[mrkcsc]

Our core team - and indeed our original team - were native developers not React JS ones.

We chose React Native because it was a pragmatic choice and the best tool for our situation. As our startup gained traction and we decided to build mobile apps - we already had a React JS app so it made sense to try out RN.

As it turns out, we were able to build an almost feature parity versions of the React app in a weekend that shared all the business logic - so it made a ton of sense for us.

React Native for Android did not exist at that time (not open sourced) and so I had to build out our initial Android app in native - I can tell you it took me a lot longer than a weekend :P

That isn't to say there are not pros and cons to each approach - but I think it's important to be always open to new tools/languages vs. going with the "devil you know" so to speak.