Hello @gd69 and welcome to the forum. I hope you don’t mind me shortening your title just a tad 
Well, we have nearly 140 volunteers working on building the app at the moment, and many are working more than they would for a full-time job. Over the past 16 months we have literally started from zero and built something that is already usable for surfing/hosting and getting better every day. You’ve probably read all the essays laid out on Couchers.org, but if not, give them a good read, because all of us working on the project are very much aligned with the plan to build the alternative you’re looking for.
Since some volunteers that work with us have volunteered with or help with Trustroots to some extent we can confidently say that our team works differently. We have a singular vision to build something that has all the same features as Couchsurfing and improves in areas of safety and user experience, for example. I’m sure others from the team can weigh in on this, too.
I’d also invite you to join our online events so you can meet volunteers, contributors, and users in person. I think you’ll find we are VERY confident 
Speaking for myself here but I’m nearly 100% sure this project will not only be completed, but be very successful – if not more successful than CS – in the long term.