The Underdog: From $200K in Debt to $1M App Maker
Starter Story
Feb 26, 2025
This is the true story of how Adam Lyttle went from having over $200,000 dollars in debt, to becoming a $1M app developer.
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Yep
start
the
story
All
that
I
had
to
my
name
was
a
debt
of
200
000
my
business
had
failed
My
possessions
were
gone
My
relationships
had
broken
down
my
whole
identity
as
a
person
disappeared
This
is
Adam
Lytle
and
at
first
he
thought
he
was
a
founder
genius
The
business
was
growing
every
year
It
seemed
to
just
grow
and
grow
I
thought
I
was
balling
I
thought
I
was
invincible
and
I
thought
this
is
what
life
was
always
going
to
be
like
but
what
comes
Must
come
down
So
all
of
a
sudden
my
business
Collapsed
pretty
much
overnight
I
thought
that's
it
I'm
bankrupt
and
I
can't
fulfill
this
this
dream
of
mine
I'll
have
to
work
for
someone
and
do
it
at
nine
to
five
It
Was
very
very
lonely
I'd
lost
my
community
I'd
lost
my
family
I'd
lost
my
business
I
lost
my
purpose
in
life
I
Was
at
the
absolute
lowest
that
I
could
that
I've
ever
been
when
everything
was
at
its
worst
Adam
came
across
a
business
that
would
change
his
life
forever
as
of
last
month
I'm
a
hundred
percent
debt
free
and
the
only
way
that
I
was
able
to
achieve
that
was
through
building
apps
This
is
the
story
of
how
Adam
Lytle
went
from
200
000
in
debt
to
making
000
a
month
with
a
portfolio
of
mobile
Welcome
to
starter
story
Adam
grew
up
in
a
troubled
home
with
a
lot
of
drug
and
alcohol
use
in
his
family
Naturally
he
found
himself
gravitating
towards
computers
and
technology
He
could
understand
them
better
than
he
could
understand
people
as
a
kid
I'd
be
role
playing
having
my
own
software
business
making
software
even
at
a
young
age
And
I
really
enjoyed
and
loved
the
process
of
just
working
out
how
the
computer
works
working
out
how
to
create
things
and
then
in
high
school
Started
my
own
shareware
business
I
was
creating
my
own
software
and
releasing
it
online
I
was
making
a
few
dollars
on
the
side
of
my
part
time
job
but
then
piracy
came
into
it
and
people
were
downloading
my
apps
free
and
all
of
a
sudden
not
generating
much
revenue
from
it
Adam
Faced
his
first
real
setback
Society
expected
him
to
follow
the
traditional
path
get
a
degree
work
a
stable
office
job
But
Adam
had
other
plans
I
wasn't
all
that
great
at
school
I
didn't
feel
like
I
was
the
sort
of
person
that
could
do
a
nine
to
five
and
I
was
the
sort
of
person
that
could
Do
this
sitting
in
an
air
conditioned
office
being
away
from
the
kids
It's
not
the
environment
that
I
could
see
myself
So
I
wanted
to
follow
my
passions
and
turn
my
passions
into
my
business
Adam
knows
he
must
follow
his
dreams
of
making
a
living
from
building
stuff
on
his
computer
So
instead
of
going
to
college
he
decides
to
pursue
a
different
route
not
realizing
he's
about
to
stumble
into
a
gold
After
high
school
I
set
up
my
own
agency
creating
websites
for
businesses
And
this
was
prior
to
services
like
Wix
and
Squarespace
at
the
high
point
of
the
business
It
was
generating
around
about
three
hundred
thousand
dollars
profit
per
year
I
thought
I
was
balling
I
thought
that
I
was
invincible
and
I
thought
this
is
what
life
was
always
going
to
be
like
This
opportunity
was
hot
and
Adam's
agency
started
generating
really
good
income
within
just
a
couple
years
But
the
success
went
straight
to
his
head
Debt
Debt
I
felt
was
this
this
tool
to
buy
things
to
live
a
lavish
lifestyle
now
With
the
intention
of
paying
it
back
later
so
I
ended
up
just
making
poor
decisions
and
ended
up
getting
myself
into
000
of
credit
debt
and
car
loan
debt
and
to
keep
up
with
this
lavish
lifestyle
And
the
image
of
being
a
baller
Adam
had
to
increase
his
workload
Every
year
it
seemed
to
just
grow
and
grow
and
I
didn't
realize
it
But
I
was
too
focused
on
the
business
too
focused
on
clients
too
focused
on
deadlines
I
just
wasn't
there
with
the
kids
and
I
wasn't
there
with
the
family
I
was
too
self
interested
Self
motivated
just
fixated
on
what
I
was
doing
and
everyone
around
me
just
had
to
fall
into
line
to
accomplish
the
goals
that
I
wanted
to
achieve
with
my
business
and
my
finances
and
and
the
things
that
I
wanted
to
purchase
The
business
stayed
