2023 was a defining year! Here’s a look at some of the highlights, and a quick word of thanks to the community that helped make it all possible.
Wow, 2023 was a wild ride!
💍 Got engaged
🛑 Quit my corporate job
📈 Bootstrapped ProjectionLab to 3,200+ customers
One year ago, I was a risk-averse engineer destined for another decade of corporate life. But in a surprising twist of fate, today I am running an indie business full-time!
For over 2 years, I worked nights and weekends building PL as a side project. It’s the tool I always wanted, and I showed up every night to make progress. Even when that meant flirting with burnout, or getting a return on my hours less than minimum wage.
Looking back at 2023, it was a landmark year
In January, PL was still firmly a side project. But I was hard at work on the Tax Analytics release, Self-Hosting, Monte Carlo redesign, and more.
And the financial independence community took notice!!
Shoutout to the Mad Fientist, Physician on FIRE, Rob Berger, Philip Taylor, Jim Wang, Craig Stephens, and many others 🙏
In June, I took my first real vacation in years so that Olivia and I could go on a memorable trip to Banff and Alaska 🏔️ 💍
And In July, a front-page HN appearance kept up the momentum.
Jon Kuipers started helping out on the growth side, I dropped to part-time at my day job, and in October we had a blast presenting PL at the FinCon 23 startup showcase! 🏆
Throughout everything, all of you in the PL community kept me energized and motivated. And it is thanks to the support and advice from many of you that I worked up the courage to leave my corporate job in November and go all-in on PL! 🥳
One year ago, the idea of working on a passion project full-time felt like a pipe dream.
Today, it is a reality!
I don’t know what the future will hold, but no matter what happens: I’m so grateful for everyone whose support and encouragement helped me reach this current state of being, where I’m actively excited to wake up in the morning and get to work! 😊
So cheers to 2023, and here’s to hoping that all this is sustainable over the long-term! 🍻
Because as long as it is, I have an endless supply of ideas and features I can’t wait to build!
Cheers,
Kyle
