She Taught Herself to Code and Built a Faith-Based Travel App Solo. Meet the Founder Behind HelloFellow
Niqueea had traveled to 25 countries when she hit a wall she couldn't navigate alone. Sitting in her Airbnb in South America one Sunday morning, she couldn't find a church with English services. She couldn't find other Christian women nearby. She felt completely cut off from the spiritual community she had back home.
When she posted about it, hundreds of women responded with the same story.
So she built something. With no coding background, no cofounder, and no technical experience - just a calling she couldn't ignore. Over 11 months, she taught herself to code and built HelloFellow from scratch: a travel app that helps Christian women find churches abroad, connect with other women travelers, and stay spiritually rooted on the go. It launches June 12th in the Apple App Store.
This is her story.
Are you a woman leader with a story to tell? We'd love to feature you. Get in touch at hi@foundedbywomen.org
What inspired you to start?
I've solo-traveled to 25 countries within the last few years, and last year, I lived for six months in South America. Every Sunday morning, I sat alone in my Airbnb feeling spiritually isolated. I would constantly check Facebook travel groups I was a part of to see if anyone answered my question of where the best Christian churches with English services were in the area I was traveling to. Crickets! I couldn't find biblically sound churches with English services. I couldn't find other Christian women to fellowship with. I felt completely disconnected from the spiritual community I had back home.
One particular Sunday, I was desperately Googling "churches near me" and coming up empty (none with English services), and I just broke down. I remember thinking, "There has to be a better way. There has to be something that helps Christian women stay spiritually connected while traveling."
So I posted about my struggle on social media. Within hours, hundreds of Christian women flooded my DMs saying, "I've felt this exact same way." Women who traveled for work. Women who relocated abroad for school. Women who moved to new cities and couldn't find their church home. That's when I knew this wasn't just my problem; this was a gap that needed to be filled.
The Holy Spirit gave me the idea for HelloFellow right there. I felt called to build an app that would help Christian women stay spiritually grounded no matter where in the world they go. Even though I had zero technical experience, I couldn't ignore the calling.
What problem are you solving?
HelloFellow solves spiritual isolation for Christian women who solo-travel and desire a church community away from home. Right now, there's no dedicated mobile travel app that helps Christian women find biblically sound churches with English services abroad, connect with other women travelers for real in-person fellowship, and access devotionals and Bible studies that help with spiritual mindset, all in one.
Most women are piecing together multiple apps—a travel buddy app here, a devotional app there, a spiritual wellness app when needed—and still coming up short because none of them address the unique challenge of staying spiritually rooted while away from home. HelloFellow consolidates everything into one travel app designed specifically for women of faith who refuse to compromise their spiritual lives just because they're exploring the world.
We're not just helping women find travel companions. We're helping them find their people, their church community, and their spiritual grounding, no matter where they land.
What's next for you?
HelloFellow officially launches June 12th in the Apple App Store, and I'm working on getting it approved for Google Play so Android users can access it too. Right now, I have under 500 people on my waitlist, and my biggest focus is visibility and reach. I've been documenting my journey on social media for the last 11 months, but now that we're weeks away from launch, I'm ramping up—pitching to faith-based publications, partnering with a UGC creator from my beta testing group, and getting in front of as many Christian women travelers as possible.
Long-term, I want to grow HelloFellow into the go-to platform for Christian women who travel. I want to add more features based on user feedback, expand our church database to cover more cities globally, and eventually bring on a small team so I'm not doing this solo anymore. I'd also love to partner with churches and ministries to help them reach women who are visiting their cities.
But honestly? Right now, I'm just focused on making sure HelloFellow launches strong and serves the women who need it. Everything else will come as God leads.
Are you a woman leader with a story to tell? We'd love to feature you. Get in touch at hi@foundedbywomen.org
