How ChoresAI Made It Into Lenny's Newsletter (And Why the Real Win Wasn't What I Expected)

I woke up Tuesday morning to a text from my mentee: "Casual call out in Lenny's newsletter..."

Half-asleep and completely confused, I had no idea what he was talking about. Then I opened my email and there it was – ChoresAI, my little AI-powered family management app, listed in Lenny’s newsletter alongside 50+ other "vibe-coded" projects that people actually use.

It Started With a Simple Tweet

A few weeks earlier, I was scrolling Twitter (yes, I still call it Twitter) when I spotted this question from Lenny:

I thought about ChoresAI – the app I built for fun to learn about Swift and to give my kids a safe way to experience AI. My own family was using it weekly, and others seemed genuinely engaged with the product.

So I replied, not expecting much. Just another voice in the Twitter void.

But then Lenny responded, asking what I'd used to build it. I was thrilled just to get a response from someone whose newsletter I read religiously. I answered his follow-up questions and moved on, not expecting anything more to come of it.

The Unexpected Validation

The newsletter feature didn't result in a massive surge of app downloads or a flood of new users. But what happened next was far more meaningful.

My phone started buzzing with texts and messages from friends, former colleagues, and people I hadn't heard from in years. "Saw you in Lenny's newsletter!" "So cool to see ChoresAI featured!" "I had no idea you were building this!"

That recognition from my network – people who knew me before I started tinkering on projects on the side – felt more rewarding than any app store metrics could have provided.

The Real Takeaway

Getting featured in Lenny's Newsletter taught me something important about building in public and sharing your work. Sometimes the value isn't in the direct conversion metrics or the immediate business impact. Sometimes it's in the unexpected connections, the conversations it sparks, and the way it positions you in your professional community.

ChoresAI started as a simple solution to a family problem – getting kids to actually complete their chores. But sharing that journey, responding to questions about it, and being open about the process led to recognition in one of the most respected product newsletters in tech.

The lesson? Don't underestimate the power of simply talking about what you're building. You never know who's listening, or where those conversations might lead.

Interested in ChoresAI? Check it out at chores-ai.com. And if you're not already subscribed to Lenny's Newsletter, you definitely should be.