5 Years in the Trenches
The Full Story
Every pivot. Every embarrassing zero-download launch. Every breakthrough.
The Spark
Started learning Flutter during my Bachelor's in Information Technology. From day one, the goal was freedom — building something of my own, not trading hours for dollars.
The Job
Landed my first Flutter job. Within a year I knew the 9-to-5 wasn't for me. I started freelancing 3–4 months before quitting — hedging my bets while I could.
Freelance Highs
Got project after project. Five-star reviews. Money was good. But I was still tied to my laptop — stop working, stop earning. That's not freedom, that's just a different cage.
The Agency Trap
Hired employees thinking I'd escape the trade-time-for-money loop. Instead I doubled the pressure: chasing projects AND managing a team. Closed the agency after one year. Back to solo.
The Masjid Encounter
One evening, leaving my office, a stranger asked me for directions to the masjid. We got talking. He told me he was a BBA grad with an app on the Play Store — 50,000 downloads. That hit me hard.
“I'd spent 5 years building for everyone except myself.”
The 0-Download Era
Built a habit tracker. Built a screenshot organizer because mine was a mess. Zero downloads. Zero revenue. But I was learning how to ship — and that's the most valuable thing I got from those failures.
Europass Resume App
Searched the Play Store, found no Europass resume builder, started building. It took months. Slow build, slow growth — but I was learning to ship something real that people actually searched for.
Italian Brainrot MCQs
My brother showed me the Italian Brainrot trend on Instagram. I built an MCQs app around it in days. It blew up — $5–10k in revenue and serious subscription numbers. But I wasn't comfortable with the imagery; it didn't sit right with me. I stripped the images and kept only the sounds.
Dry Spell
No freelance work. No new apps. Just me and my brother in our hostel room. He suggested an app that could scan an object and estimate its weight. Sometimes your next big idea comes from the person sitting next to you.
Weight Identifier — Everything Changed
Searched the App Store and Play Store — nothing like it existed. Built it in 2 days. Uploaded. Approved. Trials and subscriptions started rolling in almost immediately.
Seed Identifier — $1,000 MRR
Inspired by an Adam Lyttle video, I built a seed identifier app. It went to the top of the stores. Yearly and weekly subscriptions, strong trial conversions. In 5–6 months I crossed $1,000 MRR.
$2,000 MRR
Within a year, more apps in the lineup pushed me past $2,000 MRR. The playbook was repeatable. Build fast, validate with the store, iterate.
The Sale & Reset
I recently sold the seed identifier app. MRR is down right now — but the playbook is proven. I'm building the next wave. This talk is me sharing everything I learned before I do it again.
“The playbook is proven. Now I'm doing it again.”
