Universally Thinking

We inspire products - then engineer award winning software that compliment them.

Cincinnati product studio and software development agency. From concept and UX through engineering, launch, and iteration — Think. Speak. Do.

Most Innovative Company · Midwest 2021 UC Innovation Lab Grant · 2022 100,000+ app downloads
100k+App downloads across products
10+Years inventing & shipping
90%+Peak month-over-month retention
#70iTunes Music · The Jukebox App
Our methodology

Think. Speak. Do.

A disciplined loop — powered by intuition — for turning a quiet signal into something the market can feel.

Think.

Intuition is the first instrument. Before we write a line of code, we listen for the gap most teams overlook — the friction users accept as “normal,” the product that should exist but doesn’t. We pressure-test that instinct with research, competitive mapping, and sharp product questions until the idea is clear enough to build toward — and still bold enough to matter.

Speak.

Intuition stays silent unless we give it language. We name the problem, the user, and the bet out loud — in strategy, in writing, and in conversation with the people who will live with the product. Speaking early surfaces blind spots, aligns stakeholders, and turns a private hunch into a shared direction the whole team can execute against.

Do

Intuition earns its keep in the build. We ship with intention: UX that feels inevitable, engineering that holds up under real use, and iteration loops that feed what we learn back into the next decision. Doing is how we prove the instinct was right — or refine it until it is.

*Do has no period because our commitment to excellence and innovation has no end.

Impact.

When intuition is thought through, spoken clearly, and built with care, impact follows — products people keep, workflows that reclaim time, and ideas that push the industry forward instead of waiting for permission. Impact is the proof that the thread held from first spark to shipped reality.

Software development

Built end-to-end. Measured by what ships.

We operate like a boutique product engineering studio: senior ownership on every build, full-stack delivery, and products with real users and track records.

Sonos, Chromecast, and Bose smart speakers

Auxio · AirPlay for Android

Auxio AirPlay

Android audio platform that broadcasts to multi-brand Wi-Fi speakers through a unified experience. Engineered AirPlay / AirPlay 2 streaming, RTP, ALAC/AAC pipelines, jitter management, and multi-device sync — bridging an ecosystem gap traditionally centered on Apple devices.

Bespoke systems · Automation · AI

Custom Enterprise Solutions

Operational software built around how your organization actually works — including, but not limited to:

  • Automated content publishing A system that takes your content and publishes it to various third-party content providers — on schedule, with rules, tracking, and fewer manual handoffs.
  • AI Phone Receptionist An AI-powered phone receptionist that answers, routes, and captures intent so callers get help faster and your team stays focused.
  • AI outbound email & marketing An AI-driven outbound email tracking and marketing system for campaigns, follow-ups, and measurable engagement — without the spreadsheet chaos.

Product studio lineup

Consumer apps & tools

Invented, built, and launched in-house — each one solving a real friction point.

  • CalendMe Group scheduling with frictionless availability matching and decision-focused UX.
  • Pixxy Real-time collaborative photo slideshow that turns devices into a shared digital frame.
  • Bible Time Habit-driven devotional app focused on consistency and daily engagement.
  • Streaks Lightweight habit-building and habit-breaking with clear streak visualization.
  • Bar Games Short-session social games designed for group environments and quick play.
  • CarGames Offline-friendly casual games optimized for passenger play on the road.
  • VidEdit Simple video/photo slideshow editor with text, music, and audio overlays.
  • Swagger Jukebox Collaborative music control experiences with Spotify and Apple Music integrations.
  • SwaggerYouTube Collaborative media control for YouTube — group queues, karaoke, and shared playback.
  • AIBookSummary / AISparkNotes AI-powered book summarization delivering concise insights and key takeaways.
  • Sosche Real-time, close-proximity networking — find who’s around you and connect in the moment.
  • The Jukebox App Flagship social jukebox across phone, desktop, and TV platforms.
  • Auxio AirPlay Android-to-multi-brand speaker streaming with AirPlay / AirPlay 2 interoperability.
Tech stacks & languages

What we work with

Languages, platforms, and systems we use to ship production software.

Mobile

Swift SwiftUI UIKit Objective-C Java Kotlin Jetpack Compose iOS Android React Native Flutter Fire TV Google TV

Backend & web

Node.js Express PHP Python PostgreSQL MySQL SQL Redis React Next.js TypeScript JavaScript HTML / CSS Tailwind jQuery Bootstrap REST APIs GraphQL WebSockets AWS Docker Nginx

Audio, networking & APIs

AirPlay / AirPlay 2 RTP RTSP ALAC / AAC HLS Real-time streaming Bonjour / mDNS Device discovery Multi-device sync JNI / Rust Spotify Apple Music YouTube Google APIs OAuth 2.0 Firebase Stripe OpenAI / LLM APIs
Past

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em

Concepts we explored, blogged, and discussed with patent attorneys — often years before they hit the market.

iPhone

iPhone

In the year 2000, when our founder was 10 years old, his elementary school had an "innovation fair" where the winner would win a "patent." He won.

Smart Watch

Smart Watch

We met directly with a patent attorney in 2011 to discuss the viability of a Smart Watch patent. The first Smart Watch was released for sale in 2013.

AirPods

AirPods

Another product we are big fans of. It's among the 100's of concepts we have blogged and discussed with patent attorneys.

Chromecast

Chromecast

We envisioned streaming content from mobile devices to televisions years before Chromecast became a reality. The concept of wireless casting was part of our early innovation discussions.

MagicLeap

MagicLeap

Augmented reality spatial computing was a topic we explored extensively before MagicLeap brought it to market. We discussed the potential of mixed reality experiences and their transformative impact.

Force Touch on iPhone

Force Touch

We blogged this one, in detail, on our original website, 3 years before Apple patented it (and went on to immediately implement it).

Apple Pencil

Apple Pencil

Sort of an obvious one. "Bring back the stylus" should have never needed to have been said. Glad Apple took our advice.

Stylus Compatible Touch Pads

Stylus Compatible Touch Pads

This one is free. Need to e-sign a legal document? Just grab your stylus and sign your laptop's track pad. Boom!

Present · Our services

How we help you build

Contact us below to get started. Tap a service for details.

MVP offer

App-store-ready MVP development

Ship a real MVP — not a prototype slide deck

$1,500 per platform

We will build an app-store-ready MVP mobile app for $1,500 per platform (iOS or Android).

With years of development experience, we will leverage our expertise combined with AI to build high-quality products efficiently. This approach allows us to pass significant savings directly to you while delivering professional, production-ready applications.

Universally Thinking
Inspired

Clients & companies we've inspired and worked with

Organizations and product ecosystems our ideas, builds, and partnerships have touched.

Reviews

What partners say

Example feedback from founders and operators who've worked with Universally Thinking.

★★★★★

“They don't just write code — they invent the product with you. Our MVP shipped to the App Store faster than we thought possible, and it actually felt finished.”

Jordan Hale Founder, consumer mobile startup
★★★★★

“Clear communication, sharp technical judgment, and a real instinct for UX. We finally had someone who could own architecture and still care about the user.”

Priya Nandam COO, operations SaaS
★★★★★

“From automation ideas to working systems, they cut days of busywork out of our week. Practical, fast, and always thinking one step ahead.”

Marcus Ellison Program lead, nonprofit / church ops
Future

Contact us

Drop us a note below — ready to transform an idea into software that ships.

Putting Cincinnati on the Map

Ben Barnett
Ben Barnett Original Founder

ADDRESS:
Cincinnati, OH, United States of America

EMAIL:
contact@UniversallyThinking.com

Universally Thinking — putting Cincinnati on the map

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