29/03/2026
𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴
🙁 Today is one of the hardest days of my life as a founder and I am writing this from just me, not the team at trundl to all of you out there.
Our members already know that trundl is hanging up its boots with our last trundl today. From midnight tonight we will be going into hibernation (not liquidation) but we won’t be trading from now on.
After five and a half years, writing this is so heartbreaking. Twenty years ago, I began dreaming of a community of like-minded people that by the simple act of walking would help to change the lives of others around the them, and the places we live in, through charity giving.
We aimed to motivate people differently, to think about how adding a daily walk today could make for healthier habits in our older age. It was a tall order, I grant you, but worth every bit of the risk because I believed (and still do) in the legacy trundl could help every member leave for future generations. We couldn’t have foreseen the economic downturn and uncertainty and I’ll write about that another day.
So this is my personal thank you below and apologise to those reading who are wondering what is going on here. Those that know me… know why this matters so much.
𝗧𝗼 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘀: (she'll kill me for this 💕 and she dislikes emoji's intensely)
Before starting trundl I met Tess Caven as part of the feasibility study that I commissioned. As a strategic thinker, brilliant marketeer and an advocate for protecting nature and the environment and experience in charity work already, she added a new dimension to my thinking.
It was Tess who had the idea for our CO2 saver button and that was pivotal in us winning our Innovate UK award back in 2022. Her intellect, energy, the kindest of hearts and ability to keep me on track with the brand she brought to life, and to capture the heart of trundl in copy have seen us win many hearts ourselves over the years. Thank you from the bottom of mine.
𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀: 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗹
Where do I even begin with our lovely members?
We always prided ourselves on being a “human” app, but the huge outpourings of love we have received in the last four weeks have been quite frankly overwhelming. Plus some of the reasons "WHY" people trundl I realise now were very special to some: To remember loved ones, to lose weight, to give hope and to simply help others.
🦔🦔🦔 🦔🦔🦔 You have become part of my daily life too for so long. I will miss the connection with this fabulous group of like-minded people more than I can say. Do you know how much value you brought to our lives at trundl too? You weren't just "users" or "downloads" you were "trundlrs" and that is special.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝘁? : 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗿, 𝗕𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗿
If you are starting out: Be bolder.
When you’re in the weeds firefighting, you forget how good your “thing” is.
Even the Apple App Review Team told me: "trundl is such an amazing idea and a brilliantly executed app." I was shocked when I heard this this week, I should have shouted louder and been prouder.
𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘄? 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁
We are choosing hibernation over liquidation now to protect our integrity.
We are stopping before we run into debt or cause embarrassment to our charity partners and members. The buck stops with me so we can all leave with our heads held high.
𝗔 𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝗼𝗳
Look what you achieved by simply swapping one cuppa a month for a membership:
🚶🏾♀️➡️348,147 km recorded of outdoor, good for you fresh air and walking (+ some runs)
💚 17,374 kg of CO2 saved and two tonnes of discarded fishing nets recycled into useful items.
🌳 6 school orchards planted leaving an ecological legacy for the future.
💷 £32,528 donated to UK charities for swapping that £3.99 - the cost of a cuppa a month for trundl membership.
The BIGGEST thank you from me personally goes to all of our fabulous members, the charities, the sponsors, suppliers and the amazing trundl team led by Debbie at the helm of the trundl community – you are a super star.
✅ And please remember the trundl spirit: keep on walking whenever and wherever you can.
It was the best thing ever while it lasted and I will be forever grateful to you all. Hil
🦔❤️
