Interview with Matthew
1. Whose idea was Push?
[Matt] I came up with the idea after feeling very low. I’d just dropped out of Uni and wanted a way to turn my life around by creating good habits — like reading. Having noticed others who were struggling to decide on a career path or life plan and lacking motivation, I was determined to try and address the issue and see if I could help people who felt similar to me. I believe that everyone should have goals and a long-term plan, with achievable milestones to help them get there.
[Written notes] The idea for an achievement platform didn’t come to me in a single moment but rather it evolved over a few years. The core motivation remained the same — To help as many people for as low cost as possible, and be rewarded for doing so. Having suffered from addiction and mild depression, anxiety, and coming out the other side with tools for finding purpose and taming my mind, helping others overcome these struggles became my calling. The reason for an app? I get to combine my skills (design, analysis) and interests (technology, self-help) with the potential for global reach.
2. What inspired you to produce the Push app?
Travelling to work in the car gave me the opportunity to become inspired. How could I use the digital age to help make a difference to people’s lives, to help them take responsibility of their life and future?
I think the ‘The Entrepreneur Revolution’ was the first “business” book that I read — it made me think about the wonderful opportunities that are available via the internet.
3. What do you want to achieve with Push?
Push is purpose-led. I want it to help people live happier, more fulfilling lives. It sounds cliché but we genuinely want to help dreams come true.
I want our solutions to have a measurable impact on a lot of lives. Our metrics for success are currently the number of user milestones reached, the number of Pushes received, and an increase in average happiness over a period of time.
4. Why is it important to have a mountain to climb?
The mountain is a metaphor for life’s journey. It represents the climb to your personal peak. Without a target, people are likely to drift aimlessly — or even climb the wrong mountain.
5. What sets it apart from other similar apps?
Push has three unique qualities which set it apart from other self-help apps.
First, it personalises ‘pushes’, or nuggets of wisdom, establishing a kind of mind conditioning which helps keep the brain healthy.
Secondly, Push connects your end goal with the present day, bringing together your vision, goals and habits.
Thirdly, it provides data-driven feedback and coaching to support positive change.
6. What’s in store for the future?
Push will become a low-cost personal coach for people who need a nudge of motivation to get their life on the track they want.
Machine learning/AI will be integrated to improve the automated coaching functions and learn what feedback and coaching questions deliver the best results, for different people, at different stages of their journey — That’s going to be challenging!
It would be amazing to connect people’s ambitions and help them to help each other, whether that’s close friends and family, or like-minded people as part of the wider community.
One day Push may provide a VR experience, so that it’s like you’re standing in the future of your life!
Submit any questions in the comments below or get in touch by email/Facebook.
Many thanks, Helen Field
