Took me a lot of time to get myself to write this. But anyways, better late than never. We have a lot of things that pull our mind in various different directions all the time. Be it good, bad, interesting, uninteresting, anything! During the lockdown in 2020, I had things too, to keep me occupied. Major one was learning web development. I learnt for 3 months. And then spent a LOT of my time making CSS art and doing the 100 days of code challenge. This led to me meeting a lot of new people on Twitter, I wrote articles, spoke at a meetup for the first time, started YouTube etc... Then came the ending of 2020, when I started building something. That was when it really hit me that I had in my hands, a power that I could use to make things that I wanted to make, things that make me happy, things that if not used by anybody else, can at least still be useful to me.
That was when I got to know about the Indie Hackers community and made an account there, started listening to their podcasts and reading interviews on their website. This was how I got to know that something called as SaaS exists. Then as I kept digging deeper into all the literature available about building in public, a lot of jargon got thrusted towards me by people who went before me into this magical space, that I thought was so distant and different from where I was, at a university, where all I knew was that studying diligently and earning a degree will get me a secure job and I will be well off for the rest of my life. ( SIDE NOTE : I wasn't interested in this whole getting a job and settling thing. If I decide in the future to get a job, I will do it only if I like what I do at work. I hadn't really discovered what I wanted to do. I just studied well and kept going. Got into a good college and then was confused. "WHAT NEXT?" )
I heard somewhere that if you specifically look for something, you will find it everywhere.
I can vouch for this. Because, as soon as I started consuming more and more content related to "Building in public", startups, content creation etc.., I started to find it everywhere. There were so many people on Twitter, almost my age, who were interested in the same things that I wanted to pursue. But I didn't reach out to them for a long time. I was just too nervous. Their tweets made them seem like they had it all figured out. It was just scary. But the beauty of Twitter is, I could still follow them and their content and read their tweets and understand their perspectives. So that's what I started doing.
In the process, I stumbled upon Pieter Levels on Twitter. He took up the 12 startups in 12 months challenge and built profitable businesses out of it. Naturally, I was interested. I am all about reading about people's journeys and listening to them speak about how they got to where they are. So I started reading his posts. I listened to one of his talks and I really liked the idea of being able to build something you like and then eventually monetize and earn enough to sustain your living and also your future projects.
He says that he did it because he was bored doing YouTube. So coded startups while travelling. Right now, at this age, I have nothing to lose. Even if I fail, there's not much loss that I will incur. So I decided to take this up too. Why not? After all I vowed to myself last year that I'd follow what I'm interested in, with an open mind to see where it takes me. So yes, another challenge for this year.
12 Startups in 12 months.
A startup, for me, doesn't mean a huge company with many employees to handle stuff. For me it means, a product that I build, for solving my problems. And if it helps others, then that's a cherry on the top!
So yes, I will do this. I will use this blog of mine to record all that I have to say, while doing this. I'm planning to livestream the process too, which is pretty scary to me. But let's hope for the best.
PS : I don't intend to finish all 12 startups by the end of 2021. I just want to create something everyday, however small it is. If something clicks, then I might as well grow it. Also this year I've put a few systems and rules in place, for myself, which I will follow to make sure that I build things in public consistently, network with other people who doing the same and get consistent with content creation on YouTube.
I don't know what the future has in store for me. But I know one thing for sure. This is a path that I'm interested in now, and I want to pursue it to see where it takes me.
That's it from me today! Bye :)