DEV Community

Cover image for I build something.... Project Sunya #1
Kartik Patel
Kartik Patel

Posted on

I build something.... Project Sunya #1

THIS POST MIGHT APPEAR LONG…

BUT THAT’S BECAUSE THE VISION IS TOO


Introduction

For almost a year, I had a vision.

I knew what I wanted to build.

But I couldn’t start.

Reasons?
Health, money, pressure… life doing its usual thing.

When 2025 started, I told myself:

“This is the year I begin.”

2025 ended.

I still hadn’t started.


The Reality

To be fair, 2025 wasn’t empty.

I learned a lot.
I made my first money.
I improved as a developer.

But for someone like me, in my current situation:

I prioritize my dreams over money.

And still… I didn’t start.


The Part That Changed Everything

Half of 2025 was spent in a hospital.

Just lying there, thinking:

  • What life used to be like
  • What I’d do once I got out
  • What I should’ve already started

That’s a lot for a 14-year-old.

But that phase gave me something important:

The journey matters more than the destination.

Whether I reach my goal or not doesn’t matter.

Not starting does.


Why “Sunya”?

So in 2026, I made a decision:

I’m not starting big.
I’m not starting perfect.

I’m starting from ZERO.

“Zero” translates to “Shunya” in Hindi and Sanskrit.

I liked the word.
Didn’t like the letter H (don’t ask), so I removed it.

And that’s how the name came:

PROJECT SUNYA


January: Reality Strikes Again

January started.

I was ready to begin.

And then… exams showed up.

Because of course they did.

I had also promised myself:

Build one satisfactory project every month.

So now I had to balance both.


Dat-One-Pad (First Attempt)

I built DAT-ONE-PAD.

A tool that could:

  • Turn text files into PDF notes
  • Extract content from simple web pages
  • Generate notes from YouTube transcripts

That last part?

Way harder than expected.

It actually helped me in exams.

But there was a problem.

I couldn’t release it publicly.

I was using a free AI API key, which had limits.
And honestly, I didn’t want to risk breaking things.

So it stayed private.

Useful — but not scalable.


February: The Turning Point

Exams started.

I was studying — mostly alone.

But I prefer studying with friends.

So we studied together on chats and calls.

And that’s when we noticed a problem:

There was no proper “vault” to store and organize our notes.

Now think like a developer.

What would you do?

Exactly.

Build something… even during exams.


The Vault Experiment

I started building a simple vault system:

  • File saving
  • Google OAuth (hardcoded emails, don’t expect production-level security during exams)
  • Basic structure for notes

No database.

Because:

  1. I was in exams
  2. Time was limited
  3. I wanted speed, not perfection

But while building this…

Something clicked.


The First Real Step of Project Sunya

This wasn’t just a tool anymore.

This was:

  • Useful
  • Scalable
  • Aligned with my daily life

I finally found the first step I had been searching for.

A project that could:

  • Support my bigger vision
  • Fit into my academic life
  • Potentially fund future work

The Monetization Problem

Now came the obvious question:

How does this make money?

Two options:

  1. Sell access
  2. Make it free and rely on ads

Option 2 isn’t great financially.

But I chose it anyway.

Because right now:

Helping others while helping myself matters more.


Building CBSE Mastery

I spent:

  • Half of February
  • Entire March

Building this platform.

And that’s how CBSE Mastery was created — a centralized system for notes, structured learning, and simplifying how students actually study.

You can check it out here:
👉 https://cbsemastery.in/


What Is CBSE?

For non-Indian readers:

CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) is one of the main education boards in India, followed by millions of students.

This project focuses on:

  • Notes
  • Structured learning
  • Simplified study material

But it’s not limited to CBSE.

That’s just the starting point.


Under the Hood (Why It Took 1.5 Months)

It might look simple from the outside.

It’s not.

1. Modular Renderers

  • Markdown Renderer
  • Quiz Renderer
  • PDF Renderer (planned)

2. File-Based System

Notes are stored as:

  • .md
  • .pdf
  • other formats

They are processed and rendered dynamically.


3. SEO-Focused Structure

  • meta.json files for metadata
  • YAML support inside markdown
  • Structured content system

Because yes, traffic matters.


4. Performance Optimization

PageSpeed started at ~60.

It took about a week to optimize it properly.


5. PWA Support

The site works as a Progressive Web App:

  • Installable
  • Faster access
  • App-like feel

And Then… The Same Problem Again

Funding.

I needed money…

To fund the project…

That would eventually fund bigger ideas.

Brilliant system. Truly flawless.


Current Situation

So here’s what I did:

  • Bought the domain
  • Deployed on free tiers (Netlify carrying this like a gym bro spotting a beginner)
  • Trying to get clients to sustain development

And no — this post is not for client begging.

I’m documenting.


Why I’m Sharing This

There’s a saying:

90% of people don’t care about your problems.
9.9% are happy you have them.

Maybe that’s true.

But I’m not writing for the 99.9%.

I’m writing for the 0.1%.

The ones who understand.
The ones building something.
The ones starting from zero.


Final Note

This isn’t a success story.

Not yet.

This is just the point where I finally stopped thinking…

and started building.

Project Sunya has officially begun.

Top comments (0)