Launched this week
Trailward
Gamified micro‑lessons that teach any topic in 90 seconds
90 followers
Gamified micro‑lessons that teach any topic in 90 seconds
90 followers
Trailward lets you explore any topic in 90-second sessions, from stoic philosophy to modular synthesis to Nintendo game design. Pick one and get bite-sized lessons matched to your level, each with a key insight that sticks. No courses, no commitment, just real progress in minutes. Need direction? Ikigai maps your strengths to career paths and builds your learning plan. Streaks, flashcards, knowledge base. iOS, Android, Web. Perfect for curious minds and busy people.
Trailward
I've been building software for over 20 years, often for clients and frequently for myself. Trailward started as a tool to manage my own habit of "constant learning", but it evolved into something wanted to share.
It began as a system for structured learning plans. However, I found that rigid structures often led to procrastination. That led to the concept of "Bites" - 90-second sessions designed to extract a single, clear insight. The goal isn't to replace deep study, but to make the entry point for curiosity so low that you actually start.
I also integrated an Ikigai discovery tool to help map curiosities to potential career paths, generating tailored learning plans based on the results.
It’s a solo project, built with React Native and FastAPI. Give it a try, it’s designed to be effortless, and I guarantee you’ll walk away knowing something you didn’t before.
I’ll be here all day to answer questions about the product or the technical side of the build.
Congrats on the launch! The laconic design looks nice, and the Bites are well done. For Topics, I like that they’re recommended based on interests, and that everything is built in a chat format overall. Do you plan to add more visualization to Topics, or an audio/video format? It might be difficult to read longer text for users, what do you think?
Trailward
@kristina__grits Thank you! The laconic design was a deliberate choice to remove distractions, so I'm really glad that landed well.
You're spot on about the reading fatigue. Audio is actually the next big experiment on my list. I've been prototyping a podcast functionality where topic units are converted into short audio segments for listening on the go. Until then, the interactive Bites are designed to help by breaking those units down into digestible 90-second sessions.
I'm curious though: when you listen to AI-generated content (like podcasts or summaries) right now, do you feel the quality is 'there' yet? Or does the voice/rhythm still feel off to you?
@stephanschulz Yes, I notice that too. The quality isn’t quite there yet, but it’s still easier on the go than reading, so it’s probably nice to have the choice, or some mix.
Trailward
@kristina__grits I agree, thanks for your input!
Congrats on the launch @stephanschulz ! Love the "recommended based on interests" piece - tailored learning paths only work if the app actually knows the user. Curious how you're tracking what someone's interested in vs just what they clicked on. YC founder here, researching user context for AI apps.
Trailward
@victor_eth Thanks Victor! Trailward is personalized from the very first interaction. Users almost only see content that matches their specific inputs and interests, everything else really doesn't make sense imo. There are some fallback suggestions, but they are more to show direction or inspire users to find niche topics to explore.
Tailored plans are a challenge, yes, especially given the multi-month timeframe they can run. But as I wrote in my maker comment, Trailward is primarily about beating procrastination. It helps lower the entry barrier for learning something new, or in the case of tailored plans, it provides the spark to start real transformations. It shows the user what a transformation would really look like and what is needed to master it. It offers structure and makes a complex learning journey more approachable. I think that's really cool.
For committed users, spaced repetition, detailed explanations, practical examples or certificate proposals support the deep dive when needed.
okay, thank you - so you would say that apart from the initial inputs and interests filled by the user during onboarding, you don't need much more to offer the level of personalization Trailward needs to delight users? I've been researching a lot on how consumer AI agents can provide personalized experiences better, happy to talk over email if that's easier for you. But yeah, again great work on shipping this!
Love the vibe of Trailward! It’s a great tool, though I feel the topic quality could be a bit sharper. Would also love to see a 'share' or 'download' button in a future update. Aside from that, you've built something really cool here. Kudos to the team!
Trailward
@daliuai Thank you! I’m glad the vibe resonates with you. I’m actually a solo founder, so I really appreciate the feedback on the execution.
Regarding the topic quality: which difficulty level did you choose in the questionnaire? If you selected 'Beginner', the insights are intentionally kept high-level. Switching to 'Intermediate' or 'Advanced' should provide the depth you're looking for.
For sharing: You can share individual Bites and your Ikigai profile already, but for 'Topics' I'm leaning toward a community discovery feature. Letting users see what others are learning would create a more dynamic way to find new paths.
Thanks again for checking it out!
Are these 90-second "Bites" AI-generated based on user interest, or are they manually curated by experts for each topic?
Trailward
@lightninglx Every topic and learning plan is AI-generated. The user defines the difficulty, depth, and duration, which serve as the foundation for the content engine. The Bites are then generated from that specific context to extract and summarize the core insights into 90-second sessions. So the user always has both: the detailed topic/plan content and the interactive summaries.
Hey wonderful Product ✨
i love the design!!, Its clear, Calm, Premium and has a nice vibe to it
also, i like the tone of UX Copy
i love the haptics, they add a pleasant feel on my phone, (but in some low end or mid-range android devices they have don't have good haptic feedback hardware, it can be a super minor inconvenience for them during onboarding experience, maybe you can give an toggle to turn of haptic vibration)
overall, a Great job 😁
Trailward
@groot407 Thank you! I'm really glad the design and vibe are resonating with you.
You're absolutely right about the haptics. I actually have a toggle for enabling/disabling them on my radar. I experienced those low-quality Android vibrations firsthand during development, which is exactly what sparked the idea.
Thanks for the great feedback!
Trailward
@agarwalshreya Thanks! Which route did you choose: Topic, Plan, or Ikigai? If it was Ikigai, it’s definitely the 'long road'.