profitable
Adam
could
keep
his
head
above
water
but
he
never
planned
for
what
would
happen
next
I
could
no
longer
be
charging
10
000
to
build
a
website
when
people
were
just
going
to
Wix
or
Squarespace
and
they
could
create
a
website
for
10
a
month
So
all
of
a
sudden
my
business
Collapsed
pretty
much
overnight
My
whole
family
was
relying
on
the
business
It
was
putting
a
roof
over
everyone's
head
It
was
putting
food
on
the
table
My
logic
was
I
have
to
work
harder
I
have
to
keep
persevering
I
have
to
keep
digging
this
hole
that
I'm
in
which
meant
lowering
prices
and
as
my
price
is
lowered
lowered
I
was
working
more
hours
and
it
ended
up
resulting
in
a
total
burnout
where
I
couldn't
do
anymore
Couldn't
access
that
higher
level
of
thinking
to
even
sit
down
on
a
desk
to
do
work
and
I
started
to
default
Some
of
the
debts
things
started
falling
apart
slowly
then
all
at
once
His
cars
got
taken
away
His
accounts
were
frozen
and
soon
he
was
left
with
nothing
All
that
I
had
to
my
name
was
a
debt
of
two
hundred
thousand
dollars
That
was
unsecured
now
My
business
had
failed
My
possessions
were
gone
My
Relationships
had
broken
down
my
whole
identity
as
a
person
disappeared
because
my
identity
was
this
Successful
person
that
ran
a
web
agency
that
was
making
good
money
It
was
very
very
lonely
I'd
lost
my
community
I'd
lost
my
family
I'd
lost
my
business
I
lost
my
purpose
in
life
Was
at
the
absolute
lowest
that
I
could
that
I've
ever
been
Adams
life
is
breaking
down
before
his
eyes
and
with
000
of
debt
looming
over
him
He
realizes
he
has
to
find
a
new
path
I
Can
no
longer
sit
in
front
of
a
computer
and
I
just
had
this
need
to
just
not
be
in
the
house
and
I
just
would
walk
and
walk
and
walk
and
I
ended
up
coming
up
with
the
idea
of
if
I
Put
a
lawnmower
in
front
of
me
I
could
get
paid
to
walk
around
So
I
got
the
lawnmower
put
an
ad
on
air
tasker
and
I'd
get
people
say
hey
Can
you
mow
my
lawn
for
20
bucks
Can
you
mow
my
lawn
for
30
bucks
And
I
say
yes
yes
Yes
and
in
that
process
I
started
to
sort
of
build
my
confidence
again
I
started
to
build
this
sense
of
I
wanted
to
do
more
again
The
more
lawns
Adam
cut
the
more
confidence
he
got
back
in
himself
and
his
services
Then
one
day
while
driving
in
his
now
secondhand
car
from
one
mowing
gig
to
another
He
runs
in
to
a
problem
the
issue
that
I
had
was
I'd
have
to
work
out
where
people
lived
Plot
it
on
Google
Maps
work
out
the
best
way
to
get
to
all
of
the
clients
in
most
time
efficient
way
possible
And
I
asked
some
of
the
people
that
were
mowing
they
said
well
it's
easy
you
get
a
piece
of
paper
paper
You're
right
all
of
your
jobs
down
on
one
side
That's
week
one
you
flip
it
over
and
you're
right
all
of
your
jobs
down
on
the
other
side
That's
week
two
I
said
why
why
don't
you
use
an
app
for
that
and
one
guy
said
to
me
Well
there's
no
app
exists
and
someone
should
look
at
making
it
and
I
thought
to
myself
I
could
be
that
someone
with
his
passion
reignited
Adam
sets
out
to
build
an
app
for
lawnmowers
He
doesn't
do
it
for
the
money
but
still
has
high
hopes
that
the
app
will
perform
well
Finally
it
was
ready
I
spent
six
months
building
this
lawn
mowing
app
I
released
it
and
It
didn't
actually
do
all
that
Well
I
tried
to
work
out
Why
is
it
that
this
app
that
I
have
a
very
clear
intention
a
use
case
and
there's
a
need
for
it
Why
did
that
fail
Adam
was
stuck
his
app
had
failed
and
he
had
no
clue
Why
with
two
hundred
thousand
dollars
of
debt
he
needed
answers
fast
So
he
decides
to
do
something
crazy
the
best
way
and
the
only
way
I
know
how
to
learn
something
new
is
Simply
just
to
throw
myself
into
it
and
just
start
building
So
I
set
myself
a
challenge
to
create
one
Every
single
month
Adam
realized
quickly
that
launching
fast
and
validating
ideas
was
the
best
way
to
approach
new
business
ideas
That's
what
started
this
whole
one
app
a
month
challenge
But
what
if
you
wanted
to
do
this
for
a
different
business
idea
like
a
service
based
business
that
only
requires
a
website
Well
Hostinger
is
the
fastest
way
to
do
it
and
they're
the
sponsor
of
today's
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Entrepreneurship
is
about
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if
you're
wasting
tons
of
time
messing
