The truth is it was more like sixteen years, twenty-plus projects, and ultimately not zero dollars, but I mostly broke even or lost a little overall. In that time, I grew my career, deepened my knowledge, challenged myself, and learned a lot, which definitely impacted my day2day life and helped me get where I am today.

Do I have a unicorn? No (dare I say not yet?), but my skills compounded even when revenue did not (very AI ish answer but actually true). Over time, the failures, attempts, and pivots sharpened my judgment and resilience, and that opened doors in my 9–5 that would never have appeared without that grit and persistence.

It’s not really about failure; it’s about the hidden ROI you get from chasing that dream.

I’ve built confidence from shipping over and over again. My taste in ideas improves as I see what works and what doesn’t. My emotional resilience and long-term stamina grow because I’ve ridden out so many ups and downs. With that I earned career leverage, clarity, and optionality, because over time my day job opened into a broader array of path I could follow.

That’s why I’m still building my next project and have a few more in the pipeline, fully aware that chasing that $10k MRR isn’t some idealistic fantasy, but also knowing that even if I never hit it, the compounding return on the effort is already paying off.