My Story: From a Curious Kid to Software Developer

The Beginning: Infinite Curiosity

My name is Tenta (that's what I go by on the internet). I was born in 2000 in Argentina, and I'm currently 25 years old. My fascination with technology started as far back as I can remember. Every electronic device I saw awakened my insatiable curiosity.

The arrival of my first Family console marked the beginning of something special. Then came the SEGA, then the PlayStation, and with each one of them, video games blew my mind. That's when my second great passion was born, one that accompanies me to this day.

At 7 years old, I received the gift that would change my life forever: my first computer with internet access. Suddenly, the entire world was behind the screen in my room. Infinite content, the possibility of connecting with people from all over the planet, learning about different cultures... At that moment I knew this would be part of my life forever.

But beyond the fascination, my mind kept asking: How does all this work?

• How is it possible that I write something on my computer and it appears instantly on someone else's computer on the other side of the world?
• How is it possible that I join a Counter-Strike server and my actions replicate in real-time on dozens of other computers, with less than a second of delay?

I knew there was something big behind all this, and I needed to figure it out.

University: Finding Answers

After finishing high school, after years exploring almost all the possibilities that the internet offered at that time, the decisive moment came: at 17 years old I had to choose what to study. The decision was natural: Software Engineering.

I was fortunate to be born in one of the best countries in the world to study a university degree. In Argentina, higher education is public and free, which was fundamental for me, as I come from a family with limited resources.

During the next 5 years, I finally got the answers to all those questions that had intrigued me since childhood. I learned:

• How each component of a computer works
• How networks operate
• How it's possible to transmit data from one place to another
• Software design and multiple programming languages
• Advanced mathematics and physics

My First Project: A Game Engine

But theory wasn't enough for me. While studying, my passion for video games was still alive, so I decided to create my own. And I didn't do things halfway: I started with the most fundamental approach possible.

I developed my own game engine in Java from scratch.

It was a transformative experience where I learned about:

• Rendering
• Memory management
• Optimization
• Game loops
• Input handling

For the first time I was applying everything I learned at university. On top of that engine I built classic games like Snake and Tetris.

The First Jump: From Classroom to Work World

Five years had passed since I started university and I still hadn't graduated. For context: I'm the oldest of three siblings, and my parents worked day by day to pay the bills, always just getting by. It had been 5 years in which I wasn't contributing anything to the family economy, so I made the decision to jump into the working world.

A Stroke of Luck

What came next was a stroke of luck. I sent a single resume, my first resume, where I clarified that I was studying at university and that although I had no practical experience, I was willing to learn whatever was necessary. They called me for an interview and, somehow, I convinced them that I was worth hiring.

Here comes the interesting part: they hired me at a startup without knowing absolutely anything about:

• JavaScript
• CSS
• HTML
• PHP
• MySQL

Lock In Mode

The first week was total chaos. I remember thinking "what the hell am I doing here?" But I had already learned so many things on my own that I knew what I had to do: lock in.

I searched for content on the internet obsessively and in a couple of months I had almost completely mastered all the technologies necessary for the job. I was learning while developing an application that was already in production, with terrible legacy code. More than 8 hours daily dedicated to absorbing knowledge and applying it immediately.

The Value of People

But the most valuable thing about that experience was the people. My coworkers were incredible, fun people with whom I truly connected. Years after we no longer work together, we still get together to remember those moments where none of us really knew what we were doing, but we did it with passion.

The biggest lesson from this stage: there's nothing that can't be learned if you dedicate the necessary time.

The Present: Searching for Purpose

Today I continue working as a software developer. University is almost finished, very close to graduating. I work with all kinds of technologies:

• React
• Next.js
• Tailwind CSS
• And basically any tool the project requires

The Purpose Crisis

However, something changed. Days began to be repetitive: go to the office, do my work, go home. The more time I dedicate to work, the more I start to understand that what I do doesn't have a clear purpose for me.

I'm building software so someone pays me, but nobody really cares about that software. I don't feel that it:

• Helps other people
• Generates genuine happiness
• Has real impact

I started to feel tied to the 8 hours of work and constantly justifying those 8 hours of development. Then the inevitable question arose:

Why am I doing this for someone else if I can do it myself?

The Future: Building in Public

That's how I discovered the concept of "Build in Public": people who develop software on their own for the world, creating what they want and what interests them. I was fascinated by the idea.

I consumed hundreds of contents about it:

• Success stories
• Failed cases
• Strategies
• Tools
• Communities

My First Steps

I've already taken my first steps. I had a first project that failed because, honestly, it didn't solve any real problem. But that experience taught me a lot.

Now I'm working on something different: a free tool to test different SEO strategies and improve organic traffic.

What I Still Need to Learn

When trying to build my own products, I realized the skills I'm missing. Today I know I can build anything I can think of technically. The problem is marketing:

• How to reach people?
• How to build an audience?
• How to be someone worth listening to?

Those are the questions I'm working on now. I read books, try new things every day, experiment constantly.

My Current Goal

Bet on myself, be self-sufficient by my own means and find freedom in that.

And I'm going to do it by documenting the entire process, building in public, sharing every learning with anyone who wants to follow this journey with me.

Because in the end, isn't that what I always wanted? From that 7-year-old kid who wondered how the internet worked, until now:

Create, Share and Connect

• Create solutions that solve real problems
• Share knowledge and experiences
• Connect with people around the world

Join the Journey

If you made it this far, thanks for reading my story. This is just the beginning.

In this blog I'm going to document:

• My projects and experiments
• What I learn about marketing and audiences
• Failures and successes
• Tools and strategies that work (and those that don't)

If you're interested in following this journey, stay tuned for upcoming posts. We're going to build something amazing together.

Do you have a similar story? Are you on a similar path? I'd love to hear about it. Let's connect.