We've Launched Beta (And Why We're Starting Small)

I'm excited to share that Squared Away is now in private beta testing. After months of development, we're finally putting the app in the hands of real people—and honestly? It's both thrilling and a little terrifying.

If you're one of our beta testers, you've probably already sent us feedback. Maybe you found a quirky bug, suggested a better way to organize something, or wondered why we don't have [insert feature here] yet. First off: thank you. Seriously. Every piece of feedback helps us build something better.

But I also want to be upfront about something: we're starting small on purpose.

The Temptation to Build Everything

When you're building a product, there's this constant pull to add more features. Natural language search? Check. AI image recognition? Done. QR codes for containers? Barcode scanning? Voice commands? Integration with smart home systems?

The list goes on forever. And trust me, we have a roadmap packed with ideas we're genuinely excited about.

But here's what we've learned: none of those fancy features matter if the core experience isn't right.

What Actually Matters Right Now

Right now, two things need to be absolutely bulletproof:

1. Onboarding

You should be able to download Squared Away, create your first storage space, and add your first few items without confusion, frustration, or needing to watch a tutorial video. If you can't get started easily, nothing else matters.

2. Adding Items

The process of cataloging your belongings needs to be fast, intuitive, and—dare I say it—maybe even a little enjoyable. Snap a photo, let AI do its thing, make quick adjustments if needed, and move on. If this feels like work instead of progress, we've failed.

Everything else is secondary to getting these two things right.

Why We're Listening More Than Building

Our beta testers are discovering all the little friction points we missed. Things like:

• "This button should be bigger"
• "I expected this to work differently"
• "Can you remember my last category selection?"
• "The camera doesn't focus well in my dim garage"

These aren't sexy problems to solve. They won't make for exciting announcement posts. But they're the difference between an app you use once and an app you actually rely on.

So while our roadmap is full of features that'll eventually make Squared Away incredible, we're deliberately pumping the brakes. We're fixing the small stuff. We're smoothing the rough edges. We're making sure the foundation is solid before we build the second floor.

The Journey Ahead

Here's our honest assessment: Squared Away works. You can organize your stuff, find things quickly, and stop wasting time searching through boxes. The core functionality is there.

But "works" isn't good enough. We want "works beautifully." We want you to finish adding your first ten items and think, "Okay, I'm actually going to do this for everything."

That level of polish doesn't come from adding more features. It comes from refining what already exists until it feels effortless.

What This Means for You

If you're a current beta tester:

Keep the feedback coming. The minor annoyances you're experiencing? Those are exactly what we need to hear about. The easier you make it for us to understand what's not quite right, the faster we can fix it.

If you're waiting to join:

We'll be opening up more beta spots soon, but we're doing it gradually. We want to make sure each wave of testers gets a better experience than the last.

If you're just discovering Squared Away:

Welcome! We're building something to help people stop losing track of what they own. We're starting with the basics and building from there—intentionally, thoughtfully, and with a lot of input from real users.

One More Thing

Building a product is humbling. You realize quickly that your assumptions about what people want don't always match reality. That's why this beta phase is so important to us.

We could have launched with everything feature-complete, polished, and locked down. But then we'd miss the chance to build this together with the people who'll actually use it.

So thank you for being part of this. Thank you for the bug reports, the feature requests, and even the frustrated messages when something doesn't work the way you expected. Every single one makes Squared Away better.

Here's to getting the basics right before we get fancy.

— Josh and the Squared Away team

Want to join the beta? Sign up here and we'll add you to the next wave of testers.

Already a beta tester? Found a bug or have feedback? Drop us a message in our Discord community or use the in-app feedback tool.