Foundations
Architecture first
Venue data, sign-in and the video extraction pipeline designed up front, so the app could ship fast and keep shipping.
RealEats: save restaurants from Instagram and TikTok to a personal food map.
A founder with a clear idea and a market. We made the scope, sequence and architecture calls, built the product and took it to the App Store.
- Nov 2025
- live on the App Store
- v2.1
- current release
- iOS
- platform
The problem
Two dev quotes miles apart, and no one to make the product calls.
The founder knew the audience and the behaviour: people saving food videos they never go back to. What was missing was a product lead to decide what the first version had to do, and a team to build it without burning the runway.
What we built
- Share a Reel or TikTok straight into the app and the venue is identified automatically
- Personal food map with venue details, hours, photos and booking links
- Shared collections for friends and trips
- A Decide For Us game for groups who can't choose
- Landing pages and App Store presence
Technology
What it runs on.
Swift / SwiftUI
iOS share extension
Node.js API
MongoDB Atlas
Firebase push
AWS EC2
Next.js landing pages
How AI is used
AI turns a social post into a saved venue. The post is fetched, OpenAI GPT and Google Gemini models read the caption and content to identify the restaurant, and Google Places confirms the address, photos and booking links. AI also helps generate social carousel content for marketing.
How we worked
Scope first, then a prototype, then a release train.
Block one
Save and map
The thinnest complete path: share a video, get a venue on your map. Reviewed live with a small group of users before anything else was built.
Block two onwards
Collections and release cadence
Shared collections, the Decide For Us game and a monthly release rhythm through to v2.1.
Where it is now
Live since November 2025, on v2.1.
Available on the App Store in Australia and New Zealand, with new releases shipping monthly.
View on the App StoreHave a product to build and no product lead?
Start with a Blueprint: 3 to 5 days, and a plain go or no-go call at the end.