Napkin isn’t like other note-taking apps; it focuses on mindfulness and unstructured thinking, providing a space to capture ideas without the pressure of productivity
David Felsmann and Fabian Wittel, the founders, started working on the app in 2022. They had previously worked in BMW’s group innovation wing. First, they put out a web version. But then, the app was mostly about getting things done and helping you organize your thoughts on specific subjects. A lot of people who used Napkin did so as a way to be thoughtful and take some time to think about ideas that were important to them.
The company then turned its attention to the mindfulness market and began making an iOS app. The desktop app was kept up to date for people who already used it. Because it focuses on mindfulness, the company has put itself in the health and fitness category instead of the productivity or utility category.
“The notes are all very different.” We help people write down thoughts that make them feel better. Like something that changed the way you think or inspired you, and you want to think about it again later. Felsmann said, “These are the ideas you write down with Napkin as a mindfulness habit.”
Users can use the camera to record their thoughts, like book lines. The quotes are then turned into text. They can also type these ideas out. You can add some of Napkin’s ideas for first meetings to your library. With automatically generated tags, the app sorts different thoughts into groups. After some time, you can return to these themes or tags from the home screen.
Users can “archive” their ideas so the flags that go with them no longer appear. Even though the app can understand Spanish and German, English is the language that works best for it right now.
He said that many people used the app first thing in the morning to think about themselves instead of going on social media. As the co-founders put it, they built the app around a model called Sense of Coherence (SoC). This model helps you see the world and keeps you centered.
You can get Napkin from the App Store for $6 a month or $50 a year. You can also try the app for free for seven days.
The company behind the app says it doesn’t send any nudges or messages to users because it doesn’t want to get in the way of their work. “We don’t want to make users’ lives noisier.” Feldmann said, “We’d love to be an app that works in the background and doesn’t demand attention but is a quiet place where they can stay.”
Napkin doesn’t want to be an alternative for people who write in journals; it wants to be a friend. In the future, the app might also be able to connect to famous journal apps or Amazon Kindle, making it easier for people to write down their thoughts.
The business hasn’t raised any money from banks or other institutions, but it has gotten checks from believers and backers for about $150,000 in the form of convertible loan deals. Napkin doesn’t want to raise money and wants more than 10,000 users before it can stay in business. It has about 4,000 paid users right now. Once it reaches its goal, the company will think about making apps and features that work with other systems.