About
An independent iOS studio.
About AillaGrid
AillaGrid LLC is built on the idea of creating a strong foundation for a connected ecosystem of products.
The name Ailla is drawn from Scottish Gaelic — from the strong place. Combined with Grid, it reflects an idea we care about: a resilient network of interconnected products that grow stronger together.
Our first app is Country Survival Kit, a travel companion for people who plan before they travel. More travel apps are on the way, with plans to expand into other areas over time.
About Dave
I built Country Survival Kit for myself first. I'd travelled most of my adult life — starting as a Merchant Navy navigator, then as an engineer developing marine exploration technology I deployed and supported on ships across South Asia, South America, Australia, and Norway. Later I moved into executive management in the US. Somewhere in the middle of all of that, I qualified as a scuba instructor. None of the travel apps I could find actually worked the way I needed.
So I built one. Then I kept building it as I kept travelling.
These days I travel for the things that matter to me: history, culture, food, and diving. Every trip is also a research trip. If a bus app is confusing, if a phrasebook misses the phrase you actually need, if the local taxi app is genuinely worse than the international one — CSK gets updated.
AillaGrid is a solo studio, but it's not a solo hobby. I've spent my career shipping technology that has to work in demanding conditions. CSK gets the same discipline.
Based in Houston, Texas — when not travelling.
Our approach
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Editorial, not aggregated
Every country is researched, verified, and edited before it ships. When there's something worth telling you, we tell you. When there isn't, we leave it out.
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Offline by default
Travel apps fail exactly when you need them — on the plane, in the tunnel, in the mountain village with one bar. So CSK lives on your device, ready before you land.
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Fair subscription
One price for the whole travel guide. Every country, every update, offline access — always included. A Pro tier is on the roadmap for real-time features, but the core app you subscribe to today stays complete on its own.
Get in touch
We read every email. Tell us what you're finding useful, what you wish CSK did better, or which country you want to see next — those emails shape what gets built.
hello@aillagrid.com, or the support page if something's broken.
Especially useful: countries you want to see added, sections that could go deeper, apps we've missed, or facts we've got wrong.