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Why This Developer Moved Into An RV After His App Was Downloaded 3 Million Times

This post was updated on March 15th, 2024

Twenty years ago, people lived in an RV for one of a few reasons:

  1. They were retired and traveling around the country.
  2. They couldn’t afford anything else.
  3. They had one of the rare jobs (i.e nursing, sales, or workamping) that allowed them to travel.

It was rare—almost impossible—to find someone who was living in an RV full-time who didn’t fit one of the above criteria. As technology and the internet has moved us forward, a new generation of RVers is beginning to emerge.

RVers who are starting companies that are actively making a large-scale impact on our economy and culture.

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I’m not just talking about some kind of freelance development or design business that’s being run from the road, but companies that are changing industries and the way we approach our lives and work. RVers who have intentionally chosen to downsize, live, work and travel from an RV are contributing in a major way.

RVers like Kevin Holesh.
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All photos by 188sqft on Instagram

Kevin not only earns a full-time income through his app downloads, but an iPhone app he built called Moment is literally helping millions of people be more intentional about how they spend time on their phone.

We live in a culture of people who are addicted to their iPhone. Kevin’s app forces you to realize the exact amount of time you spend on your phone, allows you to create daily limits, and even coaches you on how to spend less time on your device.

He’s tackling a huge need in our country’s economy, and people have noticed. His app has been featured on Good Morning America, The New York Times, TechCrunch, Buzzfeed, USA Today, Fast Company, Men’s Journal, Huffington Post and more.

Kevin and his wife Mandy chose to live, work and travel in their fifth wheel, not because they couldn’t afford any other kind of lifestyle, but because they realized the shift that is currently happening in our culture. The shift from pursuing a bunch of stuff to pursuing a bunch of freedom.

Kevin and Mandy are part of a subset of people choosing to pursue freedom over things.

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Our generation is realizing that “the dream” of buying a bunch of crap, putting half of it in storage, and signing your life away on a mortgage is a terrible way to live.

Plus, we no longer have to worry about finding a good job and settling down in one place. We can work from anywhere. Kevin is able to wake up each morning, walk his dogs in national parks and beautiful places, respond to user emails, and continue iterating the Moment app while exploring America with his wife Mandy.

“I could have focused on raising money to reach a billion users. But freedom was more important.” — Kevin (On a recent interview on The RV Entrepreneur podcast)

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For the first time, we can create companies with remote teams that reach millions of people all over the world, and do it all from our RV, tiny house, or while boondocking on national forest land in the middle of nowhere (how Kevin and his wife Mandy spend much of their time).

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Usually, we see stories about “digital nomads” who seem to be living this dream life, sipping margaritas on a beach somewhere and never actually doing any kind of work. This isn’t why I wanted to share Kevin and Mandy’s story. Kevin and Mandy wake up and go to work each day, just like the rest of us. Their home just happens to roll along with them.

I wanted to share Kevin’s story to illustrate how it’s more possible now than ever before to create a business of value and still experience this ultimate freedom of RVing. Does it come easy? No, not at all. But more and more people are doing it every day.

Kevin is one of 50 RV entrepreneurs I’ve interviewed in the past year on The RV Entrepreneur podcast — a weekly show where I share stories of nomadic entrepreneurs who run a business while RVing full-time (see the full list of interviews here).




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