The side project started as a Saturday thing so I wouldn’t feel like my brain was only useful to my employer.
It was a small tool for freelancers to track invoices — ugly UI, earnest README, maybe forty users who found it through a forum post I half regretted writing. I wasn’t trying to quit. I was trying to remember how to finish something that wasn’t a ticket.
How the offer happened
A hiring manager who’d used the tool emailed me — not through a recruiter — and asked if I’d ever considered building product full-time. I thought it was a scam for one full minute. Then we hopped on a call and talked about edge cases I’d forgotten I’d handled at 1 a.m.
They weren’t hiring “a passionate coder.” They were hiring someone who had already sat with a user problem without a manager assigning it. That distinction matters.
What I’d tell past me
Ship smaller. Write down why you built it. Talk to five users even if it’s awkward. Don’t quit your job on vibes the week someone compliments your GitHub. Do use the project as proof in interviews — not as a personality brand.
I took the role after negotiating remote days and a clearer scope than “help us with everything.” The side project still exists, slower now. I’m okay with that. Not every hobby needs to become a company. Some just need to remind you that you can still make things on purpose.
