iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 24/04/2025

I'm in love with @expo.dev, @swmansio.com's Reanimated, and gorhom's Bottom Sheet ❤️

Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 23/04/2025

Normally I’m all for keeping things simple — no unnecessary UI or animations. But I’m a big fan of the Joi app and just had to recreate how the buttons animate when the bottom sheet changes position. Fun fact: @roamwise.app’s design is heavily inspired by Joi and Flighty ✨

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 22/04/2025

Spent one weekend building a custom animation system on top of @swmansion.com’s Reanimated and @expo.dev router. Every animation in my apps now feels on-brand — and I can animate anything in seconds.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 21/04/2025

Recording your work to share it? Great way to catch bugs 🐛 Just spotted some unnecessary re-renders in the Roamwise calendar while filming a demo 😅 #reactnative #expo #indiedev

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 18/04/2025

I’ve shared this animation before — but now it’s finally dialed in. ✨ Snappy pop-in scale on the buttons ⚡️ Fast spring for the progress bar 🌈 Interpolated colors on the progress dots Built using @expo.dev & @swmansion.com’s Reanimated. Code snippets + a gist for the progressDots below 👇

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 18/04/2025

I’ll be attending @appjs.co in May! 🥳 Excited to meet fellow React Native & Expo devs IRL, chat about apps, animations, and everything in-between. Who else is going? Let’s connect! 👋 #AppJSConf #ReactNative #Expo #IndieDev

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 17/04/2025

Did you know ~60% of users decide whether to subscribe during onboarding? 🚨 That’s exactly why I placed Roamwise’s paywall at the end of onboarding. It instantly reconstructs your travel history from your photo library. Feels like magic 🧙‍♂️ #indiedev #buildinpublic #reactnative

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 16/04/2025

Schengen rules are confusing. Roamwise isn’t ✨ I just launched SchengenPro — a new feature that gives travellers a clear, visual overview of their 180-day Schengen timeline. Here’s what it does and why I built it 🧵 #indiedev #reactnative #expo

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 15/04/2025

The one thing I’ve learned about App Store screenshots: They’re not just for looks—they’re your fastest pitch. With Roamwise, I made sure every screenshot instantly answers: “Why should I care?” Users don’t want features. They want instant clarity.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 14/04/2025

Learned the hard way: Always test on a real device as early as possible ‼️ Simulator felt smooth—but on my actual phone, haptics hit different, and Roamwise’s photo analysis slowed way down with my full media library. Nothing beats real-world testing #reactnative #buildinpublic

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 12/04/2025

Turning 35 today! 🥳 Feeling great—healthier, happier, and more productive than ever. Freelancing with React Native @expo.dev wasn’t the plan, but it’s turned out to be a pretty good path to freedom.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 11/04/2025

Clean routes, easy modals, and zero headaches ✨ @expo.dev router is such a joy to work with.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 10/04/2025

1/ Using ChatGPT to optimise keywords for ASO? You’re leaving money on the table!!! 💸 It sounds smart. But in reality, ChatGPT completely ignores core ASO rules — and can seriously tank your keyword performance 🤡 A quick breakdown 🧵

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 10/04/2025

First subscribers after yesterday’s launch—already going strong at $10 MRR! 😁 Most heartwarming moment? ❤️ My mum becoming the very first Roamwise customer, tracking her & dad's nomad adventure across Europe. Indie dev milestone unlocked! ✅ #indiedev #buildinpublic

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 10/04/2025

Working on the sleekest Schengen tool you’ve ever seen. Schengen rules are a mess — but this app makes them make sense at a glance. Coming to Roamwise tomorrow. #reactnative #ux #indiedev

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 10/04/2025

Skipped Figma 🚨 Went straight from wireframe to real UI — all in code with Expo & NativeWind Designing in code feels more honest. Faster feedback, fewer steps, and everything clicks better. @roamwise.app is built this way from day one.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 10/04/2025

Got a bug report this morning about a broken subscription check in @roamwise.app. Talked to the user, found the issue, fixed it—and pushed the update to production within an hour. 🍎 No App Store review needed. 🪄 Just eas update --branch production 🥳 Thanks @expo.dev #ReactNative #IndieDev

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 09/04/2025

8/ Over the next weeks, I'll share more insights on design, development, ASO, marketing, and the realities of being a solopreneur juggling multiple roles 👀

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 09/04/2025

7/ I'm happy to have finally released Roamwise for iOS this week! It's been a tough few days making Apple happy (the good old reviews). But hey, it's now live on the App Store! Check it out and let me know what you think 🙏 apps.apple.com/app/id67436...

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 09/04/2025

6/ Roamwise combines three simple, privacy-first methods: 📸 Photos Analysis (timestamps & GPS data) 📍 GPS Check-ins (daily logging) ✍️ Manual Logging (easy adjustments)

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 09/04/2025

5/ Admittedly, I spent way too much time perfecting the user experience. I even built my own animation system based on Reanimated—which I'll be using for future apps, too (right? 😅)

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 09/04/2025

4/ After selling my previous app, WeBurn, I wanted to put everything I'd learned into practice: from UX excellence to technical reliability. Roamwise was the perfect small-but-polished project.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 09/04/2025

3/ As a frequent traveler myself, I needed a tool that simplified compliance tracking—especially spending significant time between Germany and the UK. So, I decided to build Roamwise myself.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 09/04/2025

2/ I saw an Instagram ad from a competitor promoting a travel compliance app. The idea seemed great, but I knew the UX could be WAY better. Plus, if someone was advertising, there had to be a real need, right? I went from "wireframes" on my iPad directly into code 👇

