Two Calgary software developers are turning their own financial struggles into a budding fintech startup.
Florencia Chomski and Ahmad Jamal, both working full-time as developers, recently launched Waypoint, a personal finance and budgeting app designed specifically for Canadians. Built nights and weekends while maintaining their day jobs, the bootstrapped platform has grown to more than 1,000 users, including roughly 150 paying customers, just months after its quiet launch.
The idea for Waypoint began with a personal realization that many young professionals face.
Despite having stable incomes, the pair found themselves living paycheque to paycheque. A night out could easily turn into a $200 expense, and tracking where the money went was surprisingly difficult.
“We wrote out every goal we had for the next five and ten years, then listed every single expense,” Florencia explained. “Actually seeing the numbers was a bit of a shock.”
The exercise revealed credit card balances quietly accumulating interest and long-term goals—like saving for a wedding—drifting further away than expected. Mapping out every dollar gave them clarity and control, but the pen-and-paper approach didn’t feel sustainable.
With both founders coming from software development backgrounds, the natural next step was to build a digital tool.
Within roughly two months, they had created the first version of Waypoint. Jamal focused on the platform’s architecture as a full-stack developer, while Florencia led design and user experience. Their goal was to create a budgeting app that felt intuitive while reflecting the realities of Canadian personal finance.
“We built it with Canadians in mind from the start,” Florencia said. “We understand accounts like TFSAs and RRSPs and wanted something that reflected that, rather than adapting an American product.”
Early feedback came from friends and family, but the project gained momentum after Jamal shared it on Reddit. The response, Florencia says, was unexpectedly enthusiastic, with users welcoming a Canadian alternative to budgeting tools such as YNAB.
In one notable moment, an anonymous supporter even made a financial contribution to help the founders continue developing the product.
“That meant the world to us,” Florencia said.
Today, Waypoint’s growth is largely driven by its user community. The team uses a feature request platform that allows users to submit and vote on ideas, helping guide development priorities as the product evolves.
Looking ahead, the founders believe the future of the platform is closely tied to Canada’s long-awaited open banking framework. The lack of standardized bank integrations remains one of the biggest technical challenges for fintech developers building in Canada today.
“Once open banking is fully implemented, we’ll be able to create a much more seamless experience,” Florencia said.
In the meantime, the founders are continuing to grow Waypoint organically while exploring opportunities to expand. The startup has applied to the Alberta Digital Traction Program through Alberta Innovates, which could help accelerate development and bring the platform to a wider audience.
Beyond the software itself, the team also plans to expand educational content through a blog and newsletter, aiming to make financial literacy more accessible.
The mission behind Waypoint, Florencia says, is simple: give Canadians a clear picture of their finances and help them move toward their goals—whether that’s paying off debt, saving for a home, or planning a future trip abroad.
Love this story- so relatable! Many of us struggle with managing finances despite having a stable income, and it’s great to see a solution built specifically for Canadians.
Building something like this while working full-time is no small feat. Huge respect to Florencia and Ahmad for taking action and already reaching 1,000+ users. Excited to try Waypoint and see where it goes from here!