Open your phone. Count how many apps you have installed. Now count how many you actually use.
If you're like most people, the gap between those two numbers is embarrassing. We download apps full of promise, use them twice, and forget they exist. Not because they're bad - because they're overwhelming.
Somewhere along the way, software forgot how to be simple.
The Complexity Trap
There's a seductive logic in feature-building that goes like this: "If we add one more feature, we'll reach one more type of user." Multiply that thinking across a hundred product meetings, and you get software that does everything and feels like nothing.
Every feature has a cost. Not just in development time - in cognitive load. Every button, every menu item, every notification is asking something of the user: "Hey, pay attention to me."
When an app has 50 features, it's really asking 50 things of you. That's not a tool. That's a chore.
Simplicity Is a Design Choice
Simple software doesn't happen by accident. It's the result of saying "no" far more often than "yes."
At SimbaApps, simplicity is our first design principle. Not because we're lazy (building simple things is surprisingly hard), but because we believe the best tool is one you don't have to think about.
Here's what simplicity means to us:
Instant understanding. A new user should know what your app does within 3 seconds. Not after a tutorial. Not after a walkthrough. Immediately.
Focused purpose. One app, one job. If your app needs a manual, it's trying to do too much.
Respectful design. Don't waste people's time with unnecessary steps, confusing layouts, or dark patterns. Every interaction should feel effortless.
The 3-Second Rule
We have an internal test we apply to everything we build. We call it the 3-second rule:
If a new user opens the app and doesn't understand what it does within 3 seconds, we've failed.
It sounds simple - and it is, conceptually. But try applying it to your own product. You'll be surprised how often the answer is "someone would need at least 10 seconds and a squint."
The 3-second rule keeps us honest. It prevents us from hiding behind tooltips and onboarding flows. If the product needs explaining, the product needs simplifying.
Simple ≠ Basic
There's a common misconception that simple software is basic software. That simplicity means fewer capabilities.
We don't see it that way. Simple means the complexity is handled for the user, not by the user. The best simple software is doing a lot of work behind the scenes so you don't have to.
Think about Google's homepage. One search box. Nothing else. But behind that simplicity is one of the most complex systems ever built. The user doesn't need to know that. They just type and get answers.
That's the kind of simplicity we aim for. Powerful, but effortless.
Why It Matters Now
We're living in an era of subscription fatigue, notification overload, and app burnout. People are tired of software that demands their attention, their data, and their money - all for features they never asked for.
There's a growing appetite for tools that just work. That do one thing. That don't try to become your whole digital life.
We think that's healthy. And we think there's room for a different kind of software company - one that measures success not by engagement metrics or time-spent-in-app, but by how quickly and effectively it helps you get back to your life.
Building for Humans
At the end of the day, software exists to serve people. Not the other way around.
Every app we build at SimbaApps starts with a human problem and ends with a human solution. We don't add features to pad a roadmap. We don't gamify to boost retention. We don't complicate to justify a price tag.
We build simple tools that solve specific problems for specific people. And then we get out of the way.
Because the best software is the kind you barely notice using.