I kept drifting while trying to build startups, so I built something to fix the problem (lessons from my first app)

I’m 17 and over the past few months I built my first iOS app. It took about 3 months and 9 App Store rejections before it was finally approved.

But the interesting part wasn’t the technical side — it was the problem that led me to build it in the first place.

Before this, I tried building a couple of other startup ideas. What I noticed was that my biggest issue wasn’t motivation or even lack of time.

It was drift.

Most mornings I’d open my laptop knowing I had a lot to do:

•	marketing

•	product improvements

•	outreach

•	distribution

•	research

But because there were so many possible things to work on, I’d feel overwhelmed and end up jumping between tasks or doing nothing meaningful.

Weeks could pass with very little real progress.

While thinking about this, I realised something simple that helped a lot:

progress usually comes from doing one small action that moves the project forward

Not a huge plan.

Not a giant to-do list.

Just one clear step.

Examples of things that actually moved the needle:

• messaging 5 potential users

• improving one onboarding step

• fixing one UX friction point

• writing one distribution post

• asking one founder for feedback

None of these take long individually, but when done consistently they compound.

It made me realise that a lot of early-stage builders don’t struggle with ideas — they struggle with consistent forward movement.

Curious how other people here deal with this.

When you’re building an app or startup, how do you decide what the single most important thing to work on each day is?