And Then I Almost Died: and Built a Money App Anyway

by Jennifer Rayner

And Then I Almost Died (and Built a Money App Anyway)
Written by Jennifer Rayner

Accidental entrepreneur. Reluctant financial advisor. Builder of the thing that should’ve existed all along.
A founder story for people who hate founder stories. A money story for people who hate talking about money.

This isn’t a TED Talk or a tech-bro memoir.
It’s what happens when a regular person tries to build something big—with no roadmap, no funding, and one wild hospital detour.

In the middle of COVID lockdown, Jennifer found herself
What if money help actually felt human?

Part memoir, part emotional gut-check, this short, raw, and unexpectedly funny book traces the chaos, doubt, and quiet belief behind a new kind of money platform—one that meets people where they are, not where a spreadsheet says they should be.

If you’ve ever frozen at a budgeting app, ghosted your goals, or wondered if you’re the only one winging it—this story is for you.

In under an hour, you’ll
• A brutally honest founder journey
• Real talk about money, trauma, and self-belief
• A quiet reminder that progress doesn’t need polish

It’s not a how-to. It’s just the truth.
Still scared. Still showing up anyway.

This book is part of the MOJO Hug Project—supporting a more human way to talk about money.

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 18, 2025

About the author

Jennifer Rayner was born into the aspirational suburbia of the Hawke years, and came of age in the long boom of the Howard era. Her lifetime has tracked alongside the yawning inequalities that have opened up across the Australian community in the past 30 years. She has worked as a federal political adviser, an international youth ambassador in Indonesia and a private sector consultant, and holds a PhD from the Australian National University.