What I learned from shipping 35+ products (including weak ones)

I’ve built over 35 products. Most didn’t fail loudly, they just quietly stopped existing, no users, no traction, nothing worth continuing.

Back in early 2024, when I started building seriously, my focus was different. I was more inclined towards making things feel “cool”, using new tech and making ideas more interesting, which usually made the logic unnecessarily complex. I would spend time polishing features before even knowing if anyone else would use it. And I slowly started finding out flaws in the process.

1. The first flaw I identified was lack of planning. Whether it’s a solo project or a team project, the motive, features, user flow, edge cases, and technical approach should be thought through as seriously as the code itself.

2. The second flaw - most ideas are not worth building. Just because something sounds interesting doesn’t mean it needs a full product. Ideas are cheap, execution filters them. Over time, I started validating faster, building smaller, and only going deeper if there was some signal. Another thing I learned, working products teach more than finished ones. A lot of my learning didn’t come from perfectly built projects, it came from things that were just good enough to be used. For example, building CodePersona felt different. It wasn’t just about building, it was about creating something that people could actually use and share.

3. Another major shift in my thinking came from internships. They changed how I approach building. At WriteCream, I learned to focus on execution. The goal was to ship exactly what was required, without overthinking or adding unnecessary complexity. At IAmMaturity, I started thinking more about users. The focus was on building simple, intuitive interfaces and improving them with constant feedback. Now at Times Internet, the focus has shifted towards impact. I’m working on agentic tools that automate repetitive workflows and complex pipelines.

4. Eventually, my process changed. Earlier, I would start building first and think along the way. Now, I think about who this is for, what problem it solves, what success looks like, and most importantly, if I were the user, would I even want to use this?. Build things that actually work. I’m still figuring things out, but now I care less about building more, and more about building things that actually matter.