How a Full-Stack Developer Found Nietzsche in His Code: My Startup Story
Last winter, I sat in my rented room staring at the screen—my SaaS product had zero users after three days. I kept thinking of Nietzsche's 'become who you are,' but broken code doesn't care about philosophy. Here's how I found my groove between tech and meaning.
Last winter, I sat in my rented room staring at the screen—my SaaS product Flash-Ware had zero users after three days.
Honestly, back then I was obsessed with Nietzsche's 'become who you are.' I first read Thus Spoke Zarathustra in my junior year and thought it was the coolest thing ever. But when your product has zero users and your code is full of weird bugs, philosophy doesn't help.
TL;DR In my first year of startup life, I coded Java by day, read philosophy by night, and figured out at the gym: tech is a tool, philosophy is a mirror. This is my real journey—the pitfalls, the doubts, and how Stoicism helped me deal with anxiety.
Why would a programmer fall in love with philosophy?
Because code can't fix everything, especially the 'meaning' bug.
Back in my sophomore year, I interned at a company fixing industrial control software bugs. Every day was PLC and serial communication. A single line of code could keep the production line running. The dopamine hit was real, but so was the emptiness—I was just a machine.
Then I picked up a Nietzsche book in the library and read: 'Man is a rope, tied between beast and overman—a rope over an abyss.' I thought, coding is the same: each line is a bridge to a goal, but the bridge isn't the end.
It's like an RPG—you grind mobs for XP, but if you don't know the final boss, you get bored. Philosophy gave me a bigger map: it made me ask, 'What do I actually want to build?'
What broke me the most in the early days?
Not technical challenges, but 'analysis paralysis'—too many tech stacks to choose from.
When I started building Flash-Ware last year, I spent two weeks agonizing over tech choices: Vue vs React? MySQL vs PostgreSQL? Microservices or not?
I realized it's like gym—you can waste time deciding 'chest or back today,' but the real gain comes from just starting. I went with Spring Boot + Vue 3 + MySQL because 'familiarity is the ultimate productivity.'
But the real breakdown was those zero-user days. I scoured Hacker News and Juejin for cold-start advice, and the more I read, the more anxious I got. Then I remembered Stoicism: 'Control what you can, accept what you can't.'[1]
User count was out of my control. Product quality was not. So I closed the dashboard and optimized the scan-to-warehouse flow—from 5 steps to 3, operation time from 30 seconds to 10.
How did philosophy help me make tech decisions?
By using 'first principles' to break down problems, not following hype.
In 2024, AI was everywhere. GitHub reported Copilot boosted dev efficiency by 30-55%. My friend urged me to add an AI assistant to Flash-Ware or be left behind.
But I asked: what do users really need? Not AI—faster inventory search. So I built a simple fuzzy search first—type 'red switch keyboard' and get all related SKUs. It took three days, and user feedback was excellent.
I added the AI assistant later, using RAG architecture that only answers product-related questions. It's like Nietzsche's 'become who you are'—don't break your monolith just because everyone else uses microservices; don't force a chatbot because AI is trendy.
| Decision | Trendy Approach | My Choice | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Assistant | Direct LLM API | RAG + fuzzy search | 60% less dev time, 90%+ user satisfaction |
| Deployment | Cloud-only | SaaS + on-premise | Won 3 manufacturing clients (data sovereignty) |
| Frontend | React | Vue 3 + TDesign | Team ramped up fast, 40% faster iterations |
Why are gym and philosophy a 'double buff' for founders?
Because startup is a physical job, and philosophy helps you handle pressure.
Coding 10 hours a day kills your back. Last year, I got a gym membership and started lifting. There's a principle called 'progressive overload'—add a little weight each week, and your muscles adapt.
Tech growth is the same. Learn one Spring Boot annotation today, one Docker command tomorrow—over time, it compounds.
Philosophy helps with the 'meaning crisis.' Camus said Sisyphus is happy pushing his boulder. Startup life is like that—fix bugs, write code, ship features, and you never really 'finish.' But if you enjoy the process, the boulder isn't a burden.[2]
Now every time I squat to failure, I think: this is startup. Your legs tremble, but you know you're stronger after this set.
To those on the same path
As I write this, Flash-Ware has over 50 registered users. Not many, but I reply to every feedback. Someone said, 'This scan feature saved my life.' That made it all worth it.
Philosophy didn't give me answers, but it gave me the courage to ask questions. Tech didn't solve everything, but it turned ideas into reality.
Key takeaways:
- Don't overthink tech choices; familiar is best
- Use philosophy to break down anxiety: control what you can
- Gym and startup both require progressive overload
- Meaning isn't found—it's built
If you're also building something, hit me up: [email protected], or try Flash-Ware yourself.
References
- Stoicism Overview — Stanford Encyclopedia entry on Stoicism, covering the dichotomy of control.
- Camus' Myth of Sisyphus — Stanford Encyclopedia entry on Camus, covering absurdism and the happiness of Sisyphus.