Tendril Works makes small software. It isn't a consultancy, and the goal isn't to turn each idea into a platform. Each project should have a job that fits in one sentence.
A lot of apps now ship with a feed, streaks, recommendations, and notifications by default. Some of those features are useful, but they tend to grow until they compete with the thing the app was built to do.
The working rules are simple: the main action gets most of the screen, important settings are easy to reach, and there is no account if the app works without one. These are defaults, not a philosophy.
Tether is the first project. It started from a specific problem: opening a long article on a phone, reading a few paragraphs, and losing your place. Its RSVP mode shows one word at a time in a fixed position, and the full article view is one swipe away when you need to reread a paragraph.
Later projects may have nothing to do with reading. The criteria are narrower: a concrete problem, existing tools that handle it poorly, and a clear idea of what a better version would do.
Most of the work is in the details: clear setting names, reliable progress saving, and offline support for anything that doesn't need a network connection.