If I had to start over today, I'd keep it painfully simple:
Build stuff but also focus on marketing
Most developers (myself included) fall into the trap of tweaking features, polishing deploy scripts, and 'optimizing infra' way too early.
But in the early days, the real work is figuring out what people actually care about, and how fast you can get paid to solve it.
Here's what I wish someone told me earlier:
- Launch before you're ready.
- Start charging as soon as it works.
- One Droplet, managed Postgres, maybe Redis, don't over-engineer.
- Use boring tech you can support solo.
- Spend more time on writing and talking than coding.
Anyway, if you're building something in 2025, what are you doing differently?
Let's trade notes.
(P.S. I recently redesigned DevOps Daily so I have to start doing marketing š¤Ŗ)
Top comments (16)
These are a must.
Like we as devs might be expecting them to like it coz it seems oh so useful to us, but they're just normal people who don't know us, and don't care until it's of use to them. We are the ones with the product, needing customers, so we gotta do the marketing stuff, knowing their pain points, doing the linking of it all back to our product(only if it is), and making it.
Exactly. Just building it isn't enough. You have to earn attention, show relevance, and actually solve something they care about.
Totally agree! Building is fun, but without marketing, no one knows your product exists. I'm also trying to focus more on talking to users and less on perfecting code. Shipping fast and getting real feedback is a game changer. Starting simple in 2025 sounds like the smart move!
Yes! Exactly this!
Solid advice! Also loving the new DevOps Daily site redesign!
Thanks!
š„ Love thisāāLaunch before you're readyā really hits. I think too many of us developers feel like everything has to be polished and perfect before release, when in reality, feedback from real users is the best polish.
One thing Iām doing differently in 2025:
I treat marketing like a feature. Itās not something I āget to later.ā If I canāt explain what problem I solve in a tweet or a headline, I know Iām not ready to build moreāI'm ready to clarify the message.
Also, totally agree on using boring, dependable tech. For my current SaaS side project, Iām sticking with Django, Tailwind, and managed hostingāless time debugging infra, more time talking to users.
P.S. Redesigning DevOps Daily is a great excuse to sharpen your marketing edge š ā letās keep trading notes as we build! š
Love this! Treating marketing like a feature is exactly it. Clear message first, code second. And Django + Tailwind is such a solid stack for fast iteration.
Love the 'boring tech, bold shipping' mindset ...
Thanks! Boring tech frees up brainpower for the real work ā getting users and solving problems.
I am a bit worried about launching before it's ready. How and where can I talk to users to understand their pain points? I'm a bit overwhelmed by this.
Totally get that. Start small: post in communities where your audience hangs out (Reddit, Twitter, Discord, etc). You donāt need a full launch, just a conversation.
Thanks for this!!!!
Happy to hear that it was useful!
True!
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