Inspiration

What it does

How we built it

Challenges we ran into

Accomplishments that we're proud of

What we learned

What's next for Dream-to-do

Dream-to-Do: Project Story

Inspiration

Every day, millions of young women save travel posts, bookmark solo travel guides, and dream of bold adventures—but never actually book the trip. Gabby Beckford, a solo travel expert with 50K+ followers, receives daily DMs from women saying: "I want to travel solo but I'm terrified."

The problem isn't lack of information. It's the paralysis between dreaming and doing—the confidence gap, the overwhelm of planning, and the fear of taking that first scary step alone.

We built Dream-to-Do as "Gabby in your pocket"—a coaching app that turns overwhelming travel dreams into confidence-building microwins, one day at a time.

What it does

Dream-to-Do transforms travel dreams into daily actionable goals through a gamified coaching experience:

Core Features

Dream Packs - Curated goal templates (First Solo Trip, Adventure Fund, Bucket List, Glow Up) that break big dreams into 30-day action plans
Scary Actions (Hero Feature) - Our breakthrough feature recognizes that the same action has different fear levels for different people. "Book flight" might be easy for seasoned travelers but terrifying for first-timers. The app:
- Detects scary actions and shows a 🦁 "Brave move" indicator
- Provides pre-action encouragement: "This feels big, and that's OK"
- Celebrates proportionally: Sparkle → Pop → Burst → Fireworks → Spectacular
- Awards "Bravery Badges" for completing scary actions
"Just 2 Minutes" Mode - When users feel overwhelmed, they can complete a tiny step instead:
- "Book flight" → "Look at one flight price"
- "Apply passport" → "Open passport website"
- Earns 5 XP (vs full 20 XP) but maintains momentum
Gabby's Community - Featured posts from Gabby Beckford herself, pinned to the top of the community feed with verified "Creator" badges
Gamification - XP, levels, streaks, and 16 badges that celebrate progress from "First Breath" (opening the app) to "Level 100 Master"

Monetization

7-day free trial with full access
Hard paywall after trial: $2.99/month or $29.99/year (16% savings)
Progress preview on paywall shows users exactly what they'll lose (actions completed, streak, level, XP)

How we built it

Tech Stack

Frontend: React Native + Expo (SDK 54) with TypeScript
Navigation: Expo Router (file-based routing)
Backend: Supabase (Auth + Postgres + Storage)
State Management: Zustand
Animations: React Native Reanimated 4
Purchases: RevenueCat (react-native-purchases)
Build: EAS (Expo Application Services)

Architecture Highlights

Authentication Flow We implemented Google Sign-In via Supabase OAuth with deep linking (dreamtodo://auth/callback). The auth state is persisted using AsyncStorage with automatic session restoration on app launch.

RevenueCat Integration

SDK initialized on app launch with user ID synced to Supabase UUID
Products: Monthly ($2.99) and Yearly ($29.99) subscriptions
Entitlement: "Dream-To-Do Pro" unlocks all features
Hard paywall enforced via PaywallGate component that redirects locked users

Database Schema

profiles - User data with personalization fields (intensity preference, time slots)
goals - Active Dream Packs with custom milestones
daily_actions - Scheduled actions with completion tracking and tiny step support
user_badges - Earned achievements

Scary Actions System Static mapping of fear levels by pack ID and action ID (MVP), with color-coded badges:

Easy (mint) → Medium (turquoise) → Scary (coral) → Terrifying (purple)

Challenges we ran into

JAS-13: The Identity Mismatch Crisis

Problem: When users signed up with email (e.g., Proton), Google Play Billing still used the device's Google account. Purchases linked to the wrong user—user paid but saw no premium features.

Solution: After 5 failed attempts to sync identities, we implemented a Google-only auth fallback. Removed email signup entirely. Google Sign-In account = Google Play account = Same identity. Not ideal, but shipping is better than perfect.

JAS-15 & JAS-16: The Auth Loop Nightmare

Problem: OAuth callback created an infinite loop—user signs in, returns to app, immediately loops back to welcome screen. WebBrowser.openAuthSessionAsync works in development but never resolves in production builds.

Solution: Deep link handler approach. auth/callback.tsx extracts tokens directly from the URL, sets the Supabase session, and navigates. Single source of truth for OAuth handling.

JAS-17: The Truncated Token Bug

Problem: Passing OAuth callback URL via query parameter (?callbackUrl=...) truncated at & because URL parsers treat it as a param separator. Result: "Invalid callback tokens" error.

Solution: Pass OAuth URL via in-memory store (authStore) instead of query params. Synchronous handoff before navigation. Zero encoding issues.

JAS-18: The Entitlement Mismatch

Problem: RevenueCat dashboard used Dream-To-Do Pro entitlement, but app code checked for premium. Active subscriptions showed as locked.

Solution: Updated lib/purchases.ts to check for both identifiers with fallback logic.

Technical Debt Lessons

Test production builds early—some features work in dev but fail in release
WebBrowser is unreliable for OAuth—use deep link handlers for production
Google Play purchases are fundamentally tied to Google accounts—cannot be decoupled

Accomplishments that we're proud of

1. Scary Actions Feature

This isn't just gamification—it's emotional coaching. Recognizing that fear is the #1 blocker for solo travel and celebrating bravery proportionally is genuinely innovative. The 5-level celebration system (from Sparkle to Spectacular) makes every action feel meaningful.

2. "Just 2 Minutes" Mode

Behavioral psychology in action. When users feel overwhelmed, they can choose a tiny step instead of skipping entirely. It's the difference between "I failed" and "I did something"—critical for building confidence.

3. Shipping Despite Roadblocks

We hit 6 critical production bugs (JAS-13 through JAS-18) in the final 48 hours. Each could have killed the submission. Instead of giving up, we:

Documented everything in detailed issue files
Implemented fallback solutions when ideal fixes failed
Prioritized shipping over perfection

4. Creator-Led Authenticity

This isn't a generic productivity app with travel skin. Every word of copy, every badge name, every celebration message was crafted with Gabby Beckford's voice. The "Gabby in your pocket" positioning is genuine.

5. Complete RevenueCat Integration

From SDK setup to Play Console integration to license testers—every part of the subscription flow works end-to-end in production.

What we learned

Technical Lessons

RevenueCat + Google Play integration is complex but manageable with proper documentation
Expo development builds are essential for testing native modules—Expo Go won't cut it
Deep linking behaves differently in debug vs. production—test early, test often
Environment variables in EAS builds require explicit configuration—don't assume they'll just work

Product Lessons

Hard paywalls work for creator-led apps—audiences expect premium quality from trusted creators
Microwins beat big goals—users need daily dopamine, not just end-goal fantasies
Fear detection is high-value—acknowledging user anxiety and celebrating bravery builds loyalty

Process Lessons

Document everything—those JAS issue files saved us when we needed to trace what we tried
Fallbacks are essential—when the ideal solution fails, have a backup plan
Shippable > Perfect—we removed email auth entirely rather than miss the deadline

What's next for Dream-to-Do

Immediate Post-Launch (Feb-Mar 2026)

iOS Launch - Expand beyond Android to capture full market
Analytics Integration - Full funnel tracking for trial conversion optimization
Badge Detail Popups - Tap badges to see lore, unlock conditions, and Gabby's personalized messages

Phase 2: AI-Powered Personalization (Mar-May 2026)

Smart Fear Detection - ML-based behavioral learning (procrastination = fear signal) instead of static mapping
Adaptive Difficulty - System learns from completion rates and adjusts action difficulty
Personalized Motivations - AI-customizes Gabby's message tone per user preference