Thomas Agarate

$13M+ in ecom. Now Vibe coding the best paragliding app in public : SLICK

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

I'm a paragliding pilot.
Every time I want to fly somewhere new, I waste an hour piecing together info from 4 different sites.

So I'm building SLICK — every paragliding spot in the world, in one app.
Solo founder, building in public. Follow along.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

@GoogleAIStudio @grok is there an iPhone app to use this in my daily life?

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

@hrprtsingh9 Lot of other features as well!

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

Shipped this week:
— Several thousand spots in the db
— Geo-clustering on the map
— Filter by wind direction
— Distance-from-me sorting

~20 hrs of work. $0 spent.
Solo founder energy.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

9 days of building SLICK in public.

What I've learned:
— Vulnerability outperforms polish
— Numbers earn trust faster than promises
— The pilots who reply become the first users
— Shipping daily beats shipping perfect

Onto the next 9.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

For anyone following the SLICK journey — what would you want to see more of?
— Code/tech deep dives
— Design process
— Numbers + revenue
— Pilot-specific tips
— Failure stories

I'll lean into whatever resonates.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

Build-in-public question:
Should I open the SLICK beta when I have:
A) 100 spots polished perfectly
B) several thousand, some still messy
C) the full database with disclaimers

Genuinely undecided. What would you want as a pilot?

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

If you fly paragliding and use an app for spot info, reply with which one.
Trying to map who's using what before I open SLICK to more users.
(Won't tag, won't compare, just curious about real usage.)

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

I vibe-code SLICK from home, sometimes from a hotel room when I travel.
No office. No coworkers. No standup.
Just me, a laptop, and a long todo list.

The setup matters less than the consistency.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

Pilots — quick question.
When you're planning a flight, what's the ONE piece of data you wish was easier to find?

Building SLICK and want to make sure I prioritize the right thing.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

A sustainable solo founder week:
Mornings: push-ups, ab wheel, then code
Two days at the gym
A long run on Thursdays
Family time in the evenings
SLICK in between

Burnout doesn't ship products. Compounding does.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

@hrprtsingh9 Yassss

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

@DailyRun49173 Let’s do it !

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

I'm a paragliding pilot.
Every time I want to fly somewhere new, I waste an hour piecing together info from 4 different sites.

So I'm building SLICK — every paragliding spot in the world, in one app.
Solo founder, building in public. Follow along.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

Hot take for paragliding pilots:
The data you need to plan a flight should fit on one phone screen.
If I have to scroll, the app failed.

Designing SLICK around this rule is harder than it sounds.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

Tracking SLICK weekly:
W1: foundation + early dataset, ~20h, 2 testers, $0
W2: ?
W3: ?
W4: ?

Slow looks slow until you string 10 of them together.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

The boring stuff is shipped:
— Auth
— Database
— Spot detail pages
— Search

Now the fun starts: weather overlays, flight planning, and the feature I'm most excited about (saving for later).

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

Goal for SLICK by end of summer:
— 100+ active pilots
— Full database, fully cleaned
— First paying customer

Public goals. Public failures or wins. That's the deal with build-in-public.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

SLICK update:
The map renders thousands of spots without lag.
Filters work in <100ms.
Coordinates are within 50m of accuracy after cross-referencing 2 sources.

This is what 1 week of vibe-coding gets you when you're solo and obsessed.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

Cost stack for SLICK so far:
— Domain: $0 (haven't bought one yet)
— Hosting: $0 (free tiers)
— APIs: $0 (free tiers)
— Design: $0 (Stitch + Figma free)
— Total burn: $0/mo

You don't need VC to ship a product. You don't even need a credit card.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

SLICK by the numbers, week 2:
— Spots in db: a few thousand
— Active beta testers: 2 (counting me)
— Revenue: $0
— Hours invested: ~20
— Spend: $0
— Coffees consumed: too many

Build-in-public means showing the small numbers too.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

A weird truth about solo building:
Some of my best SLICK ideas come during the 30 seconds before takeoff.
That's when I'm most aware of what info I wish I had.

The product gets better every time I fly.

[Thomas Agarate @TAgarate]

What "good" paragliding data actually means:
— Coordinates accurate to <50m
— Wind directions per spot, not per region
— Clear takeoff/landing distinction
— Last verified date

Most public databases get 1 of these right. The bar is low.