“I think that people have the misconception of innovation being spontaneous” — Asya Paloni, Welltory

Health and wellness apps like Welltory are gaining popularity as users seek niche solutions for sleep, fitness, and sexual wellness, with Welltory distinguishing itself by providing engaging, contextualized health data to nearly 9 million active users and achieving a high App Store rating. To succeed in a market driven by instant gratification, Welltory's VP of Strategy, Asya Paloni, emphasizes using boredom as a trigger to entice users to choose the app over social media, offering an entertaining and rewarding experience akin to platforms like TikTok or Instagram. Paloni highlights the importance of creating an app that avoids shaming users and instead focuses on novelty and pleasure, following a specific framework to ensure the app remains engaging and sticky. Unlike Duolingo, which uses reminders to prompt user activity, Welltory avoids generating feelings of shame, recognizing that wellness apps require a different approach to user engagement. The team prioritizes essential "must" features to prevent user frustration, followed by "delighter" features that provide unique and memorable user experiences, helping Welltory stand out in a competitive market.