Trip: Expand your mind - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

I got started in tech as a software engineer at a DC consulting firm, building cloud applications for Center for Medicaid Services, Federal Transit Administration, and the First Republic Bank, before jumping the corporate ship to join the SF tech startup scene. There, I started my own consulting company building apps for startups in the health-tech space. My own personal journeys with psychedelics, and passion for their potential in changing the landscape of mental health, brought me to Field Trip, where I'm now head of product working on our Trip app and patient portal.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

Moving at the speed we have while maintaining the high-quality, research-backed, and thoughtful ethos that is core to our brand. The idea for Trip came in 2019, but as we started working on it in 2020, with the pandemic worsening and anxiety, depression, and loneliness numbers increasing, the need for remote guidance to support or deepen one's consciousness-expanding practices became more needed, in-demand, and time-sensitive. As leaders in the psychedelics for mental wellness space, we felt it our duty to deliver on what we started as soon as possible, to support these individuals and release what could become the 'guide' they didn't have.

_{Kori Harrison}

Kori Harrison is a lifelong learner and design-driven product leader. From corporate consulting in DC to building and investing in technology startups in Silicon Valley, Kori's own mental health journey and passion for psychedelic medicine brought her to Field Trip, where she is now Head of Product leading their digital strategy to scaling psychedelic therapies globally. To learn more about her personal journey, visit www.koriharrison.com .

Name a few of your favorite apps and reason you love them.

Oura: Sleep is so key for my creativity and mental wellbeing, the data visualization in the app has helped me calibrate what helps/hurts my sleep quality.
Robinhood: Great design, simple, functional, and beautiful.
Signal: I appreciate their reason for being. A shift in focus and priority towards privacy in software is happening, it's important and reassuring.
Trip , of course :) Having one place to keep track of and integrate my psychedelic experiences has been crucial for my personal growth journey.

How long have you been working on this app?

We started in Q1 of 2020, launched in beta Aug 2020, and released to the public Oct 2020.

What need of the user did you have in mind when developing this app?

Trip is a self-guide for consciousness expansion, helping you get the most out of your trips.

In what way do you think your app is better than similar apps on the market? Please describe in detail what innovation you think you bring and what you are proud of in your app.

Before Trip, people would have to use many different apps for tripping--meditation apps, journaling apps, voice memo apps, music apps. Trip is the first to bring all of that in one place, with features and content designed especially for psychedelic experience by the leaders in the space at Field Trip.

What are your future plans and expected features of the coming new versions of this app?

Trip will become the go-to platform and global community for tripping. In the coming months, our focus will be on expanding our content (auditory guidance and music designed by world-renowned psychedelic therapists and guides), growing our community of Trippers both in and outside of the app, and a few exciting new features not yet disclosed.

Assuming new users of your app are reading this page. What do you want to ask them to do (contact you about X, Share the app, etc.)?

Visit tripapp.co to download the app on iOS or Android, and contact us at [email protected] with your Trip feedback, hopes, and dreams! We love to hear from you :)