(Thanks again to 37signals not only for the Getting Real book, but also for posting my thanks email on their new product blog. It’s probably what brought you here now. There were some big factors driving me forward on this project – the love of learning new things, the thought of escaping contractordom, the dream of having my own systems to love and care for (rather than other people’s), and now the small publicity boost from 37signals has made people notice this project which makes me want to make a great product and not disappoint.)

For anyone reading this who’s wanting to write a web app too, if you’ve not already, I first recommend you read the getting real book. Well worth it. The thing that stumped me for quite a while though was where to find the free time to actually get your product ff the ground. I tried working in the evenings but it didn’t work for me mainly due to my new son!

So, I had no choice but to take time off my paying job to work on courseway. This is a big and real move. It at last set the ball rolling technically, but also and more importantly it pushed the cost of failure over the edge. If I get nothing from my time invested then I’ll have to go back to my old ways to pay off the debt and I don’t want to do that! So, what I’m trying to say is, there’s nothing better then diving in the deep end to see if you’ll sink or swim. Try it. Hopefully it’ll be worth it.