Once upon a time (Christmas last year), in the walled garden of Apple, I submitted “When Was It”, an app designed (and developed using FlutterFlow) to help you remember when you last did… well, anything. Apple’s response? “Spam.” Yes, because who wouldn’t label a productivity tool as unsolicited digital burp, flashlight, fortune telling, dating, drinking game etc.? 😏
You can read more here...
https://community.flutterflow.io/platforms/post/apple-app-store-app-review---my-flutterflow-built-app-got-rejected-8hUSxJrFVQ1wFlK
As a starry-eyed indie no-code developer, I took a moment (or several) to ponder my life choices. Was I a spammer? Was my destiny to clog app stores with unwanted content? Nah!
Determined to appease the mighty gatekeepers of Cupertino, I pivoted. “If tracking done tasks is spam,” I mused, “surely organizing books is groundbreaking!” Enter SummiShelf—the app that lets you scan, organize, and pretend you’ve read all those books collecting dust, complete with AI-generated summaries because reading is so 20th century. Did I hear a "TikTok, TikTok"? 😅
And guess what? Apple decided this was worthy of their esteemed platform! Not only that, but SummiShelf skyrocketed to the dizzying heights of #187 in the Top Free Books category (Singapore App Store). Move over, #186, there’s a new kid in town!
My journey from rejection to acceptance taught me a valuable lesson: Setbacks are setups for comebacks. If you’re facing obstacles or feeling dejected, remember that every “No” brings you closer to a “Yes.” Keep pushing forward, stay resilient, and never lose sight of your goals.
To all the aspiring indie FlutterFlow developers and dreamers out there—don’t give up. Your breakthrough might be just around the corner.
Thank you 🙏 to everyone who supported me along the way!
PS: App is released only in 40 locations at the moment. My apologies if it doesn't show up in your location.