For those of you have been apart of the Negromanosphere for the last year you may have heard about the application called “The Ladies Champion” which was supposed to launch sometime this year. The Ladies Champion was a self-improvement application intended to help people improve the quality of their relationships. Although I never launched the application, self-improvement continues to play a major role in my life. I also learned a lot from the experience.

What I wish I knew

In the world of Software Development, there is a development process called SCRUM. SCRUM is an agile methodology used in project management. It is a method by most software development companies today. SCRUM enables companies to launch their application in iterations. Releasing an application that delivers new features in every iteration. Why would a company release an application before it is completed? A very important aspect of agile methodologies is “user stories”. Before an application is completed companies want feedback from end users. This way companies can fix bugs and get new ideas. I made the mistake of trying to include all features. I believed the application had to be perfect in order to have value. I was wrong.

Why didn’t I launch the application?

Believe it or not, the application was 80% of the way complete. The other 20% wasn’t even necessary for its completion. So if the application could’ve been launched why didn’t I launch it? Since graduating this past May, this was the question that many companies asked me during the interview process. Question asked: What did you use to build the application? React Native. How long did it take you to build it? 8 months. In its current state, do you believe the application can have value to its users? Yes. Why didn’t you launch?… The truth is it didn’t feel right.

The Ladies Champion was found in March of 2016. It began as a blog to help men become the person they wanted to attract. I interviewed women in the Greater Salt Lake asking the question about their current relationship and the ideal partner. It was a very fun experience, which ultimately inspired me to name the blog The Ladies Champion. Because the application gained attention from both men and women I decided The Ladies Champion could better readers as a mobile/web application.

Although The Ladies Champion could have been launched, ultimately I believed I could build a better application. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, human beings have 5 essential psychological needs. Those are our Physiological needs, Safety needs, Belongingness and Love needs, Esteem needs, and our Self-fulfillment needs. The Ladies Champion address all of these needs. Because of its name and how it came into existence, I believed the application would be seen as an application that focused more on external relationships and less on internal relationships.

That is the relationship one has with themselves.

Conclusion

Building The Ladies Champion provided me with many opportunities, including interviewing with juggernauts such as Google and Facebook. In the past few months, I flew around the country meeting with startups and mid-level business discussing The Ladies Champion, my short-term and long-term goals. When I finally decided to choose a company to work for, I had options. There was no need to negotiate a salary. My potential employers did it for me. Today, I am the Lead Mobile Developer for a Medical company. The tech stack that is being used is React-Native, Node, and, MSSQL. Along with some Microsoft 365 tools. Having given up on The Ladies Champion. I plan to use my current opportunity to grow as a Full-Stack Developer and learn how a professional application is built and leveraged over the long term. Sorry, I didn’t get the application out to you guys and I appreciate the support. I promise you, this will not be the last time you hear of me.

If you want to get to know me better you can follow me on Instagram, GitHub, or LinkedIn. If you have any questions, you can reach me on my personal site: www.iAmDarronBrown.com. I cover a wide range of topics from tech, to relationships, to self-improvement. Thanks for reading.