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Mike Gilroy

Senior iOS Engineer

Mike Gilroy, identified by the LinkedIn username mikegilroy1, is a Senior Software Developer specializing in iOS at Hopper. He has a background in mobile engineering, with expertise in technologies such as SwiftUI, Java, Kotlin, and iOS development. His professional journey includes transitioning into tech after leaving a previous role in social media, showcasing a diverse skill set in software engineering and mobile application development.12

Further details about his specific contributions at Hopper or his prior roles were not found in the provided search results.

Highlights

Aug 13 · linkedin

v1.3.0 of PhotoJourney is out! 🚀

Here’s a look at what’s new and my thinking behind it.

🔔 Enhanced Reminders 🔔

I wanted to make reminders feel less like routine notifications and more like fun nudges.

By randomizing content and adding journey-specific messaging (like “Time for a green photo update! 🌱📸” if you're tracking plant growth), I’m hoping to keep the experience fresh and engaging.

Also, streak reminders now give you a second chance if you missed one — it’s all about keeping that momentum going, building habits and creating awesome time-lapse videos as a result.

🔥 Refined Streaks UI 🔥

I’ve been diving deep into how other apps do streaks really well (I'm looking at you Duolingo 👀), with the hope of applying those learnings to PhotoJourney.

The goal is to make streaks intuitive across multiple journeys.

Right now, I’ve added context to show which journey the home-screen streak relates to.

This journey-specific UI is only shown if you have more than one journey, to keep things super simple for new users who will typically only have one.

💰 Paywall Refresh 💰

My first paywall was something I threw together just to get v1 of the app over the line.

It was very cluttered, didn’t clearly communicate the value of the app and had some distracting animations.

This week, I simplified it — bold title, clear messaging, and a touch of social proof with the average review upfront.

I’ve also added some subtle animations in the headline text to highlight the different use-cases for PhotoJourney, making it easier for users to see the app’s value for different cohorts of users .

I've used the RevenueCat's condensed footer paywall here and custom SwiftUI for the main screen content.

Down the line as I get more traffic I'll start to experiment with the paywall and build out some variations for different cohorts of users.

For now though, I've found the condensed footer UI from RevenueCat is ideal for getting a somewhat custom paywall out fast!

What do you think? Have any good tips on the above?

Any suggestions or feedback are always welcome!

#BuildingInPublic #PhotoJourney #AppDevelopment #UXDesign #ProductUpdates

Feb 23 · linkedin

It’s been 3 weeks since I started my new venture at Shipyard Studios. Here’s some takeaways on what I’ve learned so far from starting a business as a solo developer.

🤖 ChatGPT has already become my most helpful teammate.

I’ve used it for generating code when building complex features that would’ve historically taken me hours of reading docs. It’s also become my go to before checking stackoverflow. It doesn’t get everything right, but the breadth of what it can do is still mind-blowing. I recently used it to convert a single image into many different dimensions that are needed for watchOS assets. Not only did this solve my image conversion problem, it saved me from having to search for and decide on an existing solution. The search was the solution. It’s not looking good for Google…

👨‍🎨 SwiftUI gives me maximum creativity as an app developer.

I’ve been building app UI predominantly with UIKit for almost 10 years now. I’ve done bits and pieces with SwiftUI, such as watch app and widgets, but never full-scale applications or complex features. It’s been fun to see how easy SwiftUI makes re-building some of my old applications and how much more creative you can get as a developer when you can do quick design iterations right from within Xcode. The hard part is having to re-learn concepts that work so differently in UIKit. I’m looking at you animations 🤪.

🤔 Starting a business in a country where you’re not a citizen is tricky.

I love Vancouver and love having the opportunity to live and work abroad, but it can make things a little more complicated sometimes. I’m not (yet) a permanent resident of Canada, and even though I live here and have an open work permit I’ve had to deal with some more bureaucratic systems than if I was a citizen. Being a non-citizen also adds an extra dimension to decisions around taxes and banking, which are some of my least favourite things to think about. On a similar note, if Monzo Bank and Starling Bank could come to Canada that would be awesome, thanks.

🧘🏻‍♂️ Being accountable and staying social is key.

Initially I really struggled when deciding what to focus on first, how much time to spend on different tasks and defining my game plan for the future. I’ve been lucky to have a lot of support around me from the get-go, but having some regular calls in the diary with people I trust has been a massive help in staying focused. If you’re working on a solo project (or any project tbh), I’d recommend removing some of the "solo" and getting coffees, calls, walks, lunches in the diary. Not only does it give you a sounding board for what you’re working on but it also keeps you sane.

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Mike Gilroy
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Location

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada