u/RoyalEquipment9788

LeetCode trains you to solve problems fast. Interviewers want to hear you think. Those aren’t the same skill and grinding one doesn’t build the other.
I run gripit.dev which is built around this, but getting people to switch off LeetCode is hard. So I built grip duck, an extension that adds the interview part on top of LeetCode itself.

What it does:
• Editor stays locked until you write your approach in plain English
• A duck asks Socratic questions while you code. Never gives the answer.
• After you submit, you get a debrief on your approach and what an interviewer would have said
BYOK (Claude, GPT, or Gemini). Key stays in your browser, no backend, no tracking. Free.

https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/amiaalbpmimckjffipbodihjemkkhajk?utm\_source=item-share-cb

Roadmap stuff I’d love input on: happy to add support for other practice sites (HackerRank, Codeforces, etc.) if there’s demand. Also considering a hosted version where you don’t bring your own key, for people who don’t want to deal with API setup. Would that be useful or do people prefer BYOK?

About 2 months ago I built https://gripit.dev, the idea was to build habit for preparation using flashcards and preparing for interviews rather than just coding using an duck to make you explain the approach before you can even begin typing your solution (like it would be in an interview).

I have now realised that people do not want to move away from leetcode, so if I built a free (bring your own key) version of the duck as a chrome extension where it would force you to explain your approach ON LEETCODE before you can start typing and then provide you with a full debrief, would you be interested in that?

Comment if you want to be added to waitlist for the extension.

About 2 months ago I built https://gripit.dev, the idea was to build habit for preparation using flashcards and preparing for interviews rather than just coding using an duck to make you explain the approach before you can even begin typing your solution (like it would be in an interview).

I have now realised that people do not want to move away from leetcode, so if I built a free (bring your own key) version of the duck as a chrome extension where it would force you to explain your approach ON LEETCODE before you can start typing and then provide you with a full debrief, would you be interested in that?

Comment if you want to be added to waitlist for the extension.

Leetcode just never stuck for me. I’d solve a problem, feel smart for a day, then look at the same one two weeks later and have no idea how i did it. The format kind of sets you up for that. You sit alone, type, see green, close the tab. No recall, no explaining out loud, no spaced repetition. Just grinding and hoping.

Built gripit.dev because of that. Before you can write any code it makes you explain your approach to an AI rubber duck. Sounds dumb but it forces you to actually understand what you’re doing instead of pattern matching from yesterday. Also has flashcards that pick themselves based on what you’re worst at, so 5 mins on the bus actually does something.

Around 70 signups now but DAU is under 10% and i’m stuck trying to figure out why. Could be the product is off, could be the duck is too weird, could be that learning habits are just hard for everyone.

Would mean a lot if a few of you tried it for 10 mins and told me what feels broken or annoying. Landing page, first question, the duck itself, anything. Be harsh, be truthful (please).

https://gripit.dev​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Founder here, working on https://gripit.dev

I keep running into retention issue. People sign up, poke around for a couple days, then vanish. I’m at ~70 signups and DAU is under 10%. Can’t tell if it’s the product or just how learning tools go.

Quick context on what it is so the question makes sense. It’s a Leetcode alternative. The bet is that grinding problems alone doesn’t actually stick. So this makes you explain your approach to an AI rubber duck out loud before you can write code. Also flashcards that adapt to your weak spots for short sessions.

I have many questions but my top ones are these:
(Yes, claude helped me frane them better)

1: For anyone running SaaS in learning or dev tools, what actually moved your DAU? Onboarding, streaks, notifications, deeper content, something dumb you didn’t expect?
2: Did streaks and daily goals actually retain people for you or did it just feel like noise?
3: For B2C tools where the payoff is long term, how do you hold people in week 2 and 3 when the initial hype dies?

I’ve tried personalised email reminders, which got me almost nothing. Tried tweaking onboarding twice. Neither moved the needle much.

Would appreciate any insights from anybody who has solved this issue before.

Thanks in advance!!