From Struggling in College to Startup Success

I just wanted to share my story of going from college struggles to startup success. It wasn't an overnight transformation, and it definitely wasn't a straight path to glory. In fact, things were pretty tough at the beginning.

Back in college, I was chasing after internships like crazy. But let's be real, rejection after rejection was hitting me hard. It seemed like I just couldn't catch a break. After numerous rejections, I reached a point where I thought, "Why not create my own opportunities?" And that's where my journey took a turn.

During my time at college, I dipped my toes into the indie dev world. It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows though. My initial attempts were far from successful. My first app was a to-do list called "Dream Check." I put in six months of sweat, working day in and day out, only to end up with a measly 100 downloads and a grand total of $0 in earnings. It was a harsh reality check.

Despite the disappointment, I didn't give up. I dabbled in various ventures like dropshipping and affiliate marketing, hoping to find that secret formula. Spoiler alert: I didn't find it.

Then came 2020, and the pandemic hit. That's when I decided to give app development another shot. Armed with lessons from my past failures and some newfound knowledge from Y-combinator lectures and books like "The Lean Startup" and "Hacking Growth," I created "Focusbyte." It was a gamified study timer that struck a chord with me and others. The validation from a Reddit landing page, where I garnered 500 sign-ups before even writing a line of code, was a glimmer of hope.

"Focusbyte" did better than my previous attempts, with 30k downloads and around $2k in revenue. But it wasn't a skyrocketing success. And that's the thing about this journey – it's not always a Hollywood story with an epic ending.

I continued to tinker with app ideas. One day, inspired by my personal struggle with panic attacks, I developed "MindGarden," a gamified meditation app. It took months of hard work, and after launch, it started to gain some traction. I made around $1k within three months, and things seemed to be looking up.

In January 2022, during the New Year Resolution frenzy, I saw a spike in earnings, hitting $5k in a single month. But let's not kid ourselves – this wasn't a constant trend. The revenue stabilized at around $3k per month, and the total earnings from "MindGarden" up to that point were around $58k.

Now, I'm not actively working on those apps anymore. I'm onto my next project – a dopamine detox coach – and trying my hand at YouTube full-time. Is it all smooth sailing now? Definitely not. The journey has taught me that success is a rollercoaster with ups and downs, and it's not guaranteed.

I wanted to share my journey with you all because, in a world where success stories often sound too good to be true, the reality is a bit more complex. If you're struggling right now, know that you're not alone. Sometimes, it takes multiple attempts, failures, and a whole lot of grit to find your footing.