This article consists of two parts, both delving into the topics discussed during my conversation with Louis Pereira on my Marketplace Discussions podcast.
In the first part, I recount my personal experience of becoming immersed in coding, only to discover that it wasn't the right fit for me. Surprisingly, this path eventually led me to cross paths with Louis during one of my online courses.
The second part showcases Louis' remarkable journey from struggling with coding to successfully developing web applications, culminating in his latest venture, AudioPen.
You can also tune in to our conversation at the following links: audio, YouTube.
Part I: A Coding Craze
At one point in my life, I was obsessed with coding. I wanted to learn how to code because I thought if I didn't, I would end up dwelling under a proverbial bridge.
This craze took hold of me in the Spring of 2016. I was happily teaching philosophy courses but had already been reexamining my career decisions.
I found myself at a fork in the road, unable to move forward. I felt like Buridan's donkey, internally starving because I couldn't choose between doubling down on academia or switching to something completely different.
I don't know what had gotten into me, but I applied to sign up for a Calculus course during the Summer semester at the university where I was teaching. It cost me around $1800. In hindsight, I could've probably invested the money elsewhere. That's beside the point, though.
I thought that by paying a hefty amount for a course, I would have no choice but to focus, test the ground, and use it as a stepping stone for a possible minor in Computer Science. Calculus was a prerequisite.
It was an enjoyable experience indeed. But due to a conflict between my teaching schedule and the computer science courses being offered in Fall, I couldn't sign up for any. So that plan was shelved.
On a lighter note, a couple of the students with whom I took the math course were surprised to see me teaching.
In 2017, I decided to pick up coding again. This time, a software engineer friend of mine convinced me to learn it on my own. "Python is really easy to learn on your own. And there are several platforms like PyCharm that facilitate a good foundational learning experience." I took his word and delved into the Python rabbit hole. I read through a textbook he gave me and applied the concepts I was learning on PyCharm.
I spent the year learning Python on the side, building simple functions and applications to get a sense of the overall process.
Thanks to the math, logic, and philosophy courses I had taken, I had a decent theoretical understanding of some of the main coding concepts. However, I soon realized that coding wasn't for me. As much as I wanted to, I didn't have the patience or motivation to sit down for hours writing code.
I attempted to get back into coding several times in the following years, but to no avail. I reached the realization that perhaps neither path at the fork in the road was suitable for me.
Academia and coding were not my true calling, and I needed to find or carve out a third path to pay the bills.
Part II: Converging Paths, Randomness, and Digital Entrepreneurship
Fortunately, I managed to do just that by teaching philosophy online while simultaneously developing and honing new skills to diversify my income streams.
A year after starting to teach online, in August 2021, I offered an Introduction to Philosophy course. It was a four-week, one-session-per-week course in which I discussed Stoicism, Belief, Freedom, and Meaning.
It was an enjoyable experience, but above all else, it provided an opportunity to connect with new people from around the world and from various walks of life.
One of the participants in that course was Louis Pereira, whom I recently had as a guest on my Marketplace Discussions podcast.
During the ice-breaker round of the first session, Louis mentioned that he runs a family business during the day and builds internet products at night.
"What does that even mean?" I wondered. I checked Louis' Twitter profile and discovered that his pinned tweet was an announcement of an app he had built using Bubble, a visual programming platform that allows you to construct applications using a visual interface, eliminating the need to write explicit code.
The app Louis built is called "Read Something Great," with a memorable and self-explanatory tagline: "Timeless articles from the belly of the internet." This article curation app displays five random articles at a time, allowing users to modify their reading selections, bookmark articles for later, take notes, and browse and save snippets.
"Read Something Great" was just one of the many digital products and applications Louis had developed.
An economics graduate, he had partnered with his friend to start a company in the real estate space. Since neither of them had a technical background, Louis decided to learn how to code. However, despite his continuous efforts, coding proved to be a challenging endeavor.
Lacking the patience for meticulous coding, Louis's entrepreneurial drive to build digital products led him to explore alternative options. He explored several no-code platforms until he found Bubble, which turned out to be the best fit for him. Bubble gave him the freedom to build applications from scratch and develop them exactly as he envisioned.
Louis began experimenting with constructing simple apps and tiny tools to learn the ropes of building on Bubble.
This entailed exploring various aspects such as front-end design, establishing robust databases, integrating the back-end with the front-end, creating efficient workflows, and leveraging APIs to enhance operational efficiency by seamlessly integrating with other applications.
Through these explorations and experiments, Louis gradually developed a multitude of apps that evolved in complexity. Starting from a basic random joke generator, he went on to create "Read Something Great" and other tools.
To Louis, these applications and products were like digital assets. His primary focus was on developing applications that didn't require constant maintenance or attention. Once a product was launched, it took on a life of its own, running smoothly with minimal updates.
Louis would evaluate the success of his creations and shut down those that failed to gain traction while preserving and nurturing the ones that showed potential. Among his more successful applications were Nicheless Blog, TinyTestimonials, and his most recent and unexpectedly successful venture, AudioPen.
The story of AudioPen is particularly intriguing. Louis had been organizing half-day build events where individuals worked independently to transform their ideas into revenue within 12 hours, from 12 noon to midnight, based on their respective time zones.
During one of these half-day builds, AudioPen came into existence. The concept was simple: using AI to transcribe messy voice notes into structured, coherent, and easy-to-read text.
Initially, Louis saw AudioPen as a way to learn how to use GPT and create useful tools, without expecting it to become anything more than a small addition to his growing list of projects.
However, to his surprise, as soon as he shared the application on Twitter, it started gaining traction immediately. People expressed their enthusiasm for the app and even expressed a willingness to pay a premium fee for additional features. This unexpected turn of events revealed the irony of starting a business, as Louis reflected on the times he thought he had groundbreaking ideas that ultimately flopped.
AudioPen, on the other hand, quickly and unpredictably transformed from a side project into a promising business endeavor. Louis decided to dedicate his full attention to it, continuously refining the application, adding new features and languages, and tweaking the design and copy until he felt it was ready to be launched on ProductHunt. On that day, AudioPen received over 1,000 upvotes, claiming the top spot on the list.
Currently, AudioPen boasts over 1,000 paying users.
Two distinct stories, underpinned by unique aptitudes, interests, and quests, converged through a philosophical encounter. Guided by randomness, a desire to build, and a creative drive, coding initially served as the impetus, but the ultimate solution was discovered in a different realm.
Tune in to the episode at the following links:
Audio
YouTube
You can find me on Twitter @decafquest.
Personal website.
Checkout AudioPen.