GoAskMike
AI life coach providing warm, judgment-free guidance, encouragement, and comfort for everyday challenges.
Role
Founder / Product Manager
Key Skills Used
Conversational AI design • Emotional UX • Persona development • Subscription monetization
The Problem
People face everyday challenges — uncertainty about a decision, self-doubt, hard moments — with nowhere comfortable to turn. Therapy is expensive, stigmatized, and unavailable at 11 PM on a Tuesday. Friends and family, while well-meaning, often offer advice when someone just needs to be heard. Generic AI chatbots feel cold and transactional. There was a gap for something in between: a warm, non-judgmental space that feels like talking to a trusted friend who happens to have great perspective — available anytime.
The Solution
GoAskMike is a conversational AI life coach built around the "Mike" persona — warm, steady, and judgment-free. Three conversation modes (Guidance, Encouragement, Comfort) let users choose the kind of support they need. Multi-session memory means Mike remembers your story and can build on past conversations. "A Little Lift" — curated comfort content — provides an additional layer of support on the hard days.
Availability
Therapy hours only
24/7, any device
Tone
Clinical or robotic
Warm, human, judgment-free
Continuity
Start over every session
Memory across conversations
Product Strategy
- "Mike" persona as the core product — a consistent character, not a generic chatbot
- Three conversation modes (Guidance / Encouragement / Comfort) so users self-select the support they need
- Multi-session memory as the key retention driver — context that builds over time creates genuine stickiness
- "A Little Lift" as a differentiated subscription benefit — curated feel-good content adds non-AI value
- Freemium: one free guided experience → $9.99/month, low enough to be an easy "yes"
- Emotional safety first — non-judgmental design in every interaction to build trust quickly
- Positioned between friends and therapy — a deliberate gap in the market with no direct competition
My Role
As founder and product lead, I:
- Identified the underserved space between casual conversation and professional therapy
- Created and defined the "Mike" persona — warm, steady, non-judgmental, relatable
- Designed the three-mode conversation system (Guidance, Encouragement, Comfort) based on user emotional needs
- Built multi-session memory architecture to enable continuity and relationship depth
- Created "A Little Lift" as a subscription-exclusive content benefit
- Designed the onboarding flow to establish emotional safety before the first conversation
- Set the $9.99/month price point to be accessible to the broadest possible audience
- Iterated on conversation design based on user feedback to dial in Mike's voice and tone
Product Decisions
Why a named persona vs. a generic AI assistant?
People don't open up to "AI assistant." They open up to someone. A named, consistent persona with a defined personality creates the psychological safety that makes honest conversation possible — which is the entire value of the product.
Why three separate conversation modes?
The kind of support you need when you're making a decision is completely different from what you need when you're grieving or feeling defeated. Letting users choose their mode respects their emotional intelligence and removes the burden of the AI guessing wrong.
Why prioritize memory over more features?
A support relationship that forgets you every session is useless. Memory is what separates GoAskMike from every other AI chatbot — it's the feature that turns a one-time tool into a lasting relationship.
Why $9.99/month, the lowest price point in the portfolio?
Emotional support needs to be accessible. The people who most need this product are often going through hard times — financially and otherwise. $9.99 removes price as an objection for the people who would benefit most.
Screenshots & UI
💬
Visit GoAskMike.com to try it live
Additional UI screenshots coming soon.
What I Would Improve Next
Future improvements for GoAskMike:
- Voice conversation mode — speak to Mike instead of type, for moments when typing feels too slow
- Mood tracking over time — visualize emotional patterns to surface insights about triggers and trends
- Expanded "A Little Lift" content with user-curated additions and personalized recommendations
- Group experiences — moderated community spaces for shared challenges (grief, career transitions)
- Crisis escalation protocol — detect distress signals and provide appropriate professional resources
- Deeper persona customization — let users adjust Mike's communication style to their preference