Things I’ve Learned From Building An Internet Platform, Solo

Between March 2021 and now, I have built an internet platform. All by myself. After qualifying from Makers Academy, this seemed like the ultimate full stack development challenge. The way I saw it, if I succeeded, I’d have my own startup, and if I failed, I’d at least have a great interview story. How many software engineers or developers can say they’ve single-handedly built an internet platform?

You Start With An Idea

Like all projects of any kind, it started with an idea. Given my fairly novice level of experience as a coder at the time, I had no idea of the complexity of what I wanted to built. It sounded simple enough in words, but as I got into it, as I completed each stage, other stages became apparent to me that were never in the original plan.

No Problem Is Unsolvable

I think one of the biggest and most valuable lessons I’ve learned is that, at least in the context of code, every problem has a solution. Once I believed that, finding the answer simply becomes a battle of wills – mine versus that of the world. And since the world isn’t really consciously against me, with a little persistence I should be able to win every time.

Progress Is Intermittent

The first time you do anything should always be the worst you ever do at it, providing you learn from mistakes and increase your general knowledge of the subject in question. Progress, or perhaps more accurately, perceived progress, is intermittent. This is the life of an entrepreneur. The up side is that every day is not a copy of the day before. But the downside is that some days – and even some weeks – it feels like you’re getting nowhere. And then, typically, after a period of no progress, suddenly a bunch of things all happen at once.

When You’re Not Progressing, You’re Learning

During those periods when it didn’t feel like anything was happening, the fact is I was learning a lot. To paraphrase Edison, I was learning hundreds of ways not to make a proverbial lightbulb. This learning is more valuable than first thought, because the next platform I build, I expect I will build a lot faster. Because some of the problems I encounter while doing it, I’ll already know the solutions to.

Between March 2021 and now, I have built an internet platform. All by myself. After qualifying from Makers Academy, this seemed like the ultimate full stack development challenge. The way I saw it, if I succeeded, I’d have my own startup, and if I failed, I’d at least have a great interview story. How many…