From The Founder: April/May Update

April & May Overview of BudgetBro

What a couple of months it's been. I don't know where to start.

Firstly, I want to apologise for missing April's recap. I did try to get round to it but time kept passing and I arrived at a point where it just wasn't feasible anymore. So here we are, a two-for-one.

We were having a ball of a time in Asia during the beta campaign. We did surface more issues, but it was less about the app itself and more about how to actually get people using it before full release. Android devices were prompting malware warnings on download, which is not a great look. Apple had too much friction. A lot of people didn't even know what TestFlight was.

The list goes on, but it was important we understood the problems before we could address them. We also found smaller in-app issues through new beta users that we hadn't caught ourselves.

Beta Challenges

If March was about getting beta live, April was about facing what that actually meant in the real world.

The honest takeaway is that distributing an app pre-launch is genuinely hard. It's not just about having something worth downloading. It's about reducing every single point of friction between a stranger and your product, and we had more of those than we'd like to admit.

Android's malware warning was the most visible problem. It's a known issue with sideloaded APKs, but knowing the reason doesn't make it hurt less when someone's first impression of your app is a security alert. We've addressed it, but the lesson is clear: by the time real users encounter your product, every barrier needs to be gone.

TestFlight literacy was a surprise. We assumed people in the backpacker community were tech-savvy enough to navigate it. A fair few weren't, and that's on us for assuming.

A Change of Plans

Our beta trip was cut short. In hindsight, for the beta too. Lovely pun, feel free to laugh.

My grandad passed away days before we launched the campaign. It wasn't unexpected, but like any passing, the family grieved. Especially my mum. We did consider cancelling the trip entirely, but Grandad was always so proud of what we were building with BudgetBro. Inquisitive. Backing us fully. Stopping everything didn't feel like something he'd want, and it wouldn't have helped any of us either.

During the campaign we met a lot of new faces, but something just wasn't sitting right. Myself and Samar knew our presence back home would be appreciated. With all the stress, anxiety and every other emotion you can tie to a product launch layered on top of everything else, we felt it was right to go home. To work on something my grandad had always wanted done: renovating his forever-home.

Nathan & The App

To step away from something you've built from the ground up, even temporarily, is nearly impossible without the right people in place.

Fortunately, Nathan had us covered. And he certainly hasn't underdelivered.

He's put his own mark on the app. Implanted future ideas while also making sure things are sustainable. I don't want to say much more because I know if he reads this, he'll be smug about it for weeks. So just to close this part out: thanks Nay Nay Coolay. Love ya.

What's Changed in the App

Nathan's work over the past couple of months has kept us moving forward while we've been heads down on the renovation. Bugs addressed. Improvements made. The kind of quiet, consistent progress that doesn't make headlines but absolutely matters.

The app is ready to launch. Any day now. There are still teething issues, there always are, but we need to open the gates and let real users dictate what we're capable of. Not just as an app, but as a company.

The Renovation

My grandad's property in the north of England needed work. A lot of it. When he passed, renovating it was the wish he left behind. It felt like the least we could do. Samar's been right alongside me, and honestly she's been a capable partner in ways I didn't fully anticipate.

What started as a personal project quickly became something else entirely.

The Content Side

We've been filming and posting the renovation across TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Facebook Reels as an indirect way to market BudgetBro. The idea was simple. Real content, honest process, no polish.

It's semi-popped off. Just shy of two million views across YouTube and TikTok.

Both handles are @JoshStartsUp if you want to follow along. If you're a fan of these recaps, you'll hopefully enjoy the content too. Same tone, different backdrop.

The renovation doubles as a proof of concept for where BudgetBro is heading. We're building out beyond travel budgeting into home renovation and general personal finance. Living the very thing we're building tools around felt like the most honest way to show that.

Final Thoughts

There's a lot more I'd like to bring up, but maybe this recap isn't quite the right place for all of it.

What I will say is this: the last two months have been some of the most difficult and some of the most clarifying we've had since starting BudgetBro. Losing my grandad, stepping away from the day-to-day of the app, rebuilding something physical with my hands. It's all given me a clearer head about what we're doing and why.

The app is ready. The content is growing. The next recap will be reporting back on a live product.

See you next month with a live product.