I still remember the weight of my first Symbian phone, the way C++ felt like wrestling with a beast that occasionally rewarded you with something beautiful. That was 2008, right after I graduated from university. I was young, hungry, and had no idea that eighteen years later, I'd still be here — older, still hungry, and somehow more in love with this craft than ever.
This is my story. Not a success story, not yet. But a story of persistence, late nights, failed projects, and a heartbeat that refuses to slow down.
The Early Days: When Mobile Meant Something Different
My career began with C++ and Symbian OS — a world that feels prehistoric now. Back then, writing mobile apps meant fighting memory constraints, dealing with cryptic documentation, and celebrating when your app didn't crash the entire phone.
Then came J2ME. If you know, you know. The fragmentation nightmare. Testing on dozens of devices with different screen sizes, different capabilities, different bugs. We wrote apps that fit in kilobytes and felt like magicians when they worked.
I moved to Windows application development, then to automotive HMI systems — those sleek interfaces you see in car dashboards. Different industries, different challenges, same passion.
But something was always pulling me back to mobile. To that direct connection between code and the device in someone's hand.
The Stress That Almost Won
I won't romanticize it. Software development is stressful. The deadlines that don't care about your personal life. The bugs that appear at 11 PM before a major release. The constant feeling that technology is moving faster than you can learn.
I tried to quit. Multiple times.
I told myself I'd find something easier, something that wouldn't consume my nights and weekends. Something that wouldn't make me question my sanity when a semicolon cost me three hours of debugging.
But every time I walked away, something pulled me back. A spark. An idea. That entrepreneurial heartbeat that grew stronger with every attempt to silence it.
2013: The $200 Decision That Changed Everything
In 2013, I bought my first MacBook. It was old, used, and cost about $200. But it was mine, and it was a gateway.
I wanted to learn Swift. Not for work. Not for anyone else. For myself.
I wrote code at night after my day job. Weekends disappeared into Xcode. I was building something that didn't exist yet — my future as an indie developer.
Then came the real commitment: a brand new MacBook Pro 2013. Nearly $2,000. For someone betting on themselves, that wasn't just a purchase. It was a declaration.
I am doing this. I am becoming an indie developer.
The First Apps: Small Steps, Big Dreams
Flashcard for Kids was my first real app in 2014. Nothing revolutionary. Just a simple educational tool. But seeing it on the App Store, knowing that somewhere a child might learn something because of code I wrote — that feeling is impossible to describe.
A year later came English For Kids. Then more a dozen apps. Each one taught me something new. Each one failed in different ways. Each one kept me going.
2026: DiskCleanKit and PhoneCleanKit
Fast forward to now. I just released DiskCleanKit on Mac and PhoneCleanKit on iOS. Storage cleaning utilities. Practical tools for real problems.
Are they successful? Not yet.
But here's what I've learned after eighteen years: success isn't a destination. It's the accumulation of all those late nights, all those failed projects, all those moments when you could have quit but didn't.
The Secret Nobody Tells You
You want to know if you're cut out for this? Here's the test:
Can you work until midnight and still feel excited to wake up early tomorrow to keep coding?
Not because you have to. Because you want to. Because there's something unfinished that's calling you. Because your brain is already solving problems while you sleep.
If yes — you're one of us.
On Failed Projects
I've lost count of my failed projects. Apps that nobody downloaded. Features that nobody used. Ideas that seemed brilliant at 2 AM and embarrassing by morning.
I don't care.
Every failed project taught me something. Every "wasted" effort built skills I'd use later. And most importantly — I always have something new to work on tomorrow.
That's the gift of being a developer. There's always another problem to solve, another idea to pursue, another version to ship.
AI Won't Replace Us — We Direct It
I use AI now. It speeds up my work significantly. What took days sometimes takes hours. What took hours sometimes takes minutes.
But I disagree with those who say developers will become obsolete. Elon Musk and others paint a picture of AI writing all the code while we watch.
That's not how it works. That's not how it will work.
We are not just people who type code. We are problem solvers. We are architects. We are the ones who understand what needs to be built and why. AI is a powerful tool — perhaps the most powerful tool we've ever had — but it's still a tool.
We manage it. We control it. We direct it.
The code is just the expression of our ideas. And ideas? Those still come from us.
We are the creators. We are the developers.
The Road Ahead
I don't know if DiskCleanKit will become successful. I don't know if PhoneCleanKit will find its audience. I don't know what the next eighteen years will bring.
But I know this: I'll keep building.
I'll keep learning new technologies when they emerge. I'll keep adapting when the industry shifts. I'll keep working late nights when an idea won't let me sleep.
I made a promise to myself — to continue in software development until I physically cannot. Not because I have to. Because this is who I am.
From Symbian to Swift. From employee to entrepreneur. From that $200 MacBook to wherever this journey takes me next.
The apps might not be successful yet. But the developer? After eighteen years of trying to quit and coming back stronger each time?
That developer has already won.
If you're on your own indie journey, I'd love to hear your story. Drop a comment below. We're all in this together.
My Current Projects:
- 🖥️ DiskCleanKit — Storage cleaner for Mac
- 📱 PhoneCleanKit — Storage cleaner for iOS
Follow me for more stories about indie development and the entrepreneurial journey.
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