I made money with a computer for the first time when I was 14.

As a kid, I was obsessed with the internet. Weeks after installing an app that displayed ads in the browser, a cheque arrived by post for eighteen cold hard dollars.

But for years after that I remained closed to the possibility of making a living online. I was writing Java code to help business owners realise their dreams. Not mine.

It took a long-term separation from my job to think clearly and once again realise the internet’s potential. Yes, there was making money. But beyond that was the chance to create things I care about and push myself to my limits.

This is my 4th year of following that path.

A few highlights:

  • Launched a book about the internet that made $1,000+.
  • 342k views on a YouTube channel whose direction I’m still figuring out.
  • Realised I too can build software, launched 2 apps, and got my 1st customer.

This path is tough–much harder than clocking in at 9 and out at 5.

After 13 years following a career as a Java developer, working a job became easy. That’s not necessarily bad. But it’s a problem when your job distracts you from a call to adventure that won’t keep quiet.

My colleague and I always wondered what developers do after 40–all our colleagues were in their 20s and 30s.

I still don’t have the answer, but asking the question helped me realise one thing.

As enjoyable, fun, and lucrative professional software development is, some of us can’t imagine continuing to build software for others into their 40s, 50s, and beyond.

That’s why discovering I can build my own software was such a revelation this year.

It’s the antidote to being fed up building for others.

Even as a fairly average developer, I already possessed 90% of the skills I needed to generate ideas, build them quickly, then publish them online for the world to use.

Around the same time I started to use AI. These amazing tools covered the missing 10%, (front-end coding) and I started to feel unstoppable.

I’m just getting started on this path.

There’s still a lot to learn, but of one thing I’m sure.

If you’ve ever had a calling to bring your own ideas into digital reality, then now is an excellent time to start.

  • AI will only get better at writing code for you (GitHub Copilot, Cursor).
  • Software has only just begun to improve people’s lives, so there’s lots of potential to make an impact.
  • You likely already possess many of the skills you need to succeed.

If you want to build your own software (or in fact build anything online to which you’ll proudly put your name), then let’s do so together.

This email was just setting the scene. In future emails we’ll go into the specifics of bringing your visions to digital life.

Tom Gregory

P.S. This is a new email format. If you’re only interested in learning cookie-cutter coding skills for a job, then AI is more helpful than any newsletter (feel free to unsubscribe). But if you want to leverage your skills to have more impact online, these emails will bring clarity to the possibilities and highlight next steps.