Leaf
Leaf is a community sharing app that connects neighbors to share resources and skills, fostering community and reducing waste.
- Web Development
- Backend Engineering
Leaf - what we built and why.
Leaf is a community sharing app that connects neighbors to share resources and skills, fostering community and reducing waste.
What we had to solve.
A real, two-sided community — built to earn trust before asking for it, with moderation tools that aren't just a "delete" button.
- 01
Bootstrap a real two-sided community without falling into the empty-marketplace trap.
- 02
Trust and safety — verify identity without making onboarding hostile.
- 03
Surface relevant offers and requests near you without creepy precision.
- 04
Messaging without spam or harassment vectors.
- 05
Mobile-first web experience that works on weak connections.
Who built it.
- 1 Product designer
- 1 Frontend engineer
- 2 Backend engineers
- 1 QA & community ops lead
Built with.
-
React -
Laravel -
PostgreSQL -
Figma
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{ 01 }
Profile & identity verification
A friendly verification flow that builds enough trust for a sharing community without turning onboarding into a checkpoint.
-
{ 02 }
Proximity-aware listings
Resource and skill listings surfaced by approximate proximity — close enough to be useful, vague enough to feel safe.
-
{ 03 }
Direct messaging with guardrails
Messaging with rate limits, content checks, and one-click reporting — designed to deter abuse without choking real conversation.
-
{ 04 }
Personalised feed & notifications
A feed that learns from interactions plus targeted notifications for nearby relevant activity.
-
{ 05 }
Community moderation tools
A real moderation surface for the ops team — review queues, escalation, ban tooling, and audit trails.
Outcomes that matter.
A community sharing platform that earns trust before it asks for it — and gives the moderation team real tools, not just a feed and a delete button.
-
5K+
Verified profiles in the first quarter
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12K+
Listings created post-launch
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<1s
Search results render on mid-tier devices
-
4
Community-ops moderation tools shipped
Where it landed.
A community-first product that takes trust and safety seriously — and gives the ops team the tools they actually need to keep it that way as it grows.
Like what you see? Let’s build something for your team.
Have a project in mind?
Tell us where you are — pre-discovery, mid-build, or scaling. A senior engineer or designer will reply within one working day. No SDR, no slideware.
Share your context
Idea stage, mid-build, or scaling — tell us where you are. We sign an NDA before any specifics.
Speak to a senior
A senior engineer or designer joins the call within two working days to map your goals and constraints.
Get a real plan
A scope, an engagement model, and a delivery timeline tailored to your stage. No slideware.
Have a project in mind?
Tell us where you are — pre-discovery, mid-build, or scaling. A senior engineer or designer will reply within one working day. No SDR, no slideware.