As a solo indie dev, I still remember my first time joining RevenueCat’s Shipathon — it was late at night, and I was frantically preparing for App Store submission, driven purely by the anxiety of “I have to ship this.”
This year marks my second time participating. Unlike the blind sprint of last year, this time I approached it with more clarity — adjusting my strategy, pace, and mindset along the way.
Why I Dove In Again
After last year’s experience, I gained a much better understanding of the entire shipping cycle — especially how the RevenueCat SDK fits into the in-app subscription flow.
When I saw Shipathon 2025 open again, I didn’t hesitate. It’s one of the few global events truly focused on launching a new app, integrating subscriptions, and shipping it live.
From “Rushed Launch” to “Deliberate Daily Progress”
This time, I didn’t try to build everything all at once. Instead, I gave myself one small goal per day:
- Read a few docs today
- Build a core feature tomorrow
- Test RevenueCat integration the next day
- Ship the MVP, then polish the interface and user flows
It turned out to be a much smoother and less stressful process.
Biggest Takeaway: Shipping Is Not the End — It’s the Beginning
- My first Shipathon was about launching for the sake of launching.
- This time, I treated it as a real product experiment.
- I learned to validate ideas using actual data, early feedback, and lightweight iterations — from beta to v1.
- Each release became a chance to show progress, not just a solo mission in the dark.
Final Thoughts
As someone building apps solo, I’ve come to value the growth that happens through the process. Shipathon forces you to bring an idea into reality — to actually ship.
I wasn’t chasing prizes or leaderboard positions this time. Instead, I leaned into the identity of someone who builds products:
Focusing less on perfection, more on momentum. Less on external validation, more on shaping a product I’m proud to ship.