As a 17-year-old in 2008, I found myself pitching to Google staff at a trade exhibition in Dubai. I was hunting for a sponsorship deal to fund an operating system GUI design competition. They let me down easy. I succeeded in getting a few sponsors lined up, but I hit other roadblocks and never released the project.
Even as a child, I spent the majority of my time working on little “projects”. I'd break apart a few toys to acquire their parts and then use those parts to build other things. For example, planes made out of a strong paper construction with a motor upfront for the propeller. These planes—of course—never flew, but they were fun to build. Sketching and painting was also great fun, and I was incredibly good at it. Today, I don't think I have changed all that much; I still enjoy doing little “projects”. Ever since I got my first computer, I was unstoppably addicted. So my creations have moved from paper to the web.
The theme was consistent when it came to my open source projects. Slave away for months. Agonize in uncertainty. Launch. If you get it right, you'll find out in the most spectacular fashion. Come launch day, my phone wouldn't stop lighting up with push notifications (Thanks to @paulirish who sent off an avalanche of tweets my way). Best feeling ever!
My proudest moments have been launching Formbakery, Responsive Elements, GridForms and Flakes. I was ecstatic when I acquired my first customer on Formbakery (@lucashuizinga Thanks bro!). That day, my excitement levels were through the roof! I was literally hopping around the house. That's what happens when you slave away for months and show your work to the world. Then it works! Someone pays you and confirms you have indeed created something of value. I love that feeling and I'm craving it again.
What am I working on now? I've got a few ideas and spend my free time thinking about them. It's challenging work and I have no clue if they will prove valuable. Only time will tell but I'm happy to do it.
Get in touch for hiring inquires. Download my Résumé. I'm @kumailht on Twitter, Github & Dribbble.
