I approach building a financial app with a focus on simplicity and beautiful design.
Want to see more? Subscribe to my channel for weekly videos about building productivity apps, coding tutorials, and entrepreneurship insights.
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