ExpenseSpy Update: it's live. 🚀
Update: it's live. 🚀
ExpenseSpy shipped on both iOS and Android. Three months building solo, and honestly a full month of that was just wrestling the approval process to the finish line.
A few things I changed based on this thread specifically:
- Added 150+ currency support right after launch (the traveler/multi-currency use case kept coming up here, and you were right — it's the sharpest wedge)
- Still watching how people actually hit the free limit before I touch the number, instead of guessing
- Treating today as the start of distribution, not the finish line
Thank you to everyone who pushed back on my assumptions in this thread — the export-vs-scan gating point especially reframed how I think about the product.
If you want to poke at it:
📱 iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/expensespy/id6767501899
🤖 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.expensespy.app
What stands out here is that the product didn’t really “launch” so much as it crossed into live feedback mode. The interesting part is how quickly external input shaped core assumptions—especially around currency support and gating logic. That’s usually the point where a tool stops being a build and starts becoming a market conversation.
That's a sharp way to put it — "crossed into live feedback mode" captures it better than "launched" ever could. The currency gating question specifically came from a handful of early users who travel constantly and kept hitting the same wall, which is exactly the kind of signal you can't get from building in isolation. Curious what you've seen on your end — does that shift from build-mode to market-conversation-mode usually happen faster or slower than founders expect?
It usually happens later than founders expect.
What I've noticed is that the timing isn't the interesting part, though. Your reply made me think about one consequence of that transition that I don't think is obvious at first glance.
I don't think I can explain the reasoning properly in a thread without doing it a disservice.
If you're open to it, what's the best email to reach you on?
Appreciate the curiosity, but I'd rather keep this in the thread if possible — happy to dig into whatever you're seeing even if it's not a perfect explanation. If it really doesn't fit here, IH's own messaging works fine too.
I'd be happy to, but as far as I know Indie Hackers doesn't support direct messages.
The reason I hesitated to post it publicly is that I think the nuance is the valuable part, and I'd rather not compress it into a couple of comments.
If you're still interested in the longer version, what's the best email to reach you on?