I'm 17, Building in Public Instead of Waiting – Lessons from Failing Fast

Hey HN — I’m Sahil, 17, based in India. I’m not waiting for a degree to start building. Instead, I’ve been spending the past year launching small projects, failing fast, and learning faster.

Some things I’ve built:

Startanator: A collection of startup ideas, niche site inspiration, and public resources to help anyone ship faster and smarter. Think of it as a launchpad for solo builders.

Gamod: An AI research lab project focused on game development. I'm experimenting with how generative AI can write game scripts and evolve characters in real time. Still super early.

[TxtNest]: A privacy-focused offline-first notepad that stores everything in localStorage — no accounts, no cloud.

A few failures: Supvote (a community-built email list product), .

Here are a few raw lessons I’ve picked up:

Projects > promises. Most people talk. Just shipping a rough build puts you ahead.

Distribution is underrated. Great builds mean nothing if nobody sees them.

Being young is an edge if you lean into it. People notice when you take initiative early.

Build for yourself, but in public. That’s how others find value too.

No playbook. No blueprint. Just me, a laptop, and an unreasonable amount of curiosity.

If you’re building solo, still in school, or figuring things out — happy to chat or answer anything. I’m here to learn, not pitch.