I'm 35, I built the airbnb for scuba divers and I'm not ashamed to admit that…
1. I worked every single day for 2 years. scuba instructor by day, coding the app at night. Commitment is commitment
2. I've cried after working 10 hours as a scuba instructor and still having to open the laptop after that
3. Marketing wasn't clicking for a year, but I kept showing up, until the algorithm finally showed my app to real divers
4. I get nervous talking to divers and dive centers because I never knew if the app was good enough. I've been coding for 6 years and impostor syndrome is still very real
5. Some days I wondered if anyone would ever use it, until they did, and they loved it
6. I built an entire app by myself and I'm still learning every day. Being the CEO, the marketing team, and the developer is a lot
7. I've refreshed the bookings page more times than I can count
8. I talk to my app like it can hear me. It's the most challenging thing I've ever done
9. Some weeks I feel like a genius. Most weeks I don't, even after 7 years in the scuba industry as an instructor in dive centers and on liveaboards
10. I've sacrificed more than I've told anyone. And I'd do it all again tomorrow
Building something alone is the most humbling thing I've ever done
Nobody tells you about the 1am bugs, the nervous pitches, the days you refresh the page hoping someone booked
This is the real version