Before someone else depends on it

If I build a treehouse for my son, I don't need to work out how to sell treehouses.

I find that harder to remember with software. Once something has a clean interface and a convincing demo, it can start to look like a business I'm supposed to pursue.

Little Fables is a story-reading app I built. It's full of illustrations, but if I'm reading to my son at night, I don't want the pictures keeping him up. So I added a night mode that takes them off the screen and lets me keep reading.

I don't need another parent to buy it for that to have been worth building. I'm already responsible for what I put in my son's hands, just as I would be with a treehouse. Selling means taking that on for other families too.

Replit's pitch takes you from an idea through to launching and growing it. I understand the appeal. Someone who couldn't get an idea made now has a way to try it.

But I can get all the way to taking someone's money without knowing what I'll do if the app lets them down. Getting a feature to work with AI doesn't mean I understand it well enough to look after it for somebody else.

It reminds me of that line from Jurassic Park.

“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.”

They were so excited about what they could make that they hadn't thought through putting it into the world.

Suppose someone buys an app I've made and starts keeping their work in it. If those files disappear, fixing the bug isn't enough; their work is still gone. I'd need to know how to protect that work and get it back, or have someone who can help me do that. And if I decide I'm done with the app, the people using it still need a way to take their work with them.

I might want to take that on. Other people may find the app useful, and what they pay can help me keep it running. A limited trial could help me work out what supporting them involves. I don't need perfect software or to do every job myself.

But it's also okay to have a hobby. If you enjoy making something and find it useful in your own life, that can be enough. Just because you can vibe code a polished app doesn't mean you need to sell it.

If I do sell, I need to understand what I'm taking on and be willing to answer for it after the excitement of building has worn off.