If you've been in the development industry for a while, you've probably heard of the 12 Startups in 12 Months challenge. A challenge designed to force us makers to launch our products despite our natural perfectionism and fear of criticism.
Pieter Levels was the first to popularize this challenge in 2014, and almost a decade later, his idea is still as useful as the first day. So I thought, why not?
Why am I doing this?
To explain why I decided to take on this challenge, l need to introduce myself:
I'm Andrés, and I suck at finishing anything that I start. Earlier this year, my boss wrote on my yearly report that I needed to become a "finisher", and hell, what hurt me most is that I knew he was right... After all, what's the point of knowing an endless count of fancy frameworks if you're incapable of shipping a product?
After that review, I only had two options:
Cry like a baby and make excuses to justify my behavior.
Or act like a man and find a way to prove that I'm better than that.
And of course, I cried like a baby and then decided to face the truth.
The expected outcome
I don't want to become the next Mark Zuckerberg or the next Pieter Levels. I've been stuck in the rat race for so long that I don't even care if I escape. The only outcome I want to get out of this is to become "a finisher" (boss, are you reading this?).
Of course, if somehow I end up becoming a multi-millionaire with a villa in Bali, I'm not complaining. But I think that's not realistic, so I will stick to my brokie mindset and don't expect too much from this.
If this makes me a couple of hundred bucks a month, I'm going to be thrilled!
The plan
To force myself to finish this challenge, I will:
Make a monthly report on everything that I do.
Update this article with every startup that I launch.
Post frequent updates on Twitter.
My idea is to create an audience that will hold me accountable, driving me to consistently deliver work and stay focused on my goals.