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 09/04/2025

🌍 Traveling often? Counting days abroad for visa or tax rules stressed me out—especially with frequent visits to the UK. That's why I built @roamwise.app (a react-native expo app), a privacy-first travel compliance tracker for iOS. Here's the story 🧵

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 01/04/2025

Remember when WeBurn was headlining the App Store? Yeah, I built that — with React Native, from scratch, as a solo founder 🚀 Featured. Scaled. Sold. Time to do it again.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 31/03/2025

In 2019, I got invited to Apple’s App Store Developer Session for Chew, my fasting app — and my fitness app WeBurn showed up in their “Apps We Love” slide. Both built with React Native. Still one of my favorite dev moments ✨

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 28/03/2025

The app was called Chew, made a few hundred € MRR, but stalled then. Competition was too strong & I had no clue about marketing.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 27/03/2025

Such a relief 😮‍💨 Spent most of the afternoon wondering why my @drizzle.team liveQuery wasn’t updating the UI. Turns out I missed this lil’ setting: enableChangeListener: true @expo.dev-sqlite + drizzle = working like a charm now! 💕

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 27/03/2025

Just found this gem in my photos: An intermittent fasting app I designed and developed with React Native in 2019 😊

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 26/03/2025

React Native turns 10 today 🎉 Exactly 10 yrs ago I first tried it at my startup GymEntry (gym passes across Germany). Wild how far dev experience has come—especially thanks to Reanimated. Excited for what’s next!

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 24/03/2025

Vibecoded the @revenuecat.com integration and corrected my Agent where needed. Now I’m just waiting on App Store Connect data to appear in RC—it’s been stuck in “Ready to Submit” for a few hours. Fingers crossed!

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 24/03/2025

Spent the weekend building the onboarding paywall for @roamwise.app with @expo.dev. It showcases geo-photo insights, current/upcoming features, and social proof. I might be leaving money on the table—but A/B testing will fix that!

An iPhone screen displaying a top map section labeled “Your top countries. Since January 1, 2025,” followed by subscription plan options (Yearly, Monthly) on a dark background. An “Unlock Pro” button appears at the bottom.

An iPhone screen featuring the “Choose Your Roamwise Pro Plan” heading, showing Yearly ($12.99), Monthly ($4.99), and Lifetime ($59.99) subscription tiers. The bottom section highlights upcoming Pro features and an “Unlock Pro” button.

An iPhone screen with a “Why People Trust Roamwise” section on a dark background. It displays three testimonials from users named Jonas M., Isabella R., and David K., each highlighting different positive aspects of the app.

An iPhone screen showing a dark-themed paywall for “Roamwise Pro.” The heading reads “All Features. One Simple Upgrade.” Below it are three subscription options—Yearly at $12.99, Monthly at $4.99, and Lifetime at $59.99—and an “Unlock Pro” button at the bottom.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 21/03/2025

Yeah! Just got the @roamwise.app running on my iPhone for the first time—feels amazing! 🥳 Big thanks to @expo.dev for making it so straightforward!

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 20/03/2025

If your nativewind absolute inset-0 components stop rendering after switching back to the old React Native architecture, here’s the fix: Use absolute top-0 right-0 bottom-0 left-0 instead. 🔧 Hope this saves you some debugging time!

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 17/03/2025

Is anyone else experiencing issues with @expo.dev/react-native where random UI buttons from other screens appear? See the screenshot: The "continue" button is from a different screen and shows up sporadically. "expo": "~52.0.23"

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 16/03/2025

Getting out of my usual workspace once a month helps me stay focused and think more clearly. Something about a new city, different energy, and a fresh routine just resets everything. Back in London—such a vibe! 🇬🇧✨

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 14/03/2025

Onboarding details with @expo.dev & react native reanimated 👌

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 13/03/2025

BIG NEWS 🥳 I’m building @roamwise.app—a privacy-first app for digital nomads, expats, and frequent travelers to track residency days and avoid visa & tax headaches. Follow along as I build in public with @expo.dev 🧵👇

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 12/03/2025

4️⃣ Framer for the Final Build Once the structure and copy were in place, I used @framer.com to bring it all together with smooth animations and polished interactions.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 12/03/2025

3️⃣ AI for Copywriting & Branding I used ChatGPT to refine my copy and keep my voice & tone consistent. 💡 Pro tip: Let AI draft, then tweak it to make it sound like you.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 12/03/2025

2️⃣ Design process I used @figma.com to draft the layout on mobile first—I find it easier to stay creative that way. (Side note: Can you set Framer to start in mobile mode by default? 🤔)

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 12/03/2025

1️⃣ Focus on what matters Instead of overcomplicating things, I kept it simple: ✅ What I do & how I help clients ✅ Showcasing my best work directly ✅ Real testimonials for credibility ✅ Some background about me to add more trust

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 12/03/2025

🚀 Just launched my new portfolio with @framer.com! I now focus on designing & developing beautiful, reliable apps with React Native & @expo.dev — and it only took me 4 days from start to finish. Here’s how I built it (and what I learned) 🧵👇

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 29/01/2025

Thinking about upgrading to the M4 Pro Mac Mini for your React Native/Expo projects? It slashes the `npx expo run:ios` build time in my current project to just 2.5 minutes. That's a 40% speed boost over the MacBook Pro M1 Pro with half the RAM, clocking in at 3.5 minutes.

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Lennart Brandt @brandtnewlabs.com · 28/12/2024

Late Christmas gift to myself 🎁 Mac Mini arriving Jan 8-9! Can’t wait to see how it pairs with my two Apple Studio Displays 😁

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