Navigating Layoffs: Saying Goodbye to a Passionate Project

A tough pill 💊 to swallow.

A few months ago, I got laid off.
I spent the whole night trying to migrate a legacy codebase, wrestling with ancient Redux Toolkit patterns and chasing weird bugs, only to wake up the next day to a layoff I never saw coming. Long story. But that’s how quickly things flipped, both my day and finances.

Since then, I’ve been applying to jobs, following leads, and doing what I can to stay afloat, even diving deeper into Rust, building side projects like daemons and SDKs to keep growing. But there’s one thing I kept thinking about, a project I’ve poured months of love into: Potatoe Squeezy.

It actually started from a small birthday idea. Why can’t people just tip you on your birthday via GitHub using Solana, maybe through a Chrome extension? The same way Telegram lets you gift Premium, or X fills your screen with balloons.
From there, the idea evolved: What if GitHub Sponsorships were global, borderless, and hassle-free?, That’s how Potatoe Squeezy was born.

Sponsorships are slow and gated, most bounty platforms delay payouts or feel overengineered, and even Buy Me a Coffee is too tied to fiat and borders.

So I built Potatoe Squeezy, think GitHub Sponsors meets Buy Me a Coffee, but borderless, crypto-native, and frictionless.

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🥔 What is Potatoe Squeezy?

Potatoe Squeezy is a fast, no-hassle platform for tipping and rewarding open-source developers with crypto, and you don’t need in-depth knowledge of crypto to use it. Even my Abulito (grandfather) could use it!

It works in two ways:

🛠 On GitHub

A bot listens to issues and pull requests:

• 💸 Maintainers tag issues with a bounty (e.g., /bounty 10 USDC)

• ✅ When a contributor closes the issue, the bot auto-pays them ( They just need to add their Solana wallet address)

No setup, no dashboards, no friction. Just GitHub + crypto.

🌐 On the Web App

For non-coders or direct supporters:

• You can tip anyone on the platform

• 🧠 No crypto experience required, contributors just link a wallet once

• 🔐 Payments are P2P, which makes them secure and fast. All you need to do is click "Tip User" and select or input the amount you want to tip.

It’s built to make supporting devs effortless, even for casual users or non-technical sponsors.

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🌍 Why This Matters

Open source is global. Recognition and rewards shouldn’t be gated by borders, payment processors, or fiat systems.

Potatoe Squeezy was designed for GitHub users everywhere, whether you're a maintainer in Berlin, a contributor in Lagos, Manila, Buenos Aires, the Caribbean, or even the Arctic Circle.
If you’ve ever wanted to pay/reward someone for fixing your bug, adding docs, or helping out, this makes it easy, no matter where they are in the world.

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💔 Why I’m Letting It Go

The truth is: I can’t keep it alive right now. With the layoff, my focus has to shift to finding work and staying financially stable.

So, I’ve decided to sell Potatoe Squeezy.

It’s live, fully functional, and at the MVP stage. Everything is clean and ready to be handed off:

• 🧱 Well-structured code (TypeScript + Solana)

• 💻 GitHub bot + web app

• 🧾 Docs and deployment guides

I would have loved to continue building it, as I am so bullish on it, but I’m biting the bullet and selling to get some funds to stay afloat. Yeah, it’s a very difficult and hard decision.

I tried uploading to marketplaces like Acquire.com, but it was rejected because the project is pre-revenue and still in the early stage. So, here I am, reaching out to anyone who might be interested in taking it to the next level.

Potatoe Squeezy has also gotten some good traction: it was top 1 in the Web3 category of the week on Product Hunt in its first week of launch, and top 10 on the first day.

📬 Interested?

Check the project: [https://potatoesqueezy.xyz/]
DM me on Twitter: obiabo_immanuel
Or email: [rootkit.obiabo@gmail.com]

I’ll provide the code, docs, support, and a smooth handoff.
I’m open to all reasonable offers. I just want to see it in good hands and need some funds to stay afloat.

💼 Open to New Opportunities

I’m also actively looking for new opportunities. Feel free to check out my portfolio:
https://www.obiabo.tech/

And my GitHub profile:
https://github.com/yhoungdev

And Finally…

I’ve spent countless hours coding, debugging, and contemplating the meaning of life (and whether Solana will ever make it to $1 again). I truly believe in Potatoe Squeezy, and though it’s hard to let go, it’s all about passing the torch to someone who can take it further.

If you’re the one who’s going to take Potatoe Squeezy to new heights, I’ll be forever grateful and will always accept tips in the form of cat memes or Solana (both equally valuable).

And hey, if you want to sponsor me or fund me? I’m always open and available, as you can see the Burj Khalifa or the sun from afar, hard to miss! 🌞

Thank you for reading this far; you’ve earned a virtual high five. ✋

Take care, and may everything you touch turn into success (or at least some good coffee). 😄