Jen
Founder
Digital slowmad traveling for scenic half-marathons, great hotel breakfasts, and wifi to keep up with competition reality TV.
Origin story →We're a lean, independent, and distributed team building for the long run.
2019
Founded
100%
Bootstrapped
13k+
Paying Members
30+
Countries served
Our story
From a personal spreadsheet to a fully supported product shaped by its users
In 2018, after experiencing founder burnout, Jen took time to reset by traveling across Europe and Asia. Along the way, she meticulously tracked every dollar, euro, and yen she spent in a multi-currency spreadsheet.
After 1.5 years of managing her finances in Google Sheets, Jen decided to turn it into an app for fun. She wasn't trying to start a business; it was simply a side project.
But after sharing it online and receiving over 1,000 signups overnight, she realized there was clear demand for a modern budgeting system built for cross-border lives, or even simply one that didn't depend on exploiting users' financial data.
For its first five years, Jen ran Lunch Money as a one-person company. She handled everything from engineering to design to support and marketing. Growth came primarily through word of mouth, with a deliberate focus on sustainability over outside investors or data monetization.
Today, Lunch Money remains proudly bootstrapped and independent, supported by a small, globally distributed team and an engaged community of users that help shape how the product evolves.
Our core team
The people behind Lunch Money
Jen
Din
Customer Success
90s kid mastering tumbling moves and languages, embracing the farm life, and the love for stop-motion animation.
Community spotlight →
JP
Developer Advocate
Curious bike rider exploring new places, obsessing over '80s power pop, and learning the trombone.
Community spotlight →
Wilson
Engineering
Money nerd blending coffee shops, books, beautiful pens, and steady progress toward a CFP.
Community spotlight →
Dan
Marketing
Adventure-first builder chasing MLB ballparks, niche businesses, flat whites, and the perfect first vacation meal.
Our extended team
The trusted experts we work with to help build and run Lunch Money
Ash
Writer
Carley
Writer
Clara
Support
Colin
Editor
Ivy
Illustrator
Johann
Support
Sade
Designer
Our values
The principles behind how we build, grow, and operate
Independent
We are proudly bootstrapped and 100% customer-funded. Our focus is on building a company we're proud of and a product our users trust — not on chasing profits, growth targets, or outside agendas.
- We build at a sustainable pace, prioritizing long-term value over short-term growth targets
- Our pay-what-you-want pricing and price-lock guarantee keep access fair and predictable
- Product decisions are guided by user feedback, not revenue pressure
- The business is funded solely through subscriptions, never by selling user data
Versatility By Design
Lunch Money is designed to adapt to a wide range of use cases that support our global community.
- Flexible and non-prescriptive budgeting features
- Built-in multi-currency support for global and cross-border finances
- Highly customizable app features
- Portable and extensible data through our public developer API
Community-Driven
Lunch Money grows alongside its community. We create space for open discussion and contributions that help improve Lunch Money.
- A growing developer ecosystem supported by our public API and community-built tools
- Discord community and subreddit for discussion, support, and idea sharing
- In-person meetups that bring the team and users together
- Product decisions informed by our public feedback board
- Community newsletters that highlight projects, updates, and insights
