I’m Naveen Hegde, founder of Codegres (OPC) Private Limited, an App development company.
It has been almost a year since I took the leap and started running my business full-time. Today, I’d like to share one of my success stories.
It all began on an uneventful night. I had eaten too much pizza and was browsing for new app ideas. While researching, I came across a blog that argued quantity beats quality when it comes to building products. Intrigued by this, I decided to create as many apps as possible.
To keep costs low, I needed something serverless. That’s when an idea struck—I built a simplified version of MS Paint for Android in just two hours. But after finishing it, my motivation quickly faded, and I went to sleep without thinking much of it.
The next day, I checked the app’s progress. Nothing. I was the only one who had downloaded it.
A week later, I checked again. Still nothing.
I eventually forgot about the project.
But 4–5 months later, I received an unexpected email. A cold email from someone who had come across my Paint app. Curious, I logged into my Google Play Console.
To my surprise, the app had gained 25,000 organic downloads!
Excited, I spent another 5–10 hours fixing bugs and improving it. Over time, we released seven versions—three of which never worked. Despite that, the app went on to accumulate over 450,000 downloads on the Play Store.
As an experiment, I decided to list it on Flippa.com—just to see if I could sell it.
And then, yes—it happened. A Russian company bought it for $1,000.
This was my first cross-border transaction, and a moment of validation for me as a developer and entrepreneur.
I’m incredibly grateful to be in a world where anyone can decide to build something, put it out there, and turn it into an opportunity.
Your ideas matter. Go pursue them. 🚀
