From The Founder: June

Founders Recap: June 2026

This one's coming out super late, and that bugs me. I hate being late, and I hate other people being late too (yes, I see the irony). No excuses, just life moving fast. I can't be the guy who juggles everything perfectly, and I'm making peace with that.

The good news is the core BudgetBro team has been driving this thing forward in fifth gear while I've had to put some energy elsewhere. I'd love to give BudgetBro 110% of me right now, but life's reminded me lately that other things need a slice of that pie too.

Here's an analogy for you: you can cook 10 out of 10 dinners for your family, dinners so good the neighbours are knocking on your door with plates hoping for leftovers, but none of that matters if your ingredients are off. Terrible analogy, I know. Moving on.

If you're new here, welcome, quick catch up. Earlier this year my grandad passed away, and one of his wishes was for me to renovate his house. Me and Samar flew back to the UK to be with family and make that happen. It's been just the two of us doing the work, apart from the electrical, plumbing, and gas. It has taken it out of us.

Long days, late nights, making content on the side to keep BudgetBro ticking along. We've gotten sick, we've gotten fed up, but we've had some great highs in there too. Getting this done mattered just as much as getting BudgetBro to #1 in travel. Family first, always.

Which brings me back to that fifth gear line earlier. Having a team who can carry this forward while I've been buried in DIY has been a saving grace for us. Thank you to everyone who's kept the build going. I cannot wait to be back full time.

What's happened with BudgetBro this past month?

We launched! Huge moment for us. Right now that's UK and US only, but the rest of our markets are opening up within the next week. We've been deep in the analytics, watching how people actually use the app so we can keep sharpening it.

We're also leaning harder into community. One feature we're excited about is Explore Map, where users share their favourite cheap finds from around the globe for other travellers to use. Google Maps is full of great spots, but most of them aren't exactly backpacker budget friendly, and this cuts out the hours of digging. Eventually all of that feeds into our AI, so you won't even need to search, just ask your travel companion and it's done.

There's a leaderboard in the works too, so users can compete with each other. We're not trying to gamify budgeting, we're just trying to make it fun.

Alongside all that, we're figuring out how to keep people using the app after their trip ends, and get them using it before the trip even starts.

What's the plan for the coming weeks?

Team BudgetBro: push into new markets, keep improving the app, and get our name out there properly with some real marketing.

Me: get serious about locking down investment. The clock is ticking on that one. Big things ahead, just need to nail down the path to get there.