The person behind it

Hi, I'm Robb.

Founder · Chowen Labs, LLC · Bainbridge Island, WA

I'm a pilot and a builder. For most of my career I've been flying Boeing 737s, and like a lot of pilots, I've been frustrated by tools that don't work the way aviators actually think — logbooks that feel like spreadsheets, calculators that require a manual, study tools that weren't designed by someone who's sat in the seat.

So I started building my own. Chowen Labs is the name I gave that effort — a small, serious studio where I can build things with the same standards I'd apply in the cockpit. Precise, reliable, and designed for the moment you actually need them.

The apps aren't all aviation. Some come from other parts of life — the walk that cleared my head, the financial question I couldn't answer fast enough, the habit a loved one wanted to track without broadcasting it. Each one started as a real problem I couldn't find a good solution to.

That's the whole philosophy: build what you wish existed, and build it well enough that someone else might actually use it.

👨‍✈️
Robb Crawford
Founder & Developer · Chowen Labs, LLC
Location
Bainbridge Island, Washington
Background
Boeing 737 Pilot
Studio type
Solo indie developer
Platform
iOS — Apple ecosystem
Apps in pipeline
6 in active development
Get in touch →
The co∞ mark — C + O, infinitely
The name

What's a Chowen?

Chowen Labs is named after my sons — Charlie and Owen. The name is a reminder of who I'm building for, and the kind of work I want to model for them.

The logo carries that forward: the infinity mark forms a C and an O — Charlie and Owen — woven together in a continuous loop. A metaphor for the work too: iterating, connecting, never quite finished.

Every app I build carries a little of that. The standard isn't "good enough for an app store" — it's "good enough to put their name on it."

What we stand for

Built on six beliefs

These aren't marketing words. They're the filter every decision gets run through before anything ships.

🎯
Purpose over features
Every app has one job. We don't add features to make the app feel bigger — we cut until only the essential remains.
✨
Premium by default
Craft is the standard, not a tier. Every screen gets the same care, whether it's the first users see or the tenth.
Committed
🔒
Privacy without compromise
Your data stays on your device, used only to make the app work — nothing else, ever.
✓ No ads — not now, not ever
✓ No tracking or behavioral analytics
✓ No selling or sharing of usage data
✓ No third-party data brokers
🛠️
Built from experience
Each app starts as a lived problem, not a market opportunity. We build what we've needed ourselves.
🌱
Small and intentional
Staying small is a choice. A small studio ships things with a clear point of view, not a committee's compromise.
♾️
Always iterating
Shipping is the beginning, not the end. Every app gets better with real use and real feedback.

Want to work together?

Interested in what we're building, or have a project worth discussing?

Get in touch →