Even though I have experience with different technologies, my journey in software development has been deeply intertwined with Flutter. so here’s a dive into how it all began and where it’s taken me.
🛤️ The Beginning – From Web to Mobile
- In 2020, during the COVID lockdowns, I enrolled in Harvard’s CS50 and began my journey in web development.
- I kept asking my friends and family to test my websites — but they always opened them on their phones, not laptops.
- Every time, there was some UI bug, layout issue, or interaction glitch on my websites for mobile. I found myself thinking: “Why not just build apps directly?”
- That shift in thinking sparked something in me — I realized mobile was the future, and I wanted to be part of it.
🎓 CS50 Certificate
🤖 My First Steps in Mobile
- I began learning Kotlin and Android development using Google’s official courses.
- But I had a 4GB RAM laptop, and Android Studio was painfully slow. 10-minute build times 😓.
- So I pivoted back to web development for a while — and explored some fun side quests:
- Learned about Web3
- Dabbled in Solidity smart contracts
- Launched an entire NFT collection with a friend (I handled the code, he did the design)
🇦🇺 Restart in Australia – New Laptop, New Mindset
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In 2022, I moved to Australia for my studies — and finally upgraded to a 32 GB laptop (no more 10-minute builds, thank you!).
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That upgrade gave me a second wind. I was excited to get back into mobile development.
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I naturally turned to what I knew — Kotlin and Android — but then hit a new, unexpected issue: everyone around me used iPhones.
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I’d build something cool, excited to share it, and then… “Sorry, I’m on iOS.” Déjà vu — but reversed. 🌀
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That’s when I started looking into cross-platform development.
- I discovered React Native and Flutter.
- My first instinct was React Native — I already knew React from web, so it felt familiar.
But just before I hit npx react-native init, something caught my attention.
💡 Why Flutter? Because Zerodha Said So
- I’ve long been inspired by Zerodha, India’s leading online stockbroker.
- I admired the way Kamath brothers built the company — and especially the technical philosophy of their CTO, Kailash Nadh.
- I used to binge-read their tech blog, follow podcasts, and soak in the minimalist, thoughtful engineering behind their platform.
Then I stumbled upon one particular blog post: 📝 “From Native to React Native to Flutter” — a post that detailed why Zerodha switched to Flutter.
And just like that, I was hooked.
“If I ever build my own stock brokerage…” Okay, maybe I was getting a bit carried away — but hey, you’ve got to dream big, right?
That post hit all the right notes:
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Cross-platform reliability
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Developer ergonomics
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Scalability without overcomplicating things
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I didn’t just bookmark it — I committed. Flutter wasn’t just a shiny new toy; it became my long-term bet.
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I dropped React Native without writing a single line of code.
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And just like that, I officially entered the world of Flutter.
I may not have built a stock brokerage (yet), but I have built apps that I’m proud of — and it all started with that decision.
Once I picked up Flutter, I didn’t stop. I kept building, learning, and shipping.