As we wind up 2025, I can say this without exaggeration:
this year changed how I build, how I think, and how I measure progress.
Not in the loud, celebratory way LinkedIn loves.
Not in the “look at my growth chart” way.
But in the quiet, uncomfortable, deeply instructive way.
2025 was packed with lessons.
Hard ones. Practical ones. Humbling ones.
And unlike previous years, I didn’t try to sweeten them.
This year was sugar-free.
No motivational overdoses.
No artificial optimism.
No pretending momentum where there was none.
Just work. Feedback. Reality. Adjustment.
And that’s why it mattered.
The 12-Product Challenge: What I Thought I Was Doing vs What Actually Happened
At the start of the year, I set myself a clear, slightly unreasonable challenge:
Build and launch 12 products in 12 months. One per month.
The intention behind the challenge wasn’t vanity or volume for its own sake.
It was about:
- Rebuilding my builder’s muscle
- Escaping overthinking
- Shortening feedback loops
- And proving (to myself) that I could still execute consistently
I wanted speed.
I wanted repetition.
I wanted exposure to different failure modes.
And on paper, I succeeded.
By December, I had built and launched 12 products.
But if you think this is a victory lap, it’s not.
Because how it turned out was very different from how I imagined it.
What I Expected
I expected:
- A few breakout hits
- At least 2–3 products gaining organic traction
- Clear signs of product-market fit
- Compounding momentum as the year progressed
I expected the graph to bend upward.
What Actually Happened
What I got instead was:
- Products that worked technically but stalled commercially
- Launches that felt exciting for 48 hours and then went quiet
- A constant reminder that “shipping” is not the same as “winning”
- And an uncomfortable truth: building is the easy part
That discomfort turned into clarity.
Because after building and launching one product every month, patterns began to emerge.
Not opinions.
Not theories.
Patterns.
Here’s what 12 launches taught me.
Lesson 1: Distribution Is Not Optional — It Is the Product
If I had to collapse the entire year into one sentence, it would be this:
If you don’t control distribution, you don’t control outcomes.
I already “knew” this intellectually.
But knowing something and paying the price for ignoring it are two different things.
Most of my products failed for the same reason:
They had no guaranteed path to users.
No built-in audience.
No owned channel.
No repeatable acquisition engine.
I was building supply without securing demand.
And reality doesn’t reward effort.
It rewards alignment.
A product without distribution is just a well-organized folder on your laptop.
In 2025, I learned that:
- Virality is unreliable
- Paid ads without clarity burn money
- “We’ll figure out marketing later” is a lie
- Distribution must be designed before the first line of code
This lesson alone reframed how I will build everything going forward.
Lesson 2: Vibe Coding Is Useless Without Clear Intent
There’s a popular narrative right now around “vibe coding.”
Build fast.
Ship messy.
Let intuition guide you.
That works only if you know exactly:
- What problem you’re solving
- Who you’re solving it for
- And how success will be measured
When you don’t, vibe coding becomes expensive wandering.
In several projects this year, I built features that:
- Felt right
- Looked impressive
- Worked perfectly
But solved nothing meaningful.
Code was shipped.
Value was not.
What I learned the hard way:
Clarity beats creativity every time.
Now my rule is simple:
If I can’t explain the product in one sentence without jargon, I’m not ready to build it.
Lesson 3: You Can Do a Lot Solo — But Teams Multiply Outcomes
2025 reminded me that solo execution has limits.
Yes, you can:
- Design
- Build
- Test
- Launch
- Support
All on your own.
But what you lose is leverage.
A team doesn’t just add hands.
It adds:
- Perspective
- Accountability
- Speed in the right places
- Emotional resilience
There were moments this year where progress slowed not because of complexity, but because of isolation.
Building alone means:
- Every doubt lives in your head
- Every decision drains energy
- Every mistake costs more
Teams don’t remove risk.
They distribute it.
That matters.
Lesson 4: Validation Is Cheaper Than Refactoring
This one stung.
Several times this year, I built first and asked questions later.
And every time, the bill came due.
Validation doesn’t require perfection.
It requires honesty.
