Ephileo: Building Technology That Brings People Closer

Most apps today are built to keep you on them. Every notification, every infinite feed and every red badge is tuned to get a little more of your time. We started Ephileo because we wanted to build the other kind: technology that does its job, gets out of the way and leaves you with more time for the people around you.

Who we are

Ephileo is a small, independent app studio. We design and build mobile apps and games ourselves, end to end, from the first sketch to the version in your pocket. Our motto is simple: “we build products people love.” In practice, that means caring about the small details, keeping things fast and simple, and treating the people who use our apps with respect.

What we’ve built so far

Each of our products started from something real in our own lives, and each one is meant to be used with other people:

• [Roamates](/projects/roamates): one free app for living or travelling together. It covers shared notes and lists, rotating chore schedules, bill splitting and a chat thread on everything. It exists to take the awkwardness out of sharing a home, so roommates can just be friends. See how it compares with Splitwise.
• [Chain Reaction](/projects/chain-reaction): a strategy game that’s at its best with friends around one phone or in an online room. Learn it in a minute and argue about it for an hour. Here’s how to play.
• [Escape](/projects/escape-game): a sliding block puzzle inspired by a puzzle at the Museum of Illusions Chicago. It started with a real-world moment we wanted to share. Read the story behind it.

What we believe

• Technology should bring people closer. The best thing an app can do is help you spend better time with others, whether you’re settling up, planning a trip or playing a game across the table.
• Respect people’s time and attention. We don’t want to build feeds you can’t put down. A good product helps you get something done and lets you go.
• Respect people’s data. We don’t sell personal data, and we try to collect as little as possible. Chain Reaction doesn’t even ask you to sign up.
• Simple beats clever. If a feature needs a manual, it isn’t finished yet.
• Keep it accessible. All of our apps are free to download, so nobody gets left out of the group.

What we’re aiming for

We judge our work by one question: are people better off for using it? Not by how many hours they spend inside it, but by whether a household runs a bit more smoothly, a friendship skips an awkward money conversation, or a group of friends gets one more good evening together.

Over time we want Ephileo to be known for a small family of products that each solve one real problem well and point people back toward each other.

What’s next: searching for our next product

Right now, we’re searching for the next thing to build, and we’re being picky about it. We’re not looking for another app that’s designed to keep people stuck to their phones. We’re looking for a product that helps people in a genuinely good way and is built to connect them with each other.

Every idea we explore has to pass a few tests:

1. Does it solve a real problem that people actually have, not one we invented?
2. Does it bring people closer, to friends, family, roommates or their community?
3. Would people feel good closing the app? If success depends on them never leaving, it isn’t for us.
4. Can it stay simple enough that anyone in the group can use it on day one?

Thanks for being here

Whether you split rent with Roamates, start rivalries with Chain Reaction or lost an afternoon to Escape, thank you. Every review, bug report and suggestion shapes what we build next. We’re just getting started.