Building in Public: What We Shipped Today

One of the things I committed to when building Kova was being transparent about the process. Not just the wins, but the grind—the late nights, the bug fixes, and the decisions that don't make headlines but matter enormously when real people start using the app.

Today was one of those days where everything clicked. The app as a whole is still strictly in active development, but here is what I just shipped:

A Command Center for Kova

I launched an internal admin dashboard—a real-time window into everything happening on the platform. Total users, active Pulses, match rates, messages sent, and daily active users. All live, all in one place.

It's not public yet, but it's how I will monitor the health of the app from day one. When Kova launches, I'll know immediately if something isn't working.

Push Notifications — The Full Stack

I finished the entire push notification system today. Every meaningful moment in Kova now has a notification:

• Someone sends you a message → you get notified.

• Someone sends you a Re-Pulse request → you get notified.

• Your match is expiring soon → you get notified.

• A Pulse window opens in 10 minutes → you get notified.

• Someone accepts or declines your Re-Pulse → you get notified.

This matters because Kova runs on scheduled Pulse windows. If you're not in the app when one opens, you might miss it. Notifications close that gap.

Re-Pulse — The Full Flow

Re-Pulse is one of Kova's most unique features. When a match expires, Kova Pro users can send a Re-Pulse request to reconnect. Today, I built the complete flow end to end.

When you open Kova and someone has sent you a Re-Pulse request, you'll see a dedicated inbox before anything else. Their silhouette illustration, name, age, and city will appear alongside two buttons: Accept or Decline. No request goes unanswered.

If you accept, a new 30-day match is created instantly. If you decline, they're notified respectfully. Either way, everyone has clarity.

Smarter Matching for Paid Users

Free users get a strong matching algorithm already—I score compatibility based on shared interests, relationship intent, and core values. But today I made it significantly better for Kova+ and Kova Pro subscribers.

Paid users can now set two additional preferences:

• Interest Overlap: Want to only connect with people who share at least 2 of your interests? Set it. Candidates who meet that threshold get a scoring bonus and float to the top of your queue.

• Bio Keywords: Type up to 5 keywords that matter to you (like hiking, dogs, coffee, or entrepreneurship). Anyone whose bio mentions those words gets prioritized in your matches.

These aren't hard filters that cut people out—they're signals that surface better fits first. You'll always get a match. You'll just get a better one.

Security You Can't See (But Will Feel)

The best security is invisible. Today I built several layers that protect Kova users without them ever knowing it's there.

Every device that creates an account gets a unique fingerprint. If someone gets banned, their phone number and device ID are automatically captured. If they try to create a new account on the same device or with the same number—they can't. Kova has multiple overlapping layers of protection against bad actors. Real people, real connections, real safety.

What's Next

Next week I am finishing SMS verification—the final piece of our identity layer. After that, it's TestFlight. Real users. Real Pulses.

If you haven't joined the waitlist yet, now is the time. I am close.