Mobile Development
Mercury Health is a local San Diego geriatric startup that focuses on building devices that help keep your loved ones safe.
Project: Company Mobile Application
Languages / Tools Used: React Native, JavaScript, Python, Amazon Web Services (Lambda)
Location: San Diego, CA
During the fall of 2020, I worked remotely as a Software Engineer intern at Mercury Health, supporting the mobile development team. The team focuses on building and managing new solutions in their mobile application to ensure the satisfaction of customers.
The Problem
I joined the startup at an early stage when they had no mobile application, but only their physical device which they allowed demo testers to use to collect data for their model training. However, at the time, there wasn’t a way of viewing the data that the device collected. This data would allow them to view live updates of their loved ones (physical status: fallen out of bed, out of bed, sleeping, sitting, etc…).
Solution
To give the caregiver the most satisfaction, I wanted to create a mobile application where the caregivers can access to receive live updates of their loved ones from the comfort of their phone device, assuming they are not home to attend to them. I worked alongside product designers to design and build the company’s mobile application from the ground up using a cross-platform native framework that supports iPhones and Androids.
I had a chance to speak to a few of the company’s demo testers / customers, allowing me to better understand what key features they wanted in an application. Features that would benefit customers the most.
Eventually, with the mentorship of the co-founders, I was able to build out the minimal viable features that allowed us to release for public testing.
Learnings
- Dare to Take Risks
- This is something you’ll always hear from others, but I never really understood what that meant until I had a chance to intern at a startup. Ever since I joined, I was able to learn so much more than I would have than in a traditional classroom setting. From learning modern technology stacks (React Native, AWS, etc…) to speaking with customers (in order to better understand the crucial features they need), I was exposed to the inner workings of a startup, how it’s made from the ground up and how everyone’s efforts come to fruition over time.
- Ownership
- Adding to my previous learning point… while mentorship is quite different at a startup, there is more of an opportunity to take the initiative to have more ownership. I never would have thought in my entire life to have help led the development of a fast-growing startup’s mobile application. Sure there was lots of mistakes in the beginning, but these mistakes are learning opportunities. It taught me quite a lot to being a Software Engineer, but also they also reveal the obstacles any company faces. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I would not trade for the world.