How I Got Over My Fear of Launching by Building a Simple Tool in a Few Hours

Hey There! 👋

I’ve been building small projects on the side for a while now, but if I'm honest, finishing and launching them has always been my biggest challenge. I get ideas, I build prototypes, I write code—but they usually sit on my machine, hidden away, waiting for some “perfect” day that never seems to come.

I decided it was time to break the cycle. I wanted to finally push something live, no matter how basic it was. So I set myself a simple goal: build and launch a tool in one day, start to finish. Here’s what I ended up with: Dupl - a tool to detect and remove duplicate lines from text files. It’s something small and specific, but it does what it needs to do!

Why This Worked for Me
Here’s why this approach finally helped me get over my fear of launching:

Kept It Simple: I focused on building one specific feature—detecting duplicate lines in text. No fancy features, no complex UI, just the core functionality. Keeping it small meant I didn’t feel overwhelmed.

Set a Time Limit: I gave myself a few hours to get the core functionality working. Limiting the time I spent kept me from endlessly tweaking and obsessing over minor details.

Let Go of Perfection: I had to accept that it wouldn’t be flawless. It’s not about building a perfect product—it’s about shipping something and learning from it.

Treated It as a Learning Experience: The whole point of this project was to get over my fear of launching. Whether people used it or not, it would still be a win for me.

The Result
In a few hours, I had a basic tool deployed on Vercel. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s out there—and that’s what matters! Now, I’m excited to keep iterating on it, maybe adding features or learning from feedback. But for the first time, I’m not afraid to put my work in front of people.

If you’re also struggling to launch, my advice would be: start small, set a deadline, and just go for it. You’ll feel a huge sense of accomplishment just by seeing your work live, no matter how simple it is. Plus, you’ll be one step closer to building and launching something bigger.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to check out Dupl if you’ve ever wanted a quick way to clean up duplicate lines! 🚀

P.S. I’d love to hear your thoughts—if you have feedback, ideas for new features, or just want to share how you’re using it, drop a comment or reach out. Your input would be super valuable as I continue improving the tool!