Why Mommy Refuel exists
Mommy Refuel starts from a simple idea: the person doing the caring deserves care too. In most families the mother holds the timeline, the appointments, the supplies, the worries and everyone else’s wellbeing, and there is very little room left for her own.
I did not want to build another tracker that asks a tired mother to do more. The first thing I built was a one-minute check-in: a place to say how you are today, see what changed and get one small, realistic next step. Everything else in the app grows from that.
Background
I am a product designer and engineer. For more than ten years I have taken digital products from the first idea to launch, with design, interaction and engineering as one system: websites, online stores, editorial platforms and mobile apps. I am also the Chief Technology Officer at Kyiv Academy of Media Arts.
Before Mommy Refuel I built products for clients in media, culture and fashion, including Entrevue, Varta Project (a documentary archive preserving the memory of war through personal stories), Divenco, Caustica and the platform of Omar Harfouch. You can see that work on serhiirohachov.com.
I founded seven a.m. (seven ante meridiem), an AI-native product and business-systems holding. Mommy Refuel is one of its own products, built alongside client work, not a commission.
How Mommy Refuel was built
I write the code, design the screens and ship the releases myself. Every step is recorded in the product changelog, from the very first commit. The short version:
- 13 August 2026: first commit: the iOS app prototype, a landing page and a survey for mothers.
- 17–19 August 2026: versions 1.1 to 1.6 in a few days: Refuel AI, private journal, Care Circle, Privacy Centre, weekly reports, Apple Health, Apple Watch, widgets, and the first test builds.
- September 2026: privacy and security hardening, two rounds of App Store review, and a website rebuilt around the real product.
- 12 September 2026: Mommy Refuel became available on the App Store as a free app for iPhone.
- 21 September 2026: version 2.0.2 (build 26) with Just talk sent for testing.
Between 13 August and 22 September 2026 that is more than 360 commits across the app, the website and the backend.
The principles I hold myself to
- Privacy by design. What you write stays yours. Analytics are value-free: they count that a feature was used, never what you wrote. You can delete everything from inside the app. More in my note on privacy and on Your data & account.
- Safety before features. Mommy Refuel is a wellbeing tool, not a medical device. The Refuel Score is a reflection, not a diagnosis. Refuel AI has a safety layer that routes to real help instead of continuing a conversation when someone may be at risk. More in my note on safety and on Safety & AI principles.
- Honest statuses. Every feature is labelled as available, coming later or planned. I do not describe planned work as if it already exists.
- Consent first. The AI features ask for consent and name the AI provider (Anthropic) clearly. Sorting with the assistant in Just talk is off by default.
- Clinical review as a gate. I am an engineer, not a clinician. Health-related content and features go through clinical review before a general release.
What I am accountable for
I am personally responsible for the product decisions in Mommy Refuel, for how it treats your data and for what we say about it. If something in the app or on this site is wrong, unclear or feels unsafe, I want to hear about it directly.
- Product feedback, bugs and safety concerns: hello@mommyrefuel.com
- Partnerships, clinics, employers and investors: the same address, or LinkedIn
- Privacy questions and data requests: see the privacy policy
If you are in crisis, please do not wait for an email reply: contact local emergency services straight away.
