Four Brothers from the Philippines, One App: Building Todochi for Shipaton 2026

Hello, world!We are the Lagooners, a team of four brothers from the Philippines participating in RevenueCat's Shipaton 2026. This is the first hackathon we've entered together, and we certainly hope it won't be our last.Like many developers, we've always had ideas we'd love to turn into reality. Shipaton gave us the chance to stop saying "maybe someday" and finally build something people can use.So, what exactly are we building?Meet TodochiTodochi LogoTodochi is a scheduling and reminder app designed to make productivity feel more engaging. Instead of relying entirely on ordinary notification sounds and text, Todochi lets users receive reminders through character companions with their own voices and personalities. Whether you're keeping track of assignments, meetings, daily routines, or personal goals, our goal is to make reminders something you actually want to hear.Why another reminder app?There are already countless reminder and productivity apps. So why make another one?For us, one of the biggest problems is that reminders can become too easy to ignore. A typical notification might use the same familiar chime or vibration you've heard several times that day. Once it becomes part of your phone's background noise, it's easy to swipe it away and continue whatever you were doing.Todochi approaches this differently. Instead of treating a reminder as just another notification, we want it to feel more like an interaction.A character's voice can stand out from generic notification sounds while giving the user context about what needs to be done. Instead of simply hearing a chime, users hear their chosen character deliver the reminder directly, making the experience more personal and engaging.How does Todochi work?Todochi's character system is built around choice and personalization.Users can select their preferred character from the available options, each with their own personality and voice. Once selected, that character becomes the voice behind the user's reminders.For example, a user could schedule a reminder to study at 7:00 PM and have their chosen character deliver it when the time comes.The idea is simple: the reminder isn't just telling you what to do; someone you chose is telling you about it.As the project develops, we want to expand the system with more characters, additional ways for them to interact with schedules, and eventually customizable characters!How far is Todochi developed right now?Todochi is currently in its early testing stages.We're preparing the application for public release by testing it and gathering feedback through the Google Play and App Store testing processes. We've encountered bugs, changed designs, reconsidered features, and learned that things that seem obvious during development aren't always obvious to someone using the app for the first time.Our Minimum Viable Product (MVP)Our planned MVP is intentionally straightforward. At its core, Todochi needs to function as a scheduler and reminder application, allowing users to organize their schedules and receive reminders when they need them.The twist is that the MVP will already include a small selection of characters that can deliver those reminders.We don't need dozens of characters or an enormous list of features for our first version. We want to prove that the fundamental experience works:Set a reminder → choose your companion → hear your companion remind you.From there, we can build toward a larger character and personalization system.Who are the Lagooners?We're a team of four brothers, each with a distinct role:Kieffer — Chief Executive Officer: Leads the team and guides Todochi's overall direction.Seymour — Lead Back-End Developer: Handles the back-end systems and infrastructure.Calahan — Lead Front-End Developer: Focuses on the application's interface and front-end implementation.Austein — Marketing Officer: Handles marketing, community engagement, and public documentation.How do we plan to monetize Todochi?Our planned monetization model is based on a premium subscription.The free version will provide the core scheduling and reminder experience along with a selection of characters. Premium subscribers will have access to more refined, higher-quality characters, and experiences that won't be available in the free version.This allows us to keep the core application accessible while giving users who want a more personalized experience a reason to support the project. It also gives us a way to continue investing in better character content and future features.From the LagoonersFor us, Shipaton isn't just about entering a hackathon. It's an opportunity to take something we've been building and push ourselves to actually ship it.We're still actively developing Todochi, and like any first product, we're learning something new every day. Some days we're designing features. Other days we're fixing bugs that somehow appeared after fixing another bug. That's all part of the process.Through this HackerNoon series, we'll document that journey: what we build, the problems we encounter, the decisions we make, and what we learn from putting Todochi in front of real users.Maybe we'll get everything right.More likely, we won't.But that's what makes this journey worth documenting.We're the Lagooners, we're building Todochi, and this is where our Shipaton journey begins.Here's to building, learning, and most importantly...Shipping.