<aside> context: most people don’t think about their breath.
until they can’t.
pulmo started as a simple question…!
can we make breathwork accessible to people who actually need it, not just those already deep into wellness?
we identified two very different user persona on this journey: → sarah, a stressed-out marketing manager running on coffee and cortisol → john, a retired teacher managing COPD, just wanting to breathe easier
and so we built pulmo, a lightweight breathwork app designed for both.
</aside>
we didn’t jump into screens.
first, we listened.
we ran short surveys and early user interviews with 20+ people — across working professionals, COPD caregivers, and a few doctors in our network.
what we heard was consistent:
“i don’t know where to start.”
“i’ve tried meditating, it never sticks.”
“my dad has COPD — he needs something really simple.”
we also studied existing apps in the wellness + chronic care space — most were either too spiritual, too clinical, or too loud.
we wanted pulmo to sit in the quiet middle.
some initial research data
we weren’t trying to build another meditation app.
we wanted to build something useful when you’re not okay.