# How I Work: $140K/Month App Developer

Channel: Starter Story
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sO2OSN3jZw
Duration: 9 min
Language: English
Words: 1968
Transcript page: https://viewrankai.com/tools/youtube-transcript/0sO2OSN3jZw

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[0:00] I think my philosophy is always kind of have fun with life, you know. I think if you're going to choose to like go entrepreneur route, I think you should work on something that you're passionate about. Otherwise, it's going to suck. When you work on something that you actually want to work on that you're

[0:10] passionate about, it's so rewarding. It's the best feeling in the world. I kind of just got this idea when I was traveling and I think I just thought it'd be really fun to go and try to build this even if it didn't work out. Like I think it would be a lot of fun and I knew that [music] the the the pain of the what if would haunt me more than

[0:28] failing. Hey, I'm Jay and I make over 100k a month as a solopreneur. I bootstrapped this business to 140k MRR, 1.8 million users and [music] people often ask me about how I built my app while traveling the world and as a sole founder. So today, I'm excited to tell you about how I work.

[0:56] [music] You know, pretty standard. I wake up. I always check my phone. Um my WhatsApp is always crazy [music] with a bunch of creators and stuff. I know some people say like you're not supposed to check your your phone right when you wake up, but um I kind of just have to, you know. It's just like I got to go make sure nothing broke, make sure nothing crazy is going on. And yeah, then I kind of just, you know, get out of bed, you know, just basic morning stuff. Like I shave, I shower, make myself breakfast sometimes. But usually I try to get out the door by like at least at the very

[1:21] latest 11 if I had a bad night's sleep. If I slept well, then hopefully like 9:00 a.m. Yeah, then I kind of just get to the [music] office wherever I'm working that day, whether it's a cafe or WeWork. So yeah.

[1:39] So Nomad table is basically a meetup app for solo travelers, expats, and nomads. Um kind of the problem is when you're traveling alone, it can be hard to find, you know, companionship and friends and stuff. But yeah, launched about a year and 3 months ago. Um doing about 140k a month, 1.8 million users, and estimated like uh, 100K meetups that have happened through the app. When I first got the idea and started like working on it, I was still at Amazon as a software engineer. I was never kind of like the

[2:05] entrepreneurial type, to be honest. Like, I wasn't really like obsessed with making my own business. I kind of just got this idea when I was traveling and I think I just thought it'd be really fun to go and try to build this. I knew that the the the pain of like the what if

[2:17] would haunt me more than like failing. And also the thing is like, I already had gotten the job in big tech. Like, I knew that I could do it again. I just kind of convinced myself that it wasn't really that risky. It seemed very risky on the outside, but on the inside, it felt more risky to me to not try, cuz then I would [music] be like full of regret. And like, that felt like a bigger risk to me than just doing it and failing. So, at that point, I was like, "Okay, like logically, I just have to go and do this, you know? It's like the

[2:41] right choice right now." Hey Gus here, producer on Starter Story. Real quick, I hope you're enjoying Jay's story and getting to go behind the scenes on his mobile app and how he works. I think he's building in a really smart space. iOS apps and mobile apps are really, really hot right now in 2026. If you're looking for a mobile app idea, well, at the link in the description, we have a free database of over 50 iOS app ideas. Most of them making over $10,000 a month. You can get all the data you need and all the inspiration you need to validate your idea and start building. Once again, you

[3:09] can get that for free at the link in the description. All right, let's get back to Jay's story.

[3:19] I always like do some kind of commute to my workspace. I don't like just, you know, starting the day at home. [music] I think getting some like steps in and getting a bike ride in or something like is always just good to kind of just get the day started right. And then, yeah, get to the office, just open my laptop and based off what I saw in the morning when I check my phone, you know, just kind of get on those things. So, if there's some kind of time sensitive stuff to do, I'll go and, you know, address that. First like 2 hours, I'm pretty locked in, just, you know,

[3:43] grinding on whatever that is. And then, I really like my my breaks in my day. I think breaks are really important to kind of just recenter yourself. And you know, at At for me, my my hours have diminishing returns if I don't take breaks. So, taking breaks help me help me kind of like, you know, recenter myself. And when I come back to work, I'm like back [music] focused 100%. And I I would kind of change my scenery a lot, too. I think I get like after 3-4 [music] hours of being in one place, like I need to just move. So, sometimes I'll, you know, go back home and work

[4:09] after that. Sometimes I'll go to the gym and then, you know, find a cafe to work from. But, yeah, I don't I don't like staying in the same place for like more than 4 hours.

