Building excelstep.com has been a massive learning curve, but honestly, the most rewarding part is seeing the math finally work out. I’ve officially hit that point where I got my first users I didn't know, which is wild when you think about the alternative of hiring a full dev team to build something this specific.

Here are a few things I’ve realized while getting this off the ground:

1. The "Solo Dev" Advantage

I’ve spent a decent chunk of change on the side to get the tech right, but it’s still a fraction of what a traditional agency would have charged. Using tools like Replit has completely shifted the goalposts. It allows you to take a niche expertise like teaching technical skills or interactive training and actually turn it into a functioning business without needing 20 developers in a room.

2. From Concept to "Actually Works"

The jump from "I have an idea for an Excel practice tool" to "the backend actually handles user input and provides real-time feedback" is where the real work happens. It’s been a grind getting the interactive elements to feel immersive, but seeing people actually use the platform to learn is a huge win.

3. Expertise is the Real Asset

The tech is great, but the "secret sauce" is the domain knowledge. Just like how specialized AI tools need experts to train them, a learning platform needs a solid curriculum behind it. Being able to design the logic myself meant I didn't have to spend months explaining the "why" to a third party.

For anyone else vibe-coding or building niche apps right now are you seeing new users or a profit yet?

What’s the biggest hurdle you’ve hit trying to move from a "cool project" to a "real business"? I’m curious if you’re finding that your industry experience is more important than the actual code at this point.