at the start, i was lost on how to begin something new, put an idea into practice, turn a prototype into reality. one of the first principles i learned on my journey is to be original. don’t copy from whoever already made it — that will only get in your way.
i’ve fallen many times into the mistake of going around telling anyone all my ideas, plans and goals. that was one of my biggest mistakes, and it’s thanks to it that i’m here today! it’s not a lesson i say only for technology, but for life.
separating hobby/hype from product is one of the most important things i’ve learned. it’s not about what’s trending, it’s about what’s viable. generating hype and creating futile things kills your creativity and delays your development. in the industry, what scales prevails — hype doesn’t last more than a month.
along the way, i learned that yes, we should plan, but planning shouldn’t be the biggest consumer of your time. good planning is simple and functional; bad planning is complex and slows you down. i learned from someone very important to me a phrase that changed the way i think: “ship it ugly but working, improve the look later”.
stability is my biggest difficulty. i don’t treat it as a challenge, but as proof that i’m capable of expanding my work. i can have a perfect idea, a great team and time to spare, but if i only focus on my side — the famous “works on my machine” — it won’t work. it’ll die or never leave the page, depending on how you look at it.
if something is working after finishing almost everything, DON’T TOUCH IT. as i said before, focus on shipping stable and improve over time. you don’t learn before getting your hands dirty — you start to understand what you actually did after putting on the shirt and moving forward!
- focus