The Future of Household Productivity: Lessons From 100 Beta Users

When we started building Spondle, we thought we were solving a parenting problem.

Our first experiment was simple: a deck of conversation starter cards for couples, themed around parenting and relationships. We sold 100 decks in just three weeks, and the major feedback was “We want this in digital form.”

That led us to build an MVP called ParentCo — a digital product designed to help couples and parents communicate better. It combined daily prompts with a small social network for parents. People liked it. We had 100 beta users, and 60% were weekly active.

But something was missing.

The conversations were nice but they weren’t the 'hair-on-fire problem' like we learnt from further conversations and watching so many Y Combinator Startup School Videos. So we went deeper. We talked to couples, parents, investors, advisors. We asked questions. We listened.

And here’s what we learned:

The real problem wasn’t talking more.

It wasn’t just about community. And it wasn’t another productivity tool, either. The real problem was the exhausting, never-ending work of keeping a household running.

People already cobble together Notion, Google Sheets, WhatsApp chats, notes apps, and individual calendars. And yet:

• Important things still fall through the cracks.

• The “mental load” remains crushing; and in dual-income homes, it lands disproportionately on women.

• In shared flats, siblings living together, or even for individuals, keeping the household together still takes more mental energy than it should.

Whether it’s juggling bills, groceries, laundry, or school runs, every household has someone acting as the Chief Operations Officer of the home; and they carry most of the burden.

That’s when our vision shifted.

From conversations to coordination: a true household operating system

We didn’t want to build a sentimental app that you might use when you remembered. We wanted to build something essential. Think of Notion or ClickUp, but built from the ground up for the home.

That’s Spondle: an AI-powered, voice-first household operating system that works for any type of home — couples, parents, flatmates, even individuals.

Unlike existing tools, Spondle doesn’t sit idle waiting for you to manually input every chore, meal plan, or bill. Instead:

• You give it a little information — your household type, number of members, key routines.

• Our agentic AI automatically sets up, assigns, and schedules tasks for you.

• You review, tweak, and approve — but you don’t have to do the heavy lifting.

Building what we use ourselves

This pivot didn’t happen in a vacuum. We’re building the product we wish we had in our own home. Every feature passes the same test: “Would we actually use this in our household, every single day?” If the answer is no, it doesn’t ship.

That’s how we’re ensuring Spondle isn’t just another nice-to-have app, but a true tool for the future of household productivity.

Where we are now

• 100 beta households already testing Spondle

• A 1,000+ person waitlist

• Selected for the Barclays Black Founders Accelerator

And we’re just getting started. The future of work doesn’t stop at the office. It extends into our homes. And just like businesses needed operating systems to run efficiently, so do households.

That’s the future we’re building with Spondle.

👉 Join the waitlist today and be one of the first to experience it.