Developing a Mentoring Mobile Application
Mentoring is long-term relationships, not one-off sessions. The app must support the entire cycle: find mentor, submit request, align goals, regular sessions, track progress and feedback. More complex than chat—requires relationship business logic and progress tracking.
Mentor/Mentee Matching
Mentor profile: expertise (tags + free text), availability (schedule in time slots), format (1-on-1, group, async), language, years experience, cost (if paid).
Mentee profile: goals (career, project, skill), level, preferred meeting format.
Matching algorithm: tag intersection + filter by availability + geolocation if in-person. PostgreSQL: tsvector + tsquery for full-text profile search, @> operator for tag array intersection.
Mentee request to mentor: message with request description. Mentor accepts or declines. Accept creates mentorship record with active status.
Sessions and Scheduling
Core UI: session planning. Mentor sets available slots in profile. Mentee selects from available. Implement via time_slots table: mentor_id, start_at, end_at, is_booked.
System calendar integration: EventKit (iOS) / CalendarContract (Android). On session booking—create calendar event for both. Cancel session—remove via EKEventStore.remove().
24-hour and 1-hour reminders: push via FCM plus local notification as backup.
Video session: built-in via WebRTC (Twilio, 100ms) or Zoom/Google Meet link. Built-in gives better UX, requires more dev time. Limited budget—generate Zoom link via Zoom API (POST /v2/users/{userId}/meetings), share with both.
Progress and Goals
Mentee goals: structured list with criteria and deadline. SMART structure in UI: fields for specificity, measurability, timeline.
Post-session brief: what discussed, next steps, goal progress. Form in app, saves to history. For mentee—chronology of growth; for mentor—context for next meeting.
Goal progress tracker: simple ProgressView (iOS) / LinearProgressIndicator (Android) with manual percentage update. Not gamification—just visual history.
Feedback
Post-mentorship (or monthly) mutual rating. Mentor rating affects search position. NPS form (UISlider 0–10) + open text.
Async feedback: mentor comments on mentee material (link, doc), mentee responds. Like code review for life/career tasks. Implemented as comment thread on "assignment" within goal.
Monetization and Payments
Paid mentors: Stripe payments. PaymentSheet with PaymentIntent per session or SetupIntent for session packages. Auto-payouts to mentor via Stripe Connect (direct transfer or delayed after session confirmation).
iOS forbids payments for third-party services via own payment form without Apple commission. Stripe Connect for service marketplace—allowed if app doesn't commission digital content.
Process and Timeline
Profiles + matching + requests + scheduling + push: 6–8 weeks. Goals + progress + feedback + video sessions + payments: 2–3 months. Pricing calculated after requirements analysis.