A Google Doc.
A landing page.
A conversation.
A waitlist.
Anything is cheaper than building the wrong thing well.
In 2025, I learned to ask:
- “Would someone pay for this tomorrow?”
- “What problem does this replace?”
- “What happens if this doesn’t exist?”
If the answers are vague, stop.
Lesson 5: Documentation Is Not Optional — It’s Compounding Memory
One of the quiet wins this year was documentation.
Not for social media.
Not for branding.
For future me.
I documented:
- What I tried
- What failed
- What worked
- What I would never do again
And the surprising benefit?
I stopped repeating mistakes.
Progress isn’t just about moving forward.
It’s about not cycling backward.
Documentation turns experience into an asset.
Lesson 6: Monetization Is a Design Decision, Not a Later Feature
Too many products die not because they can’t make money, but because money was never designed into them.
In 2025, I learned that:
- Monetization shapes user behavior
- Pricing clarifies value
- Free users distort feedback
Now, I think about revenue before I think about features.
Not greed.
Alignment.
The Coaching Plan That Didn’t Go as Planned — And Why That Was Still a Win
Another major goal for 2025 was to onboard more startups into my coaching program.
That didn’t happen the way I imagined.
But something else did.
I ended up working with:
- Business individuals
- Operators
- Teams
- Founders in different stages
Some sessions were online.
Others were in-person.
And this unexpected path turned out to be a gift.
Because it forced me to:
- Adapt my frameworks
- Simplify my language
- Read people better
- Learn how adults actually learn
Coaching isn’t about knowing.
It’s about transferring clarity.
2025 made me a better coach.
Moving into 2026, the plan is clear:
Refine the offering in Q1.
Then relaunch — sharper, narrower, better.
Health, Consistency, and a Sugar-Free Year
Outside of work, 2025 was disciplined.
No sugar.
Consistent runs and walks.
No dramatic fitness goals.
Just consistency.
And consistency compounds quietly.
In 2026, the plan isn’t to do more.
It’s to keep showing up.
Looking Ahead: 2026 Is About Distribution and Signal
2026 has a different energy.
Not louder.
More deliberate.
The primary focus:
Build solid distribution channels.
No more building in silence.
Here’s how I plan to do that.
1. Daily Writing on Facebook and Twitter
Using my personal handle, I’ll publish one post every day.
Content focus:
- Business scenarios
- Stories from building
- Lessons from failure
- Operator thinking
Not motivational.
Not polished.
Real.
2. Two Video Brands
I’ve created two focused video brands:
Puppyeconomics
Breaking down economics concepts with a fun, simple twist.
artSolutions
Focused on psychology and business.
Targets:
- 100 quality short-form videos by year-end
- At least 10 long-form pieces per channel
No rushing.
Quality over volume.
3. A Third Experimental Channel
This one is pure experimentation.
YouTube.
TikTok.
Virality mechanics.
No expectations.
Just learning.
4. Monthly Blog Updates
Every month, I’ll publish a progress update on this blog.
Not highlights.
Reality.
Closing Thought
2025 didn’t make me louder.
It made me clearer.
It stripped away assumptions.
It exposed weak foundations.
It rewarded consistency over ambition.
I didn’t win the year.
But I earned the lessons.
And that’s better.
Because lessons compound.
See you in 2026.
Still building.
Still documenting.
Still sugar-free.
Appendix: The 12 Products Built in 2025
January – NenoPress: an AI-powered content creation assistant.
February – Namekon: a business name generator for African founders.
March – Startup List Africa: a startup discovery and ecosystem mapping tool.
April – InterviewPrep: a tool for job seekers to practice interview questions
May – To Somewhere Logistics: a logistics marketplace connecting service seekers with truck owners.
June – Build Anyway: I wrote a book about rebuilding from the ground up.
July – Paystack WordPress Plugin: a simple plugin that makes online payments easier for WordPress users.
August–September – Safezoner: a digital safety tool built around privacy and user control.
October – Biztools: A platform that helps business individuals and founders reduce consultancy costs.
November – Portfolio: Built my portfolio page, showcasing products
