About a month ago, I didn't really think of myself as a solo dev studio.
I was just a person with too many ideas, too much caffeine, and a very dangerous habit of saying, “Wait... I can build this?”
Then 1 app became 2. 2 became 3. And then somehow I had a small collection of macOS apps sitting in front of me, all built around the same general feeling:
Software can be useful to others and still be personal.
That became the quiet thread through everything I made. Not huge apps. Not startup pitch deck apps. Not “change the future” apps.
Just small, focused tools that solve little problems in a way that feels aesthetic and simple.
One app helps you keep temporary files and notes nearby.
One helps restore a workspace.
One is a little reminder bubble system.
One is a timer.
One tracks mood and journaling through a growing plant.
One turns app stats into a tiny dopamine machine because, yes, I got tired of refreshing dashboards like a goblin.
And the funny thing is that each app came from a very normal frustration.
“I wish my desktop had a shelf.”
“I wish I could save this whole workspace.”
“I wish reminders felt less boring.”
“I wish checking app downloads felt more fun.”
“I wish productivity software that wasn't a guilt trip.”
That has been the biggest lesson for me so far. A good small app doesn't always need a massive idea. Sometimes it just needs a tiny annoyance that you care about enough to polish. Building all of these has also changed how I see software. I used to think an app had to be big to matter. Big feature lists, big audiences, big launches, or big perfect roadmaps.
A small app can be cozy, weird, have one job and do it with personality, or even make someones computer feel slightly more like personalized.
The hard part, of course, is that building alone is intense.
I'm the designer, developer, tester, support team, the person making the screenshots, and the person rewriting the product page at 3 a.m. because one sentence feels wrong.
I'm also the person wondering if anyone will care when you finally post it.
Launching small software is strangely emotional, too. You can spend days or even weeks obsessing over tiny details... finally release it and then sit there refreshing stats like the judge is about to hand you a verdict.
A view feels exciting.
A download feels amazing.
A donation feels unreal.
But I think that is also what makes building in public is so interesting.
It sort of turns software building into a story.
The messy code.
The late nights.
The little wins.
The annoying bugs.
The moments where something finally works and you just stare at the screen like, “Oh sh*t, I actually did it.”
I still do not know where all of this goes. Maybe one app finds its people. Maybe all of them slowly grow. Maybe the whole thing just becomes a collection of small tools that make a handful of people happy. Honestly, that would still mean something to me because building these apps reminded me why I like software in the first place.
Not because every project has to become a company.
But because sometimes you get to take a tiny frustration, shape it into something real, give it a name, give it an icon, and put it out into the world and that is still kind of magical.
So yes, I guess I accidentally became a solo dev studio.
A very tired one.
A very caffeinated one.
But a real one.
And I think I am going to keep building.
