Progress Isn’t Always Pretty, But It’s Progress
“Nice dude!” That’s what my buddy Fred said when I sent him the link to Dough. I assume he’s just being polite—what else do you say when a friend shows you a half-baked app?
I’m building an app to help people grow their net worth and build financial security. And honestly, I’m amazed by what I’ve managed to create with 25-year-old computer science skills that have been collecting dust since the early 2000s, plus a little help from FlutterFlow and ChatGPT.
I chose this route because I’m figuring out what I’m building as I go, I discovered some powerful tools, and—I’ll admit—I really enjoy the process. After three months, I think, “Not bad, Raymond.”
But people have much higher expectations for what’s good—especially when it comes to what they’ll pay for. Behind that “Nice dude!” from Fred, I wonder if there’s a bit of, “Is he serious about this?”
I finished the CRUD (Create, Read, Update, Delete) for the assets section of Dough. It works. But it still feels rough, like something built by a first-time founder figuring it out along the way.
Maybe Fred didn’t know what else to say. So I added, “I’m working on APIs next.”
“Interesting,” he replied.
Then I said, “After that, we're adding an AI chatbot.” That’s when he leaned in a little more:
“This is great, dude. Seriously—I’m proud of you. Doing this solo is tough. You’re making it happen.”
I appreciated the encouragement, but I wanted to be straight with him.
“Candidly, it’s not much yet. But in a few years? I believe it will be.”
Fred, being the best friend he is, said,
“Yeah, I get it. I don’t expect you to be crushing it right now. But if you’re happy, I’m happy. That’s what matters.”
Now, the truth is out. He knows, and I know—the app still needs a lot of work.
Does it look like something meaningful yet? No way. But that’s the nature of building. It’s never perfect on the first pass.
It’s easy to feel like it’s not good enough. But I know this is part of the process. No product is complete or amazing overnight. The first version is supposed to look rough—it means you’re actually building, not just planning.
I put it out there, not because it’s perfect, but because it’s progress—and I need feedback, good or bad, to keep moving forward. And here’s the funny part: it’s motivating.
Now, every improvement will stand out. Maybe I’ve set the bar low enough that the next version will blow them away. I’m not aiming for perfect—I’m aiming for progress people can see.
No safe bets means shipping before you’re ready. It means putting imperfect work into the world, refining it in public, and trusting that it’s the only way to get better. It’s not about avoiding mistakes—it’s about learning faster by making them.
One feature down, a thousand more to go. On to the next. Keep showing up. Keep building. The only way to meaningful work is through messy beginnings.
