This Isn’t a startup. It’s just something I made.

Ever since I launched Praise Jar (trypraisejar.com), I’ve had the same kind of conversation with a lot of people. It always starts with: “So how are you planning to monetize it?”

And to be honest, that wasn’t really on my mind when I built it. I just wanted to make something and put it out into the world. That was the whole point at the time.

Now that building things has gotten easier with AI, there’s this new expectation that if you can build it, then you should turn it into a business. That if you’ve made something functional or beautiful or useful, then the next logical step is to figure out how to make millions off it.

And yeah, I wish that was me. I really do. But that’s not how I approached Praise Jar. That wasn’t the energy behind it.

I think we’ve quietly created a world where making something only feels valid if it can scale, go viral, or make money. And if it doesn’t, it’s like it doesn’t count. It’s “nice,” but it’s not serious. It’s not real. But I miss when it was enough to just build something. To share it. To chase a weird idea just because it wouldn’t leave you alone.

There’s this Nat Friedman quote I love. He said something like, “I don’t assume the world is efficient. If I get excited about something and that feeling sticks, I follow it.” That really stuck with me. Because I think a lot of us have forgotten that this is still allowed.

And maybe we’ve just gotten too used to believing that only the loud, viral, scaled-up, world-changing things matter. But the small things matter too. The tools that help one person. The idea that makes two people smile. The thing that sits on the shelf and quietly works. Not everything has to blow up.

Maybe somewhere along the line, I stumble on something, and I’m able to. But right now, just like Nat Friedman said, I’ve trusted my enthusiasm. I’ve gotten really enthusiastic about this idea, and when I get really enthusiastic about something and that enthusiasm persists, I just indulge it.

And so I just kind of let myself be impulsive.

Curiosity, enthusiasm, and impulsivity led me here, and I’m okay with that. And I’m okay with sharing that with the world. If you’re sitting on something you’re curious about, build it. Post it. Share it. Or don’t. Even just making it for yourself is enough sometimes.