Today is Caraleya’s first anniversary! What a year it’s been! What started as a spontaneous suggestion from one friend to another has grown into a global lifestyle app supporting thousands of people in living more thoughtfully each day. 

We’re excited to use today’s blog to take a look back at the moments that shaped our first incredible year.

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Recognition of our efforts

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Caraleya has become known for its intuitive features, personalised profiles and seamless design, helping users stay organised and connect more meaningfully. 

Along the way, we’ve received recognition that reflects the heart of our mission - our Founder, Joannah Bodden Small, was honoured to be named in the Top 10 Women Leaders to Look Out For in 2025 by MSN and Caraleya was awarded Best App Design by DesignRush in February of 2025, thanks to our collaboration with the outstanding design firm Pattern.

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Sharing our story in the spotlight

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Caraleya was also featured in the Autumn 2024 edition of What’s Hot Magazine in the Cayman Islands, “Tech with Heart”, where Joannah shared the story behind building the app, her journey as a mother and entrepreneur and the moments that inspired Caraleya’s unique features. 

She was later invited to speak on the Breast Intentions Podcast, opening up about resilience, wellness and what it means to create a platform designed with friendship in mind and built from real life experiences.

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Supporting causes close to our heart

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For Caraleya, thoughtful living goes beyond digital tools - it’s also about how we impact the world around us. We have proudly partnered with the International National Trusts Organisation (INTO), supporting a range of meaningful conservation and cultural initiatives by INTO and by National Trusts around the world. Through regular quarterly donations, we’ve helped fund a number of wonderful programmes to date, each helping make the world a better place: 

• Adopted “Leya” the blue iguana through the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, supporting their Blue Iguana Conservation Programme, to protect this rare and endangered species;
• Participated in a grant by INTO for the short film Sentinels - Protecting Fiji’s Heritage Trees: a special collaboration between The Meaning of Trees Podcast, National Trust of Fiji Islands, Woah Studios Fiji, the UK National Trust and INTO;
• Supported the St Helena National Trust through INTO’s exchange programme to enhance coastal site management for both nature and tourism;
• Helped fund a young representative from Stichting Rancho Aruba National Trust (the newest National Trust!) to attend the Global Sustainable Islands Summit in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

These initiatives reflect Caraleya’s belief that thoughtful living includes caring for the world around us - supporting community, heritage and the environment in the most direct and meaningful of ways.

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Steady improvements for a better experience

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As we grow, we continue to listen, learn and improve. Over the past year, we've made steady updates to enhance the app’s performance, improve its features and simplify the user experience. Every update is driven by our commitment to helping our valued users stay organised and connected in the most intuitive ways possible.

We’ve also committed to keeping our users informed through the “From Team Caraleya” section on the app’s Home Screen, where we share details on new features, ongoing maintenance and improvements - as well as inspiring ‘Thoughts of the week”! 

We're always open to feedback and welcome bug reports and areas of concern so that we can address any issues right away. Your input helps us create a better, more reliable experience for all and we’re just getting started!  More improvements are on the way as Team Caraleya continues to evolve our app for the best possible user experience.

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Our worldwide impact to date

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Since launching on 23rd of May 2024, over 7,500 people across more than 105 countries have downloaded Caraleya - a milestone that means the world to us. For a small startup, this kind of global reach is not only exciting, it’s deeply encouraging. It reminds us that thoughtfulness is universal: that no matter where we live or what our daily lives look like, we all value connection, kindness and care. As we continue to grow, we’re committed to building on this momentum and reaching even more people who believe, like we do, that there is far more that unites us than divides us.

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Looking ahead with purpose

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As we look ahead, our vision remains the same: to create a platform that helps people live thoughtfully and intentionally through tools that simplify daily tasks while nurturing connections. From planning events and managing calendars to remembering thoughtful details about the people we care about - Caraleya is here to support a thoughtful life, globally, every step of the way.

We have so much more on the horizon - new features, meaningful partnerships and fresh ways to bring thoughtfulness into everyday life. This first year was only the beginning, and we’re just getting started.

We’d love for you to be part of what comes next. Join us as we continue building something beautiful together!

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