Built by People Who Actually Use This Stuff
We started lysandorivex in 2019 because honestly, most financial tools felt like
they were made by people who'd never balanced a household budget, let alone
run a small business.
Our team sits in Kings Langley, just outside Sydney's CBD. We're
developers, former accountants, and a couple of people who just got tired
of spreadsheets that didn't make sense.
Why We Built This
Back in 2018, Nessa Quilty was freelancing as a web developer. Tax time
rolled around and she spent three solid days trying to reconcile her
accounts. The tools available were either ridiculously expensive or felt
like they required an accounting degree to operate.
She called up Declan Fairburn, a mate who'd worked in fintech for years,
and asked why nobody had built something that actually worked the way real
people think about money. He didn't have a good answer. So they decided to
build it themselves.
That first version was rough. Really rough. But it solved the problem Nessa
had—and apparently a lot of other freelancers and small business owners had
the same frustration.
From Side Project to Actual Business
What started as a weekend project grew into something we couldn't
ignore. By mid-2020, we had about 200 people using the tool. They were
sending feedback constantly—some of it harsh, most of it helpful.
We brought on Rhett Pemberton in 2021 to handle the backend
architecture because our original setup couldn't handle the load. He
rebuilt everything over six months while we kept the old system
running. Not glamorous, but necessary.
Now we're a team of twelve. Still small enough that everyone knows
what's happening, but big enough to actually build features people
need.
Who's Actually Building This
These are the people you'll talk to if you reach out. No corporate
masks—just folks who care about making tools that work.
Nessa Quilty
Co-Founder
Started this whole thing because she hated doing her taxes.
Still handles product direction and makes sure we're solving
real problems instead of imaginary ones.
Declan Fairburn
Technical Lead
Spent eight years in banking tech before joining lysandorivex. Builds
things that don't break at 2am—which is surprisingly rare in
this industry.
How We Actually Build Features
We don't follow some fancy methodology. This is just how things work around
here, refined through plenty of mistakes.
Listen to What's Breaking
We read every support email. When the same problem comes up five
times in a week, that moves to the top of the list. Not the most
exciting process, but it keeps us focused on things that matter.
Build Small, Test Early
We release features to a small group first—usually about fifty
users who've volunteered to be guinea pigs. They tell us what's
confusing or broken before we roll it out to everyone.
Fix What We Broke
Every new feature introduces bugs. That's just reality. We spend
the first week after launch fixing the things we missed. Sometimes
it takes longer—we're not perfect at predicting edge cases.
Improve Based on Usage
After a feature has been live for a month, we look at how people
actually use it versus how we thought they would. Usually there's a
gap. We adjust accordingly.
What Guides Our Decisions
We're not big on mission statements or corporate values plastered
on walls. But there are a few things we come back to when making
tough calls.
Build for Real Use
Every feature should solve an actual problem someone told
us about. If we can't point to the conversation that
sparked it, we probably shouldn't build it.
Be Honest About Limitations
Our tool isn't perfect. It won't magically fix your
business finances. We're upfront about what it does well
and what it doesn't handle.
Don't Overcomplicate Things
Financial software tends to add features until it becomes
unusable. We actively resist that. Simple tools that work
beat complex ones that confuse.
Support People Properly
When someone emails us, they get a response from an actual
human within a day. Usually faster. We've all dealt with
terrible support—we're determined not to be that company.
