8 months of solo dev: what I learned building an app from scratch
Alexandre
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Reading time: 3 min
I spent 8 months building Livate from the ground up. Zero iOS experience, zero budget, zero co-founder. Here's what I figured out along the way -- and what I wish someone had told me before I started.
The spark
It was a weeknight, I was scrolling Twitter. An indie hacker was posting about his journey, his revenue, his struggles. Nothing spectacular, but it hit me: this guy was building something of his own, at his own pace, and talking about it without pretending it was easy.
I closed the app and opened a blank text file.
The desire had been there for a long time: build a project that blends tech, business, and design. Something that feels like me. Except I barely knew any of those things -- and especially not iOS development.
But we live in an era where you can learn anything. AI, YouTube, communities, official documentation. The only real obstacle was the fear of the unknown and the comfort of never trying.
The first 3 weeks: pure euphoria
At the start, motivation is through the roof. I used that energy to lay out an action plan, learn Swift, nail down the app concept, and start coding.
Seeing those first screens pop up on the simulator was exhilarating. That feeling that it's easy, that everything will move fast. This phase lasts about 3 weeks. After that, the real problems show up.
The walls
The phase where you actually have to build. You second-guess yourself, rework things too often, and hit wall after wall. The second. The fifth. The fifteenth.
Marketing -- ASO, SEO, analytics. A whole world I'd never touched.
Reality -- time flying by, shifting priorities, work-life balance wobbling.
Every week, I discovered a new topic I knew nothing about. It was exciting and overwhelming in equal measure.
The moments I almost gave up
I won't sugarcoat it: there were nights when I wanted to delete everything.
One Sunday, I spent the entire day on a sync bug. By 11 PM, I was ready to throw my Mac out the window. Monday morning, I opened Xcode with a knot in my stomach. But I opened it anyway.
There were evenings when I genuinely wondered if I was cut out for this. If I'd aimed too high. If I was just wasting my time while the rest of the world moved on without me.
My circle saved me. A text, a call, a friend telling you "just the fact that you're trying is incredible." It sounds like nothing. It's everything. That was enough to remind me why I started.
Early motivation is a lie -- it lasts 3 weeks. After that, it's discipline and the people around you that make the difference.
The result
With perseverance, hours of learning, and a few sleepless nights, I managed to cobble together something that actually works.
Livate isn't the perfect app. But it's a real app, built by a single developer, that solves a real problem: turning vague goals into concrete daily actions. I explain how it came to be in why I created Livate.
When I hit submit on the App Store, my hands were shaking. Will people like it? Will the server hold up? Will my duct-tape solutions do the job?
Doesn't matter. It's real. And it's mine.
3 things I wish someone had told me
1. Early motivation is a trap. It lasts 3 weeks, then it vanishes. What stays is discipline: opening Xcode even when you don't feel like it, even when yesterday's bug is still staring at you.
2. Impostor syndrome never goes away. You just learn to work alongside it. After 8 months, I still don't feel like a "real iOS developer." And yet, my app is on the App Store.
3. Your circle is your safety net. Tell them what you're working on, even if you're embarrassed it's not finished. The people around you see your progress better than you do.
Early motivation is a trap. It lasts 3 weeks. What stays is discipline: opening Xcode even when you don't feel like it.
Impostor syndrome never goes away. You just learn to work alongside it. 8 months in, I still don't feel like a 'real iOS developer.' And yet, my app is on the App Store.
Your circle is your safety net. Tell them what you're working on, even if it's not finished. They see your progress better than you do.
In 2026, you can learn anything: AI, YouTube, communities, docs. The only real obstacle is the fear of the unknown and the comfort of never trying.
