RVE 0010: Why Kevin Holesh Moved Into a 5th Wheel After His iPhone App Was Downloaded 2.5 Million Times

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Twenty years ago people lived in an RV for one of two reasons:

1. They were retired and traveling around the country.
2. They couldn’t afford anything else.

It was rare– almost impossible, to find anyone 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 have emerged.

For the first time ever, a generation of RVers are starting companies that are actively making a large-scale impact in our economy and culture.

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

Last week I interviewed a couple named Technomadia, who have been traveling in their 1964 vintage bus conversion for the past ten years. They’ve launched several popular apps, written a book on mobile internet, and been a vital part of two successful start ups in the RV community – Xscapers and RVillage.

And this week, I interviewed a full-time RVer named Kevin Holesh who’s app called Moment has been downloaded over 2.5 million times.

Interviewed my good friend Kevin Holesh this morning for episode #10 of The RV Entrepreneur podcast. We’ve spent the last couple days with Kevin, his wife Mandy, and their four pets at Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. Yesterday we explored “Bath House Row” and we all took public baths in natural hot springs (it was awesome and incredibly hot). Kevin and Mandy are the youngest fellow RVers we’ve come across and I’m pumped to share his interview. Kevin’s app called “Moment” has been downloaded over 2.5 million times and been featured in Buzzfeed, NY Times, Good morning America and a bunch of other cool places. Moment helps people track their iPhone usage to limit their time on the phone and spend more time “in the moment”. In our interview we talked about the 10 apps he developed before starting Moment and how they never took off, how addicted our generation is to their iPhones and why they decided to live full-time in a 5th wheel and travel the country while building more apps. I’ll be releasing his interview this Saturday and pumped to share it with everyone. Quick update: In the first month of my new podcast it’s been hovering at #2 in the Places and Travel section of iTunes and has been downloaded over 5k times. Pumped to keep producing more episodes going into Spring and Summer. #rving #rvliving #rvepodcast

A photo posted by Heath Padgett (@heathpadgett) on Mar 24, 2016 at 10:21am PDT

Kevin not only earns a full-time income through his app downloads, but his Moment app is literally helping millions of people be more intentional about how they spend the 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 phone.

Kevin is 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 many more.

Kevin and his wife Mandy chose to live in their 5th 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. For the past 50 years our country has been focused on accumulation of stuff (it shows in the fact that the self-storage industry is over 32 billion dollars). Now we are beginning to pursue freedom over things.

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 choose between meaningful work and a geographic location– we can now have both.

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 AirBnB from some foreign country.

What We Talk About on This Episode of The RV Entrepreneur:

• Why Kevin decided to live in a 5th wheel and run his app development business from the road
• Why Kevin decided against living in a city like Silicon Valley or Austin (where a lot of tech people live)
• The 10 apps that Kevin launched before Moment
• How long it takes to learn app development and how soon you can release an app of your own
• The story behind why Kevin launched an app that helps people get off their iPhone
• How he makes a living off his app business
• How he got his first freelance client
• Why Kevin and Mandy decided to hit the road, even though they still have a bit of lingering student debt

Where it all began. Please be patient with us as we catch you up on our journey so far! Probably some binge posting and some not-so pretty photos that tell you what we have done so far! Thanks so much for following along, we are thrilled to have you! -m

A photo posted by Mandy & Kevin (@188sqft) on Jan 6, 2016 at 9:19am PST

Links and resources mentioned:

• The moment app
• Buzzfeed video featuring Kevin’s app
• Treehouse
• Code School
• Coverage app



You’re awesome! Thanks for tuning in:

Each week I release a new episode of The RV Entrepreneur podcast. If you want to binge-listen to the first ten episodes, you can head over to iTunes and download all of them. While you’re over there you can subscribe to the show so you’ll be notified each time I release a new episode.

Also, a huge thanks to everyone who has left me a review so far in iTunes. (if you want to leave a review for the show, go here in iTunes, make sure you’re signed in, and then click on “ratings and reviews”)

• Lou, Ted, Kevin, Doug, Benjamin, Bethany, Tracy, Somer, Gabe, Jedd, Michell, Billy, James, Matt, Eric, and Paul — Thank you guys so much for leaving reviews! Y’all rock! (I would add more names but iTunes only shows me the user name and some aren’t actual names)

See you next time!

Heath

P.S I’m working on a new blog post about all of the biggest takeaways I’ve learned during these first ten interviews. Keep an eye out for that post!