Should I Build It Should I Build It
06 Sep 2025
Health & Fitness

A cynical app that helps people to quit drinking energy drinks

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Minimal Signal

There’s barely any market activity - either because the problem is very niche or not important enough. You’ll need to prove real demand exists before investing significant time.

Should You Build It?

Not yet, validate more.

Your are here

The idea of a "cynical app to quit energy drinks" falls into the 'Minimal Signal' category, where there's little market activity, potentially because the problem isn't widespread or pressing enough. With only one similar product found, our confidence is low. There is no engagement as reflected by the average comments being zero. There are no use or buy signals, which means it's difficult to gauge whether there's a real need or willingness to pay for such a product. Therefore, you will need to validate that there is some demand before proceeding with this idea. At this stage, it's critical to determine if the lack of existing solutions is due to a genuine lack of interest or simply an unmet need that hasn't been properly addressed yet.

Recommendations

  1. Start by posting in online communities where people interested in health, fitness, or quitting unhealthy habits gather. Frame your app as a solution for those struggling with energy drink addiction and gauge their interest. For example, subreddits like r/Health or r/Fitness could provide valuable feedback.
  2. Offer to help 2-3 potential customers quit energy drinks manually. This could involve creating a personalized plan, providing daily check-ins, and offering alternative beverage suggestions. This hands-on approach will provide invaluable insights into the challenges users face and refine your app's features.
  3. Create a short, engaging explainer video showcasing the app's key features and benefits. Focus on the 'cynical' aspect and humor as a means of attracting attention. Track how many people watch the video fully, as this will indicate the level of genuine interest. Host the video on platforms like YouTube or TikTok to maximize visibility.
  4. Set up a simple landing page with a compelling call to action, such as 'Join the Waiting List' or 'Get Early Access'. Ask for a small, non-refundable deposit (e.g., $5) to join the waiting list. This demonstrates commitment and helps validate the willingness to pay for your solution. Be transparent about the purpose of the deposit and what users will receive in return.
  5. If, after 3 weeks of actively promoting your idea and engaging with potential customers, you can't find at least 5 genuinely interested people willing to put down a small deposit, seriously reconsider pursuing this specific app concept. It might indicate that the market is too niche, the problem isn't significant enough, or your solution isn't resonating with the target audience.

Questions

  1. Given the 'cynical' approach, how will you ensure the app remains motivating and supportive rather than discouraging for users trying to break a habit?
  2. What specific data or behavior patterns will the app track to personalize the quitting journey and provide relevant insights to users, and how will this differentiate from other habit-tracking apps?
  3. How can you leverage the 'cynical' brand to create engaging content and a strong community around the app, fostering a sense of camaraderie among users?

Your are here

The idea of a "cynical app to quit energy drinks" falls into the 'Minimal Signal' category, where there's little market activity, potentially because the problem isn't widespread or pressing enough. With only one similar product found, our confidence is low. There is no engagement as reflected by the average comments being zero. There are no use or buy signals, which means it's difficult to gauge whether there's a real need or willingness to pay for such a product. Therefore, you will need to validate that there is some demand before proceeding with this idea. At this stage, it's critical to determine if the lack of existing solutions is due to a genuine lack of interest or simply an unmet need that hasn't been properly addressed yet.

Recommendations

  1. Start by posting in online communities where people interested in health, fitness, or quitting unhealthy habits gather. Frame your app as a solution for those struggling with energy drink addiction and gauge their interest. For example, subreddits like r/Health or r/Fitness could provide valuable feedback.
  2. Offer to help 2-3 potential customers quit energy drinks manually. This could involve creating a personalized plan, providing daily check-ins, and offering alternative beverage suggestions. This hands-on approach will provide invaluable insights into the challenges users face and refine your app's features.
  3. Create a short, engaging explainer video showcasing the app's key features and benefits. Focus on the 'cynical' aspect and humor as a means of attracting attention. Track how many people watch the video fully, as this will indicate the level of genuine interest. Host the video on platforms like YouTube or TikTok to maximize visibility.
  4. Set up a simple landing page with a compelling call to action, such as 'Join the Waiting List' or 'Get Early Access'. Ask for a small, non-refundable deposit (e.g., $5) to join the waiting list. This demonstrates commitment and helps validate the willingness to pay for your solution. Be transparent about the purpose of the deposit and what users will receive in return.
  5. If, after 3 weeks of actively promoting your idea and engaging with potential customers, you can't find at least 5 genuinely interested people willing to put down a small deposit, seriously reconsider pursuing this specific app concept. It might indicate that the market is too niche, the problem isn't significant enough, or your solution isn't resonating with the target audience.

Questions

  1. Given the 'cynical' approach, how will you ensure the app remains motivating and supportive rather than discouraging for users trying to break a habit?
  2. What specific data or behavior patterns will the app track to personalize the quitting journey and provide relevant insights to users, and how will this differentiate from other habit-tracking apps?
  3. How can you leverage the 'cynical' brand to create engaging content and a strong community around the app, fostering a sense of camaraderie among users?

  • Confidence: Low
    • Number of similar products: 1
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 0
  • Net use signal: 0.0%
    • Positive use signal: 0.0%
    • Negative use signal: 0.0%
  • Net buy signal: 0.0%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 0.0%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

Similar products

Relevance

Caff.ai a Caffeine Manager for better sleep and more energy

15 Jan 2023 Coffee Health & Fitness

Hey HN, I often don't know if I can have a coffee at 2pm and started logging my caffeine intake so I wouldn't be up until 2am.For me it was never as easy as a cut off time (ie stop coffee at 1pm) because I vary the amount and timing of my coffee day to day.I made an app that helps you stay in your custom 'daytime target range' and under your 'bedtime target' caffeine level. It can predict how much caffeine you'll have at bedtime and tell you what time your caffeine will be below a configurable sleepable level.I also added a feature that gives you a notification 30 minutes before you can have your last cup of coffee and still be under your bedtime target at bedtime. This helps you stay maximally caffeinated while minimizing the negative effects.I have over 600 drinks in my drinks list, and I'd appreciate any feature suggestions or tangential app ideas as well.

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