EXP-002In the lab
A tennis match tracker: live scoring, in-game analytics, and a match record worth sending to the other side of the net.
- In development since
- 10 Aug 2026
- Target
- Fall ’26
Built Under Pressure.
Pressure test
Specimen 001
Press and hold to load the specimen until it fails. With a keyboard, hold the space bar.
We turn ambitious ideas into resilient software.
Broken Racket Labs designs, builds, and ships its own products, starting with Povalo on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. We also take on hard problems for other people, a few at a time.
Standing by
Stress things on purpose. Study what gives. Ship what survives.
01Work
Experiments in motion.
Everything here enters as a numbered experiment and stays one until it earns a release. We don’t do “coming soon.” We do “arriving when it survives.”
02EXP-001 · Released
Povalo
Pet health, decoded.
Povalo keeps a pet’s whole day in one place. Walks, meals, meds, and weight roll up into four rings and a daily Wellness Score, and everyone in the house can see what’s already done.
- Platforms
- iPhone · iPad · Apple Watch
- Current
- v1.6.0 · 25 Sep 2026
- On the App Store
- Since 26 Jun 2026
- First commit to release
- 32 days
- Price
- Free to download
-
01Who fed him
-
02Enough activity
-
03One care hub
-
04Where to walk
-
05Feeding guide
03In the lab
Arriving when it survives.
Two more experiments are under load. Each one has a target. Neither ships until it holds.
EXP-003In the lab
A universal wishlist. One list for every want, instead of a scatter of tabs, screenshots, and half-remembered links.
- In development since
- 23 Aug 2026
- Target
- Fall ’26
04Studio
Small by design. Built to ship.
One studio doing the whole job: product, interface, native engineering, the backend, and the release work nobody sees. The hands that ship Povalo take on outside work, a few projects at a time.
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01
Native apps
iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. SwiftUI, widgets, Live Activities, and Siri.
ProofPovalo, on three Apple platforms
-
02
Product design
Interfaces for things people open every day. Flows, systems, and the quiet details that make a habit stick.
ProofThe five Povalo screens above
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03
Systems
Sync, sign-in, subscriptions, payments, analytics, and crash reporting. The parts that have to work at 2 a.m.
ProofPovalo’s backend. This site’s shop on Stripe and Printful
-
04
Applied AI
AI that does one specific job, with an on-device fallback for when the network doesn’t cooperate.
ProofPovalo AI Insights
-
05
Security
Least privilege, rules enforced on the server, and secret keys that never reach the browser.
ProofServer-side Pro checks in Povalo. Checkout keys held server-side
04.1Principles
How the studio decides.
Every value comes with a test. When two collide, the order breaks the tie.
-
01
Pressure reveals truth.
TestBefore shipping, what did we try to break, and what broke?
-
02
Progress comes from failure.
TestCan we name, specifically, what the last failure taught us?
-
03
Restraint is a feature.
TestWhat did we say no to, and would the person using it thank us?
-
04
Real details over adjectives.
TestIs there a number, a date, or an artifact in it? $300.05 beats “scrappy.”
-
05
Independence.
TestAre we doing this because it’s right, or because someone else’s timeline says so?
05Origin
Named after the moment the equipment gave up.
A racket cracked mid-swing. The crack showed exactly where the pressure lived: what held, and what didn’t. That’s the whole company in one image.
Stress things on purpose. Study what gives. Ship what survives.
- What day one of the LLC cost.
- $300.05
- Houses cleaned to pay the Apple Developer fee.
- 2
- Days from Povalo’s first commit to the App Store.
- 32
- Counted from the first commit, 11 May 2026.
- Day 141
06Ledger
The ledger.
Append-only. Rows get added, never deleted. Every date below is real.
- Imprint
The Lab Cap joins the shop as a preview. Crossed rackets in flat embroidery, six crowns.
- EXP-001
Povalo v1.6.0 reaches the App Store.
- Imprint
The Lab Coat gets its price: $68.
- Studio
The shop is rebuilt on Stripe Checkout and Printful. Made to order, never warehoused.
- EXP-001
Povalo v1.5.0 released.
- Imprint
After Hours is established as the studio’s creative imprint.
- EXP-003
Corvala: first commit.
- Studio
The lineup goes public on this site.
- EXP-002
stringbed.: first commit.
- EXP-001
Povalo reaches iPad, and its Apple Watch companion ships.
- EXP-001
Povalo goes live on the App Store, 32 days after its first commit.
- EXP-001
Povalo is submitted to App Review.
- Studio
Apple approves the studio for the Apple Developer Program. The fee came from cleaning two houses.
- EXP-001
Povalo: first commit.
- Studio
The lab’s first commit. Broken Racket Labs, LLC is formed that month. Day one costs $300.05.
07Imprint
After Hours
What escapes the laboratory and becomes an object.
Povalo, stringbed., and Corvala are software. Broken Racket Labs is the laboratory that makes them. After Hours is what escapes it. Apparel is the first output, not the definition.
- Item
- The Lab Coat
- Blank
- Bella + Canvas 4719
- Colors
- Black · White
- Model
- Made to order
- Price
- $68
BRL / After HoursCore
- Item
- The Lab Cap
- Method
- Flat embroidery
- Crowns
- Six
- Price
- $32
- First run
- Fall ’26
BRL / After HoursCore
08Contact
Bring the next hard problem.
Tell us what you’re building, where it’s stuck, and what a useful next step would look like. The reply comes from the person who would do the work.