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Worrying
about
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then
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The
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You
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And
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So
if
you
want
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and
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business
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head
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calm
Slash
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and
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the
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starter
story
for
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off
They're
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right
now
and
you'll
want
to
take
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of
it
while
you
can
Alright
now
back
to
Adam's
story
I
Was
mowing
lawns
from
6
a
m
In
the
morning
till
6
p
m
in
the
evening
evening
and
then
I
would
be
sitting
down
and
just
building
apps
with
the
intention
of
I
want
to
give
back
more
to
the
world
than
I
had
taken
previously
and
then
learning
as
I'm
doing
it
Adam
buries
himself
in
building
these
small
apps
But
the
hopes
of
escaping
his
debt
his
failed
businesses
in
his
crumbling
personal
life
But
reality
would
still
come
back
to
bite
him
at
one
stage
I
was
taken
to
court
Refunds
for
a
client
I
looked
and
thought
if
if
I
get
a
judgment
against
me
that's
it
I'm
bankrupt
my
career
as
my
own
independent
developer
Stopped
and
I
can't
fulfill
this
this
dream
of
mine
I
can't
keep
building
apps
I'll
have
to
work
for
someone
and
do
a
nine
to
five
One
of
his
past
agency
clients
had
demanded
a
refund
and
Adam
didn't
have
the
money
to
pay
it
back
Filing
for
bankruptcy
would
mark
an
end
to
his
entrepreneurship
career
but
it
seemed
like
that
was
the
only
Until
a
miracle
happened
starting
this
journey
of
building
an
app
per
month
One
of
the
first
apps
that
I
built
became
hugely
successful
It
was
generating
around
about
a
thousand
dollars
a
month
which
at
the
time
was
huge
and
at
this
stage
I
had
someone
reach
out
who
wanted
to
buy
the
app
He
said
I'll
buy
it
for
two
times
annual
revenue
24
000
that
was
a
lot
of
money
to
me
I
was
able
to
pay
back
the
amount
before
I
ended
up
going
to
court
and
I
was
able
to
keep
the
debt
collectors
at
Just
just
enough
to
keep
my
dream
alive
and
just
enough
to
keep
creating
and
building
with
a
little
beginners
luck
Adam
had
an
initial
success
with
building
apps
that
not
only
saved
him
from
his
bankruptcy
But
more
importantly
made
him
realize
that
you
can
actually
make
money
with
this
thing
That's
when
this
business
model
flipped
from
I
can
create
an
app
every
month
and
this
is
a
really
nice
creative
outlet
to
I
can
create
an
app
every
month
and
I
can
Generate
two
years
worth
of
revenue
from
that
one
app
I
thought
of
it
like
like
a
runway
So
I'd
sell
an
app
I'd
had
a
runway
extended
and
then
I
could
try
to
release
another
app
that
becomes
successful
Before
my
runway
runs
out
and
that's
what
I
did
for
two
years
when
kovat
hit
Adams
lawn
mowing
side
hustle
got
shut
down
So
he
threw
himself
into
app
development
while
supplementing
his
income
with
some
freelancing
on
the
side
and
for
a
while
this
worked
Adam
was
living
the
dream
waking
up
every
day
to
build
apps
But
he
was
still
deep
in
debt
and
every
influx
of
cash
from
an
app
sale
Only
brought
him
a
few
more
months
of
runway
then
one
night
Something
happened
that
would
make
Adam
rethink
everything
There
was
one
instance
where
we
went
to
a
restaurant
restaurant
I
wanted
to
get
a
Pepsi
Max
but
I
couldn't
afford
a
Pepsi
Max
I
realized
in
that
moment
What
am
I
doing
What
am
I
doing
with
my
life
Am
I
following
a
dream
or
a
passion
that
isn't
going
to
come
to
fruition
Am
I
going
down
a
path
that's
wrong
How
can
I
be
in
a
situation
where
I've
still
got
debt
over
my
head
I
can't
go
out
for
dinner
and
I
can't
even
afford
a
Pepsi
Max
Adam
realizes
that
the
business
model
of
building
apps
purely
to
sell
them
isn't
sustainable
So
he
comes
up
with
a
new
strategy
Start
building
more
apps
