One On UsBuilding it in public
The journey so far.
I’m building One On Us from scratch and sharing every step: the wins, the drafts that didn’t make it, and what’s next. Newest first. The times are real: a lot of this gets built once the kids are in bed. Why I’m building it.
4 October 2026 · 7:20pm
The website is open, and the waitlist with it
No more passcode: oneonus.co.uk is open to everyone, on the same day as our first social posts. The app isn’t in the stores yet, so businesses can join a waitlist instead. The first 100 become Founding Partners, with their first 60 days for £1.
Five Essex businesses are already set up for testing: a barber in Rayleigh, a coffee shop, nail studio and bakery in Hockley, and a restaurant in Leigh-on-Sea.
3 October 2026 · 12:14am
Practising what we preach
If we’re asking businesses to reward their regulars, we should reward ours. So One On Us now has its own loyalty scheme for businesses: every customer who makes their first visit moves them closer to money off, a free month and a featured spot in the app. There’s a free month every year they stay, too.
And the first 100 independents to join become Founding Partners, with a badge on their page in the app. The people who take a chance on something new should get the credit for it.
2 October 2026 · 11:43pm
A new front door, and the story behind it
The website has a proper front page now: the 60-second explainer, with one door for businesses and one for customers.
I also wrote the About page, the honest version of why I’m doing this, and the picture I’ve had in my head from the start: a family’s Saturday on the high street, with a reward, a visit, an offer and a new favourite bakery, all in one app.
2 October 2026 · 7:44pm
Going on video
The first proper videos are done: a 60-second explainer for the website and four short clips for TikTok and Instagram. Everything in them is the real app and dashboard.
The voiceover is made with an AI voice for now. I’d rather spend launch money on the product than a studio.
The 60-second explainer For customers For businesses 2 October 2026 · afternoon
One On Us Ltd is official
Registered the company today. Next comes a D-U-N-S number, then the Apple developer account, so the app launches under the company from day one rather than being moved over later.
While that comes through, the App Store screenshots are ready and waiting.
2 October 2026 · 11:15am
Something to leave on the counter
The sales brochure grew to four pages, with a whole page for restaurants and pubs. There’s also a counter card with a QR code to the app, and stickers for the window and the till.
Selling to independents means walking in and talking to people, so it helps to have something good to leave behind.
1 October 2026 · 2:30pm
Restaurants, pubs and small chains
Out for lunch, it hit me that restaurants and pubs need things a café doesn’t: lunch and dinner hours, table service where staff bring the code to the table, and rewards built around food rather than free drinks.
Then: what about a small chain with two to five sites? Now one card works at every branch, each branch has its own counter screen, and the dashboard compares them.
30 September 2026 · 9:16pm
The website goes live (in private preview)
oneonus.co.uk went up behind a passcode, so I could show friends and business owners on my phone and get honest feedback before anyone else saw it.
Where we’re at 30 September 2026 · 5:59pm
Offers for quiet days
An idea I couldn’t shake: what if a business could send a one-off offer to customers who’ve asked for them? “Quiet Tuesday? 10% off this afternoon.”
Customers choose which businesses can send them offers, they get at most one a week from each, and they use it once by scanning at the till. The business sees exactly how many came in for it.
29 September 2026 · 11:15am
Five rounds to find a logo
Smiley faces, stamps, speech bubbles, a stepping-stones path… Five rounds of drafts. In the end it was a ticket being handed over, tilted like it’s just been passed across the counter. Because this one’s on us.
How we designed the logo 
27 September 2026 · 5:29pm
A name: One On Us
After a long list of names, One On Us stuck. It’s what you say when you treat someone, and that’s what a reward is. Bought oneonus.co.uk the same day.
26 September 2026 · 5:11pm
The first drafts, before it had a name
The app, the counter screen and the dashboard were all working before there was a name or a logo. The first brochure just said “Loyalty”, and the app showed letters where the logos would go.
About 10 years ago
The idea
Travelling across America on a budget, hunting for deals and places the locals loved, I wondered why loyalty cards only worked for the big chains. What if one card worked at all the independents?
Building an app back then cost a fortune, so the idea went on the shelf. It never really left.
Next: the App Store.
Follow along, or get in touch if you run a local business and want to be one of the first.