Alan Rivera

The Reality of Solo Development: Pushing Back My Launch by 2 Weeks

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Hey everyone,


I wanted to share a bit of the reality behind solo development, because this past week has been a rough one. I was set to launch my product tomorrow, but due to some personal health issues, I’ve had to push it back by two weeks.


The hardest part? As a solo founder, when life happens, development completely stops. There’s no co-founder to pick up the slack, no team to keep things moving forward—it’s all on you. And when you’re juggling a full-time job on top of trying to build something serious, it’s exhausting.


I’ve always known that bootstrapping a startup solo while working a 9-5 was going to be tough, but this week really hit home how taxing it can be—both mentally and physically. When you’re deep in the grind, pushing to meet self-imposed deadlines, it’s easy to forget that you’re human too.


So, while I’m bummed to delay the launch, I also know it’s the right call. Instead of shipping something rushed just to hit an arbitrary date, I’m taking the extra time to ensure that I’m launching something complete and actually good.


To all the other solo devs and indie founders out there—how do you handle these moments? When life throws a curveball, how do you keep the momentum going?


Would love to hear your thoughts, and I’m excited to finally launch in two weeks! 🚀

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Tania Bell

I often delay things, mainly due to my inclination to 'research a little more, think this over a little longer'.


that's normal, things happen. the key isn't to beat yourself up about it. for you, it sounds like you may want to see whether/how you might reduce your FT commitments. dropping 1 day or even half a day would be super helpful.

keep going. you've got this, mate

Effie Jia

It's really hard for individual developers, but starting a business is a marathon and it's crucial to polish the user experience first.

Anyway, take care of yourself!

Alan Rivera
Launching soon!
@effie_yi7_hotmail_com yes 100% if anything I took a lot of valuable lessons from this and I'm certaintly glad I delayed the users will end up getting a far better product for it I thought I had to rush everything but thats how things break.
Dan Schlung
Launching soon!

Oh man, I feel this hard! For me, I've found it's really important to have a couple people who hold me accountable. Not to the product I'm launching necessarily, but to myself! I had a great conversation with someone who used to work for me a few weeks ago. Since she knew me as her manager previously, she surprised at how hard I was being on myself and how poorly I was heeding my own advice in terms of focusing on the right things, how hard I was leaning into perfectionism. It really challenged me to be more intentional about regularly ask "what would 9-5 Dan say? How would the corporate version of myself handle this situation or treat myself." I've found that version of me to be so much more forgiving and encouraging!

Alan Rivera
Launching soon!
@dan_difr this is really great advice! Thank you so much, I do really need to find some people to hold me accountable and lead me in the right direction.
Dan Schlung
Launching soon!

@alan_rivera Let me know if you ever need a friendly ear, or just someone to unload on!