Horizon is now available on the App Store. After the three years of legwork it took to get us here, those words feel good to write.

It’s been a long journey; you could even go so far as to say a grind.

If you don’t already know, great software takes longer than expected. However long you think your next project will take, double it. Or triple it. Will designed the very first home screen of what you’ll see in our App Store version well over a year ago, in November or December of 2013 I believe. We originally viewed it as the next iteration of Oh Hey World. Over time, we realized it was a completely new product rather than just a re-vamp of our prior location sharing platform, and re-named it OpenDoor for several months prior to a certain real estate startup nabbing that name. We finally settled on Horizon in June. Branding wasn’t the only challenge; development hasn’t been a walk in the park either. We tried working with an overseas development firm in Russia last spring. That didn’t work. Two months later we were right back where we started. With no complete product, or development team. Just as we were accepted into Start-Up Chile, we got Eric Roland back from his year long consulting project. Along with Sam Philip and a bunch of help from Will, Eric got our backend and iOS app to completion over the course of the past 8 months. We released a public beta on Product Hunt a month ago, and attracted over 700 beta testers and inquiries from multiple communities who sought to provide a trusted way for their members to connect in person. After a few bug fixes, we are beyond excited to have our app out there in the wild.

It’s safe to say, Horizon would not exist without the support of my close friends, family, and advisors – first through the entire Oh Hey World journey in 2012 and most of 2013, followed by our second product undertaking that has lasted the better part of a year. Thank you to the most awesome group of close friends one could ask for. They’ve listened to me for the past 3 years, and ensured I disconnect from work every now and then. Thank you for family who have taken me in for large stints during the process, and enabled Horizon to remain bootstrapped for longer than I ever hoped (we’re still sell funded). Thank you to our advisors who have seen first hand the product and business progress every step of the way, and been there to support us through thick and thin.

Contrary to what you may be thinking, being on the App Store is not the finish line. It’s the starting line to building a lasting brand that strengthens communities and unlocks travel opportunities while giving back in the process.

Now, those with iOS devices, go grab Horizon and see where you can go…