Abode
Abode is a fresh take on staying connected with friends without the pressure of constant chatting. It’s like a private home with fun widgets—games, polls, fitness trackers, and more—where you can hang out, stay updated, and feel connected without endless messages or scrolls.
Get to know Abode
Who’s behind Abode?
Hey, I’m Joseph - founder of Look Engineering - a VC-backed, consumer software startup focused on crafting stellar products without compromise, currently building Abode. My journey into coding started almost by accident when I was 12, just messing around with HTML and realizing I could build things from scratch. That kind of sent me down a rabbit hole, learning CSS, JavaScript, PHP, MySQL - basically whatever I needed to create things. I always wanted to build social networks, especially after my sister invited me to Facebook back when you needed a university email to join. I landed my first client at 15, met him at McDonald’s with my mom because she didn’t trust some random guy would just pay me to code. From there, I just kept going. In engineering there’s always something new to learn, always a new tech to get your head around. For me, it was the perfect thing because I’m never satisfied and always satisfied at the same time.
I’ve always worked in startups, jumping between frontend and backend, running my own dev studio for a while, then getting into bigger projects. I built the frontend (and a lot of the backend) for a journaling app called Jour, which got acquired for $20M. And that's when I realize that, okay, startup life is cool, you get to work with your friends and do something you’re truly passionate about.
Then I joined Los Feliz Engineering (LFE), where we made Honk—a messaging app with live typing, no send button, and a totally new way to chat. That taught me consumer social still had room for innovation. Later, we created Family a Web3 wallet, and after that was acquired, I decided I was done with blockchain. I wanted to build something of my own, something consumer-facing.
Compared to B2B, it's super high risk, but the reward is super insane. And it's just more fun working on it. So I started coming up with ideas, and what I came up with first was something where Pokemon Go meets Instagram. The idea was that you go around and hunt out pictures that people have taken in the spots that you're standing in. It was pushing people to go outdoors and find new areas - I really liked this idea. Then Bump came out by Amo - and it was exactly what I envisioned. They executed it really well, and that was really inspiring to see. So, I started digging deeper into the idea of social loneliness that we seem to be falling into. And that's when I got the idea for Abode.
Getting an idea like this off the ground is no easy feat, and what makes Abode special today is that I managed to build this team with Peter and Alex - they’ve been a huge part of getting us to this point. Peter, our founding engineer, handled 90% of the backend and is an insanely talented engineer with a consumer background. We’ve known each other for 12 years, and when I had the chance to bring him on, I knew he was the perfect fit. Now he’s even jumped into iOS with me. Alex, our designer, is incredible - without her, we’d just be stuck with an idea. We’ve got three full-time members, including myself, and it’s all a super collaborative effort. Everyone puts in equal work, which keeps things running smoothly. Being a small team lets us move fast - what takes a big company months, we can push out in a week.
What’s Abode and what’s so cool about it?
What really stuck with me was the shift in social media from connection to consumption. We used to have fun, interactive platforms like MySpace and MSN, but now it’s mostly passive scrolling. Real social interaction moved to gaming and group chats, but those weren’t designed for deep connections. And that’s where the idea for Abode came from - rethinking how we stay connected with friends without it feeling like a chore.
Abode is all about creating a space where friends can hang out without the pressure of constant chatting. It’s like having your own private home, but with fun widgets - games, fitness trackers, polls, and more, that let you stay updated without needing to message everyone. You can be in the same space as your friends, doing your own thing, and still feel connected. The idea is to let groups personalize their space, so no matter what you’re into, whether it’s planning a trip or playing a game, you’re not stuck in endless chat threads. And it’s not just for close friends; it’s meant to grow into something bigger, for family, acquaintances, and even communities. Early feedback has been great, with people feeling that spark of connection that’s hard to find in regular group chats. The goal is to keep people connected in a way that’s more relaxed and fun, helping you stay close to those who matter most, even from far away.
Abode's Tool Stack
What’s under Abode’s hood? Which technologies were used and why did you chose them?
I built the MVP of Abode in two weeks, mainly for a small group of users. After the successful raise, I started from scratch, focusing on stability, security, and scalability. We self-host everything to avoid relying on third-party services, and made sure everything from the widgets to the custom features had a lot of effort put into it. After testing with techies, the plan is to refine it and push it out for real people soon. Honestly, it’s been a journey, especially learning iOS development myself, but it’s been super rewarding.
For Abode, the tech stack is pretty straightforward but effective. On the frontend, we do everything natively, using Swift and UIKit. We went with UIKit because it offers a higher level of control, especially when it comes to optimizing things like frame rates and smoothness. SwiftUI is nice for prototyping, but when you get into the gritty details, UIKit just makes more sense for me. We went with native because for consumer social details like micro interaction, UX, haptics are very important, and native is great for that. I think if that's not an important requirement for you, then React Native, Flutter, and stuff like that is great.
On the backend, we’re using Node.js with a distributed server and microservices. Each layer, whether it’s the WebSocket, API, or database, is kept in a private network, allowing us to scale independently depending on where we need more resources. We also use OpenAI for a few things, like daily summaries and a scrapbook-style memory, so users don’t feel overwhelmed with missed messages. AI is just an enhancement, though, it’s not the core of the product. Even if we took AI out, Abode would still work just as well.
Do you use any other tools to run the business?
For team communication, we primarily use Slack, but recently, we’ve started using our own product, Abode, for chatting and managing to-do lists. It’s been great for internal testing, but Slack still serves as our stable communication tool for now, especially since Abode is still in beta. For issue tracking, we use Linear, which keeps things organized. On the design side, we rely on Figma, and for coding, it’s Xcode for the frontend and VS Code for the backend.
What’s your personal stack? Which apps do you and your team love?
Personally, I try to keep my setup simple, using just a few apps like Figma, Xcode, Slack, and Safari, along with GitHub and my terminal for version control. I don’t like the Github client, I find it easier to write commands - that’s how I learned. I use iTerms 2 as my go-to terminal for that. When it comes to documentation, we use Craft, especially for investor updates or internal docs. I tend to jot down ideas in Craft during real-time conversations, refine them afterward, and then create Linear issues from there. I prefer jumping on calls for quick decision-making rather than dragging out discussions over Slack, as I think it’s more efficient.
Anything else you’d like to share?
At this point, lots of things change at the drop of a hand. But, definitely, what's coming next is Abode is going to the public app store, and we're going to try and do that as fast as possible. For now, we’d love for you to give Abode a try via TestFlight and let us know what you think.
Now, discover Abode for yourself
Huge thanks to Joseph for sharing the story behind Abode and the details on the building blocks that make it such a great social app. Now go ahead and install it and start hanging out with your friends on Abode!