I got proof in the mail today that our "failed" app actually worked

I got proof in the mail today that our "failed" app actually worked.

(3 years too late 😤)

The proof?

A dementia research magazine. With my name as a published author.

BTW, I've never worked in dementia care.

3 years ago, Benjamin Billy and I built the StoryTiling app for families to capture life stories.

Care facilities started using it with dementia patients to do reminiscence therapy.

Families said it helped. Staff said it worked.

But we pivoted before we could prove it.

(Research takes time that VC-backed startups don't have)

Our new product worked. I became a coach. The app went offline. Filed it under "uncertain."

Until today.

The research caught up. Published proof it actually worked!!!

Ugh. 3 years too late.

And also kind of exciting:

Most of us NEVER get proof our work mattered.

We help, teach, build - then move on without knowing if it stuck.

What this taught me is:

Impact doesn't follow our timeline.

Sometimes the difference you made shows up years later,

in ways you never expected,

for people you may never meet again.