[4:22] It's important for me to like always put myself back in the shoes of my audience. I've seen lots of products that start out good and then as they mature, they kind of like lose track of the ball and distance themselves from the original kind of good product that they used to be. So, I never want to do that. I always want to kind of like stay grounded and make sure that I'm still solving the same problem that I set out to solve. I think traveling helps a lot for that cuz obviously my app targets travelers. Um for example, I was just in Bangkok for for 4 months. Um and that's

[4:50] a really big hotspot for my app. There's lots of nomads, there's lots of expats, there's lots of travelers there. I got so many feature ideas by just being in Bangkok and, you know, going to meetups of my own app and talking to people. And I got so many ideas for new things to add and how to like serve other kind of sub segments of my audience that I wouldn't have got if I wasn't just there

[5:07] on the ground.

[5:17] I mean, I think traveling in general will just like like broaden your horizons a lot. I feel like just putting yourself in awkward situations just gives me energy at least. Makes me think of new ideas. And um maybe it might not be the same for everyone else cuz I know for, you know, someone else maybe like it's annoying to always change settings, not having your monitor, your setup, whatever. But, I think for me like the the benefits I get from the inspiration from from new places like definitely outweighs the cost of, you know, not having my perfect monitor, not having like the right Wi-Fi, the right

[5:43] lighting, the right desk, the right chair.

[5:50] Yeah, so after work, I mean, I love working out. At this point it's like I I need to. It's just a must after working [music] for a long time. Just move my body and get active. Usually it's like I'll run or playing paddle or playing tennis or, you know, hitting the gym and doing doing some lifting. After that then usually get home, make like a smoothie, make dinner. And then my kind of evening routine after that usually Yeah, it depends on the day. I mean, if if I if there's something going on like with my

[6:15] friends, I'll hang out with my friends. I think that's a pretty big part of my life. So, I try to always make time in my day to see some friends whether it's co-working [music] with them or, you know, hanging out, grabbing some dinner. Then last like a couple hours before bed usually, you know, I just make some like

[6:27] tea and I'll do some like light work. Like I'll get on my laptop like on like the couch, you know, and just kind of chill and, you know, do some like relatively chill work and then, you know, just hop in bed. Nothing nothing too crazy.

[6:45] I think you should pretty much only work on like what you care about. If you're going to choose to like go like the entrepreneur route, I think you should work on something that you're passionate about and that you really care about. Otherwise like it's going to suck. Like if you're putting all your life's effort into like something that you don't enjoy like just to make money or like just to get status or like whatever, it's just

[7:03] like you're not going to enjoy that. It's going to suck. [music] When you work on something that you actually want to work on that you're passionate about, it's so rewarding. Like it's I can't even put it into words. I can't It's like it's a priceless. Like you It's the best feeling in the world. Even if I could get just two people [music] to meet because of my app, I would be so fulfilled. And I also think it gives you like an unfair advantage. I think when you actually have that passion, that drive for an idea that you're working on, you know, you can be anybody. No one

[7:26] can compete [music] with that. Like if you're just having fun every day with work, it's very very hard to compete with you. When you when you do that, not only is it like more fun and enjoyable, but like I think you're a lot more likely to actually succeed.

[7:45] I think my philosophy is always kind of have fun with life, you know. I think life is short. Don't take things too seriously. Have fun. Go spend time with your loved ones. Go hang out with your friends. Like [music] um go do what makes you happy. I I don't think anything's that serious at the end of the day. I think you should think the picture, you know. We got one life to live and you know, tomorrow's not guaranteed. So, I think the golden age is to try stuff out now. Like you can build software so fast [music] and just go out there and try. You can even do

[8:08] stuff at the same time as your work. Think about it and and think um if you're going to like regret not doing something in the future versus just trying it out. So, yeah. I I I would just say go out there and have fun and enjoy your life [music] and don't take things too seriously.

[8:30] I want to make it to the podcast. Please include me as his amazing roommates. My dream is it to be in a podcast.

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