← All case studies

Nexorea · AI mental wellness

Turning 40 interviews into an AI-first diary

Co-founder and Product Head · From May 2025 · Owned

Problem
People wanted help processing their feelings but didn't trust or keep using existing wellness apps.
What I did
Interviewed 40+ potential users, reframed the idea as an AI-first diary, and built a mobile-first MVP designed for privacy.
Outcome
85% of new users completed onboarding; conversational AI with five emotional personas raised retention 25%.
  • 40+User interviews
  • 85%Onboarding completionVERIFY: number of users and period
  • +25%RetentionVERIFY: which retention, compared with what

Context

I co-founded Nexorea to build an AI companion for everyday mental wellness, and led product.

What the interviews changed

Over 40+ interviews, the clearest need wasn't therapy-style advice. People wanted a private place to write things down and make sense of them. That reframed the product from a chatbot into an AI-first diary.

What we built

A mobile-first MVP with privacy-by-design choices in the user experience, and a conversational AI with five emotional personas so replies matched how the user felt.

Results

85% of new users completed onboarding. The persona-based AI raised retention 25%.

Artifacts