Avoiding Complexity That Doesn't Matter
Why offloading and skipping unneeded tasks can save your side business.
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KaiRelated reading
Walking Away from Centralised Auth
I tried a shared-auth pattern across Next.js apps. It mostly worked—until it didn’t. Here’s why I dropped it.
Reflecting on why the initial concept rarely matters as much as you think.
Embracing Minimalism in the MVP
How a bare-bones approach keeps your side project manageable and moving forward.
In my early attempts at side ventures, I insisted on coding every piece myself—user authentication, email systems, analytics—because I thought being "full stack" meant doing it all. But the deeper I got, the more it felt like pushing a boulder uphill. Customer feedback forms? Email queues? They weren't my app's core value, yet they ate major chunks of time.
Eventually, I realized I could outsource or automate most non-critical systems. Using managed services for payments, sign-in, and even user feedback freed up my time to focus on the features that truly made my offering unique. Suddenly, I was shipping updates in days, not weeks, and my burnout risk dropped dramatically.
Learning point: Pick your battles. Invest your energy where you add distinct value. Offload or defer everything else—your sanity and timeline will thank you.