DEV Community: Israel Oladeji The latest articles on DEV Community by Israel Oladeji (@israel_oladeji_80d7152d45). https://dev.to/israel_oladeji_80d7152d45 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3745603%2F492177ad-34a8-4ae5-b9d6-1dde382368d1.png DEV Community: Israel Oladeji https://dev.to/israel_oladeji_80d7152d45 en I built a social platform for writers after getting rejected by tech companies and publishers Israel Oladeji Sun, 01 Feb 2026 17:21:28 +0000 https://dev.to/israel_oladeji_80d7152d45/i-built-a-social-platform-for-writers-after-getting-rejected-by-tech-companies-and-publishers-28km https://dev.to/israel_oladeji_80d7152d45/i-built-a-social-platform-for-writers-after-getting-rejected-by-tech-companies-and-publishers-28km <h2> I built a social platform for writers after getting rejected by tech companies and publishers </h2> <h2> The backstory </h2> <p>I graduated from Purdue with a CS degree in May 2024. Math minor. Built a Flutter app for my church before graduation. Thought I was set.</p> <p>Then came the rejections. Hundreds of job applications. Ghosted or rejected from every single one.</p> <p>I ended up taking a job as a process assistant at an Amazon warehouse to pay bills. </p> <h2> Writing as an escape </h2> <p>I started writing in my free time. It became my escape from warehouse shifts. Eventually I had a manuscript I was proud of. </p> <p>Submitted to publishers. Got rejected there too. </p> <p>The feedback? "Too long for a first-time writer." </p> <h2> Building my own door </h2> <p>At some point I realized: I have the skills to build things. Why am I waiting for permission? </p> <p>I started coding nights and weekends. Built a social platform specifically for writers. </p> <p>I called it <strong>Loch</strong>. </p> <h2> The tech stack </h2> <p><strong>Web app:</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Next.js 15 (App Router) </li> <li>TypeScript </li> <li>Tailwind CSS </li> <li>Zustand for state </li> <li>TanStack Query </li> </ul> <p><strong>iOS app:</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Swift/SwiftUI </li> <li>Native implementation </li> </ul> <p><strong>Backend:</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Python/FastAPI </li> <li>PostgreSQL </li> <li>Redis </li> <li>MinIO for media </li> </ul> <p><strong>Infrastructure:</strong> </p> <ul> <li>Self-hosted on Synology NAS </li> <li>Docker Compose </li> <li>Cloudflare Tunnel </li> </ul> <h2> Features </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Chapter-by-chapter publishing</strong> - Share your work in digestible pieces </li> <li> <strong>Built-in lo-fi music player</strong> - Mood-based ambient music for reading </li> <li> <strong>Clean reading experience</strong> - No ads, no clutter </li> <li> <strong>Works for everything</strong> - Fiction, poetry, essays, whatever you write </li> </ul> <h2> Challenges I faced </h2> <h3> Safari audio issues Safari doesn't like streaming audio the same way Chrome does. Had to buffer the entire audio file instead of streaming. Also had to use a DOM-based audio element instead of the JavaScript Audio() constructor. </h3> <h3> Self-hosting headaches </h3> <p>Cloudflare Tunnel kept going down when my NAS rebooted. Had to create a startup script to auto-restart it.</p> <h3> Building two apps solo </h3> <p>Maintaining feature parity between web and iOS as a solo dev is exhausting. But I learned a ton. </p> <h2> Where I'm at now </h2> <ul> <li>9 registered users (friends testing it) </li> <li>260 unique visitors last week </li> <li>iOS TestFlight live </li> <li>Web app deployed </li> </ul> <h2> What's next </h2> <ol> <li>Get to 100 users </li> <li>Figure out monetization </li> <li>Maybe Android </li> </ol> <h2> Links </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>Website:</strong> <a href="https://www.lochapp.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">lochapp.com</a> </li> <li> <strong>Web app:</strong> <a href="https://app.lochapp.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">app.lochapp.com</a> </li> <li> <strong>iOS TestFlight:</strong> <a href="https://testflight.apple.com/join/GCcCJWKY" rel="noopener noreferrer">Join beta</a> </li> </ul> <h2> <img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F9657dwkx1duneb8mmj1m.png" alt=" " width="800" height="525"> </h2> <p>If you're a writer who's been told your work doesn't fit the mold - Loch is for us. </p> <p>And if you're a dev who's been rejected from jobs - keep building. Your skills are yours.</p> career devjournal showdev sideprojects