Back to a job

Dev agency with its own product opened · Back to a job after 2 yr 2 mo

Tsai Chih-ming, 29 · 2 yr 2 mo

“Lesson learned: Startups take your savings, then your sleep, then your mind.”

Payday came back. My own decisions did not.

After 2 years and 2 months you wound down your Dev agency with its own product and rewrote your CV. The interviewer found your “founder experience” interesting; the salary was lower than you hoped. Cash $8,781, debt $694, 0 employees, 5 customers. On the first payday, money simply arriving in the account felt strange. You still stop scrolling whenever a product like yours launches.

How it went

1. 2026 · preparing to openTsai Chih-ming, 27. You have decided to try starting a company in Midwest. No idea, no product yet. Savings $59,498, no job.
2. Debt from day onePersonal debt: $440 a month for 115 months. It comes out regardless of the company.
3. 2/2026: what now?Start a business: «Document automation for tax offices» — You are going with «Document automation for tax offices». Still no company, no product. Now find out whether the idea is real.
4. 2026 · year 1 beginsUS Rates Rose Again
5. 2/26 · FamilyYou talked with your family for a long time. Someone said, “You come before the money.”
6. 3/2026: what now?Interview 20 people — 5 of 20 said they would pay. 7 only said it would be "nice to have".
7. 4/2026: what now?Decide to build it — You decided to build. Validation ends here.
8. 5/2026: what now?Build it yourself — You settled on how to build it.
9. 5/8 · Down sickA sore throat and a fever. You got through the day in a mask.
10. 6/2026: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
11. 6/25 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.93%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
12. 7/2026: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
13. 8/2026: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
14. 8/21 · A competitor movedA company solving the same problem announced a funding round. Nobody in the comments mentioned you.
15. 9/2026: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
16. 10/2026: what now?Keep building — You crossed three lines off the list. Two new ones appeared.
17. 10/16 · FamilyAt dinner nobody brought up work. You understood that was a kindness.
18. 11/2026: what now?Keep building — Another month the same way. Progress crept up.
19. 12/2026: what now?Keep building — What you built today, you fixed tomorrow. Progress still went up.
20. 12/28 · Down sickDay three of a cold that will not lift. No time to see a doctor.
21. 1/2027: what now?Launch — You pressed launch. 1 sign-ups on day one. You refreshed ten times.
22. 1/5 · Server bill spikeThe free cloud credits ran out. From this month the bill is the real number.
23. Time to hire?Not this time — You never posted the job ad.
24. US Rates Rose AgainSignals of Fed tightening strengthened the dollar, and this country's funding rates followed. When the USD rate jumped, costing got complicated again for anyone buying imported ingredients or parts.
25. Year 1 closeRevenue $639, loss $7,350. Cash $5,938.
26. 2027 · year 2 beginsChinese Demand Cooled
27. 2/7 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 2.1%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
28. 3/2027: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — 1 new customers this month. Few enough to know each one by name.
29. 3/10 · Security vulnerabilityAn outside researcher reported a vulnerability. You have to check whether personal data leaked.
30. 4/2027: what now?Take a job and run it on the side — You rewrote your CV. The interviewer found the startup story interesting.
31. 4/17 · Patent warning letterA cease-and-desist letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
32. 4/22 · FamilyAt dinner nobody brought up work. You understood that was a kindness.
33. A text offering moneyTake the unlicensed loan — $3,698 came right away. No contract — just your ID and your family’s phone numbers.
34. You are short of moneyHold on — You closed the loan papers. Instead you cancelled subscriptions, cut what you could do without and pushed the next payment date. Holding on is also a decision.
35. 5/8 · Covered in an articleAn industry outlet wrote about the product. Sign-up inquiries rose a little.
36. 5/2 · The collectors cameThe lender’s men came by. Late again, they said, and photos go to your family’s phones.
37. 6/2027: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — No new customers this month. The channel has to change.
38. 6/22 · HeatwaveA heat warning. The air conditioning ran all day. The electricity bill is on your mind.
39. 7/2027: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — No new customers this month. The channel has to change.
40. 7/22 · Funding costs rose againThe US 10-year yield rose to 5.55%. Investors recalculated valuations, and the bank asked for more collateral.
41. 7/23 · Down sickDay three of a cold that will not lift. No time to see a doctor.
42. You are short of moneyHold on — Instead of a loan you opened the household budget. No more eating out; repairs that could wait, waited. Holding on needed a plan too.
43. 8/6 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 2.1%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
44. 8/18 · Loan payment dayLoan payment day. $833 in principal and interest left the account. The balance is $3,358.
45. 9/2027: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 2 new customers this month. Few enough to know each one by name.
46. 9/11 · Service outageAn alert at 3 a.m.: the disk was full. Fixed before morning; nobody noticed.
47. 9/12 · A competitor movedA competitor shipped the feature you were preparing, first. Their price is lower.
48. 10/2027: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 2 new customers this month. Few enough to know each one by name.
49. 10/1 · The collectors cameThe lender’s men came by. Late again, they said, and photos go to your family’s phones.
50. AI redrew the marketIgnore it — You did not buy the tools. Six months later, a competitor offered the same service at half the price.
51. 11/10 · Patent warning letterA cease-and-desist letter arrived claiming possible patent infringement. A lawyer needs to review it.
52. 11/16 · The collectors cameThe lender’s men came by. Late again, they said, and photos go to your family’s phones.
53. 12/2027: what now?Keep going — Spread the word through communities and content — 1 new customers this month. Few enough to know each one by name.
54. 12/9 · Your mentorYour mentor sent a link to an article. “This sounded like you.”
55. 12/15 · The collectors cameThe lender’s men came by. Late again, they said, and photos go to your family’s phones.
56. 1/2028: what now?Incorporate — The company is registered. Your business card now says CEO.
57. 1/26 · Down sickA sore throat and a fever. You got through the day in a mask.
58. 1/30 · Server bill spikeThe free cloud credits ran out. From this month the bill is the real number.
59. Keep going like this?Change concept: Dev agency with its own product — New name, new lineup. A few regulars said they liked it better before; new faces started walking in.
60. Chinese Demand CooledA prolonged slump in Chinese domestic demand and real estate lowered Asia's export outlook. Clients who bought raw materials cut orders, and domestic consumption turned cautious as well.
61. Year 2 closeRevenue $25,291, operating profit $14,326. Cash $6,558.
62. 2028 · year 3 beginsYour Family Asked
63. 2/21 · Global growth forecasts fellWith the IMF and World Bank forecasts diverging, global growth came down to 1.6%. Replies to overseas inquiries got slower.
64. 2/19 · The collectors cameThe lender’s men came by. Late again, they said, and photos go to your family’s phones.
65. AI redrew the marketAI tools changed the industry’s cost and speed. Companies that adopted them move cheap and fast; the rest pay twice for the same customer.
66. 3/2028: what now?Spread the word through communities and content — 2 new customers this month. Few enough to know each one by name.
67. 3/11 · A competitor movedA company solving the same problem announced a funding round. Nobody in the comments mentioned you.
68. A year back at workWind it down and focus on the job — You sent the shutdown notice. One customer replied, “Thanks for everything.”

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