What a 13-Year-Old Kid Making Paper Games Taught Me About Shipping Apps Today.

I'm building this thing right now. Here's why the timing for indie makers has never been better, and why I'm taking the leap now.

I did not expect to hit a nerve with my first article on this Substack.

I received the nicest feedback from readers throughout this week about how the message of starting something new and the fear of uncertainty resonated with them.

The path I decided to walk is a journey of creativity, and by definition it is uncertain.

And God, is it long!

There is so much to do and explore. I have plenty of work ahead of me, but I promised I would keep you updated. So today I share what I’m cooking and how my first week has been as I step into the Maker identity.

The Kid Who Built Worlds From Sharpies and Imagination (And Why That Matters Now)

That’s me and my twin brother (or my twin brother and I) at 2 years old.

Way back, in the countryside of midwestern Brazil, I used to create paper games with my brother for the kids on the block.

We were known for coming up with mechanics, rules, and maps that looked like RPGs. I used to make games.

At thirteen years old, imagination was everything. I just needed sharpies, crayons, and sulfite paper, and I was entertained for weeks. I crafted elaborate worlds with different factions, hidden treasures, and storylines that changed with each playthrough. My brother and I would iterate constantly based on feedback from our friends.

We were game makers before we knew what that meant.

I followed that kid’s dream when I started my professional career. My first job was as a game developer. Then I fell off, went where the demand was, followed the money.

I’m going back to that kid.

That kid was onto something.

What If I Could Make Consistency Stop Being Boring?

I have a big problem sticking to diets, and I think gamification can help it.

I have paid between €150 and €250 per month to fitness coaches trying to solve it for me. I know everything about training, nutrition, and habits. The problem is not knowledge.

The problem is sticking to it.

After a while, it all gets boring. So what if it did not have to be boring?

Big tech companies figured out how to use dopamine hacking to addict users to their phones. What if I could use those same tactics, but in reverse. What if I used them in favor of the user instead of against them.

What if I could make consistency feel like a game instead of a chore?

I could solve my own consistency problem, and in doing so, solve it for thousands of others who feel exactly the same way.

I will open this door, and see where it takes me.

Yet Another Fitness App?

Man, that’s the first thought I had too.

That’s what most people say when they hear the idea.

But let me tell you a lesson I learned: if the waters are red, there are plenty of fish to eat.

Everyone assumes the ocean is empty because it looks crowded. But crowded and empty are not the same thing.

Here’s what people get wrong about competition. They think if a product exists, if there are competitors, the market is closed. Done. Game over.

That’s not how business works.

Competition is constant. And honestly, it’s good for the customers. It means they have choices. It means if something better comes along, they can jump ship. It means someone is solving their problem.

Win-win.

Moreover, fitness is an insatiable market. People will always have fitness problems, and my bet is that they will always want to try new ways to fix them.

Why I’m Building Small (Even Though My Inner Voice Says I Should Dream Bigger)

I will be honest with you.

There is an internal dialog battle happening inside my head right now.

I want to make this thing, but my internal voice keeps saying it is too small. It tells me I should aim bigger. After all, as I mentioned before, I do not have much time and funds to gamble with.

I talked to a old founder friend of mine yesterday, one that coincidentally is also ending his $1B story and he told me “don’t go half-ass, people will sense when it is fake”.

And I will be sure it is not fake, that I genuinely work to help people.

But small is what I need right now.

I need to control the variables. I have skill gaps to fill. I want to learn how to market something, how to talk to users, how to iterate based on feedback.

Small is not settling.

Small is strategic.

Small is a good old product that helps people out and allows me to develop the skills I need to eventually think bigger.

Here’s What Changed (Two Barriers Just Collapsed)

Although small, the unit economics are enormous. And that excites me.

The timing feels different now than it did even five years ago. Something has shifted fundamentally in how indie developers can compete.

Two major barriers that used to lock people out have collapsed simultaneously.

The first is getting users. Before, if you wanted traction, you needed thousands of dollars in ad spend each month. I watched people throw money at this problem and still fail.

Now, if you understand your audience and can share your journey authentically, the algorithms do the work for you.

That is a skill.

The second barrier was the technical one. I know this one intimately because I lived it. Building an app required a team. One engineer for iOS, one for Android, one for backend. That was $400,000 dollars annually before you sold a single copy.

Today, with AI tools and no-code platforms, the math is completely different. What took 6 months now takes 6 weeks (or less).

I looked at the numbers. Last year, 1.3 trillion dollars flowed through the App Store. Small developers saw their earnings jump 76 percent in just three years. There are 1.56 billion iPhone users globally. And here is what stopped me in my tracks. 37 percent of all apps come from independent developers or small teams of fewer than five people.

That is not a niche anymore. That is the norm.

All I need now is a great (small and not fake) product. Something that captivates users. Something that entertains them while solving a problem they actually experience every day. The infrastructure exists. The market is proven.

I spent years learning the rules of the game.

Now, It’s time to play.

— Thiago Ricieri

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Substack Making of a Maker written by @thgvr

PS.: I’m building the beta list for early access. If you want in, reply to this email or DM me. Limited spots. First come, first served.