Building in Public: Our First Month
A transparent look at our first month building Corvio — what we learned while shaping an AI Native doc system for organized docs, visible memory, and reusable workflows.
We believe in transparency. So here's an honest look at our first month building Corvio.
The Numbers
- Users in early access: 47
- Daily active users: 31 (66% DAU/MAU — we're happy about this)
- Average session length: 23 minutes
- Feature requests received: 89
- Bugs fixed: 127 (yes, more bugs than feature requests — that's early software for you)
What Worked
The Core Interaction Model
Our bet on "structure emerges" seems to be paying off. Users who get past the initial learning curve report feeling more organized than with traditional tools.
"I didn't realize how much mental energy I was spending on organization until I stopped doing it manually." — Early Access User
Performance
We obsessed over performance from day one. Sub-100ms response times for AI suggestions. Instant load times. It's paying off in retention.
What Didn't Work
Onboarding
Our first onboarding flow was too abstract. Users didn't understand what they could do. We've since added a guided first experience, and activation improved by 40%.
Mobile Web
We thought mobile web would be "good enough" for the first version. It wasn't. Mobile app is now a priority.
Key Learnings
- Explain the "why" not just the "how" — Users need to understand the philosophy, not just the mechanics
- Performance is a feature — Especially for AI products, speed = trust
- Community > Marketing — Our best users came from word of mouth, not ads
What's Next
- Mobile apps (iOS first, then Android)
- Shared docs, memory, and team workflows
- More AI capabilities (while keeping the core simple)
Thanks for following along. We'll do another update next month.
Want to be part of this journey? Join our waitlist.
Related reading
How to Build Long-Term Memory for Product Work
A practical guide to building long-term memory for product work so decisions, tradeoffs, feedback, and context do not keep getting rebuilt from scratch.
How to Keep Documentation Updated as Context Changes
A practical guide to keeping documentation useful as decisions, AI conversations, and real work continue to evolve.
How to Organize AI Conversations Into Reusable Docs
A practical workflow for turning AI chats into durable, reusable documentation instead of losing context across prompts, notes, and scattered tools.