The Journey So Far: 30+ Tools, Countless Late Nights, One Platform
What started as one tool to solve one problem is now a platform with 30+ specialized tools. Here's what that journey really looked like from the inside.
If you'd told me twelve months ago that I'd build 30+ tools and write about all of them in a blog, I would have laughed. I was just trying to solve one problem: merge PDFs without fighting a paywall.
Here's what the journey actually looked like: Week 1, I had one tool and zero users. Week 4, I had four tools and my first person who wasn't me using them. Month 3, I had twelve tools, real feedback, and my first "this saved me hours" message. That message changed something in how I thought about what I was building.
The tools that surprised me most:
- XML Metadata Validator — I thought it was niche. It became one of the most used tools on the platform.
- Duplicate ID Remover — I built it in a day, half-expecting no one to use it. People use it constantly.
- Regex Tester — The "explain mode" was a last-minute addition. It's the feature everyone mentions.
The tools that humbled me:
- PDF to Excel — Two months of avoidance followed by two weeks of the hardest coding I've done.
- Word-XML Tag Converter — A month inside DOCX internals. I came out the other side changed.
- HTML Table Validator — Tables are not simple. I was wrong to think they were.
What I've learned building all of this: the tools that take the longest to build aren't always the most appreciated. Sometimes a day's work creates more value than a month's. And you never know which one will resonate until people start using it.
I'm not done. The list keeps growing. But I'm grateful for every user who took a chance on something I built in my spare time. This is for you.