Øyvind (dad)

I've been building digital products and startups since 2002. My background spans software development, UX design (I hold a master's degree), industrial design, and graphic design. But the role that matters most for this blog: I've been a parent since 2011.

I'm happily divorced with a wonderful daughter born that year. My ex-wife, daughter, and I still have tacos together sometimes—co-parenting done right. In 2019, I married again. My wife has a daughter born in 2014, so we're navigating blended family life together, with all its organizational challenges.

In 2017, I hit the wall. Years of overwork caught up with me, and I had to step back and rebuild my life from scratch. I went deep into mindfulness and meditation practice, read tons of books about how to live a balanced life, and slowly pieced everything back together. That experience fundamentally changed how I think about systems, routines, and what actually matters in daily life.

Why we built Homie: Both my daughter and I have ADHD. My wife was struggling to help her daughter succeed without micro-managing her. I wanted to help and started imagining a family display with routine checklists. What started as a two-week design sprint turned into something our whole family uses every day.

We've tried every app, every method, every approach. Most tools were either too complicated, too distracting, or designed for corporate productivity rather than family life. Homie is the end result of that journey—built with my family as the first (and most demanding) beta testers. My sister, who helps our elderly parents (85+83) organize their days, has been our world's #1 beta tester from day one.

I write about what I've learned: the systems that actually work, the mistakes we made along the way, and the principles behind building calm, functional family routines. No fluff, no engagement hacks—just practical ideas from someone who lives this every day.