so
that
even
if
each
one
makes
only
two
to
five
hundred
dollars
a
month
The
total
revenue
is
still
enough
to
keep
paying
off
the
debt
and
providing
for
his
family
And
this
is
the
time
when
chat
GPT
came
out
and
there
was
this
joke
that
chat
GPT
makes
you
a
10x
Developer
so
prior
to
that
I
was
building
an
app
every
single
month
to
be
a
10x
developer
That
means
I
would
have
to
create
10
apps
this
month
I
worked
as
hard
as
I
could
to
try
to
get
10
apps
out
But
I
failed
it
turns
out
chat
GPT
only
made
me
a
9x
developer
because
I
only
had
nine
nine
apps
released
that
Brought
me
out
of
the
grind
of
building
selling
building
selling
where
the
apps
themselves
I
had
enough
in
my
portfolio
to
generate
enough
revenue
that
I
no
longer
had
to
sell
an
app
to
keep
a
pipeline
going
I
now
had
a
consistent
revenue
that
was
coming
in
month
after
month
which
now
could
pay
down
all
my
debts
pay
the
rent
Take
my
family
out
for
dinner
I've
lost
track
of
how
many
apps
I've
built
It's
over
50
at
this
stage
I've
sold
quite
a
few
and
I've
built
quite
a
few
so
I
can't
remember
exactly
how
many
apps
and
in
July
I
set
up
My
youtube
channel
and
I
thought
I'm
gonna
do
some
tests
with
my
apps
and
see
what
works
What
doesn't
work
and
then
give
some
feedback
on
the
channel
I
created
a
new
paywall
and
I
created
a
new
onboarding
flow
and
that
turned
my
revenue
from
generating
10
000
a
month
to
50
000
per
month
pretty
much
overnight
So
for
the
last
couple
of
months
has
been
consistently
going
up
and
each
month
business
is
making
around
about
fifty
thousand
to
sixty
thousand
Dollars
the
reality
of
that
hasn't
even
set
in
that
let
me
pay
down
all
of
my
debts
last
month
No
longer
in
hardship
payments
no
longer
have
four
years
of
debt
payments
to
go
now
I
can
provide
a
really
comfortable
lifestyle
for
myself
and
and
my
family
while
also
letting
me
do
what
I'm
passionate
about
Which
is
building
and
creating
I'm
often
asked
all
the
time
What
ideas
should
I
create
for
an
app
how
can
I
how
can
I
do
this
Nine
times
out
of
ten
the
motivator
is
I
want
to
build
something
to
make
money
But
from
my
experience
if
you
don't
have
the
passion
you
don't
have
the
creativity
and
you
don't
have
the
drive
Behind
you
then
it's
gonna
be
just
as
bad
as
being
in
debt
just
in
fact
just
as
bad
as
having
chains
on
you
You're
gonna
be
stuck
in
something
that
you
don't
want
to
build
stuck
in
something
You
don't
want
to
create
so
the
best
way
to
sort
of
work
out
what
apps
can
be
created
It's
just
a
simply
Live
life
go
out
there
and
then
try
to
work
out
where
there's
a
need
for
an
app
Where
there
are
apps
that
aren't
doing
a
good
enough
job
and
that's
where
all
of
my
inspirations
come
from
and
what
I've
learned
is
the
more
you
put
out
into
the
world
that
has
a
positive
impact
or
a
positive
net
positive
result
the
money
and
the
revenue
flow
as
a
by
product
of
that
passion
as
a
by
product
of
building
as
a
by
product
creating
I
couldn't
get
out
of
bed
in
the
morning
felt
so
Overburdened
by
the
world
that
no
matter
what
I
did
I'd
still
have
debts
and
I'd
still
have
people
chasing
me
I'd
still
have
clients
upset
with
me
All
I
could
do
was
just
put
my
head
under
the
blankets
and
just
not
even
get
out
of
bed
But
everybody
seems
to
have
this
ability
or
this
drive
in
them
to
create
something
and
it
seems
to
be
from
my
own
experience
the
antidote
to
depression
and
the
antidote
to
that
feeling
of
Being
alone
and
lost
and
that's
the
advice
that
I
would
give
which
is
follow
those
Motivating
passions
that
are
actionable
that
make
you
want
to
learn
and
make
you
want
to
build
Hey
guys
Pat
here
I
hope
Adams
story
inspires
you
and
motivates
you
to
start
your
own
thing
Adam
is
proof
that
you
don't
have
to
have
the
perfect
situation
to
get
started
as
long
as
you
show
up
every
day
Good
things
can
happen
if
you're
curious
about
doing
something
similar
to
Adam
but
you're
still
looking
for
an
idea
Well
right
now
you
can
download
our
deep
dive
solo
dev
report
for
free
It
breaks
down
50
different
solo
developer
business
ideas
and
apps
like
Adam
built
including
their
business
models
Revenue
marketing
strategies
and
tons
of
other
stuff
You'd
want
to
know
to
help
you
get
started
on
your
own
thing
that
can
actually
start
making
money
Just
click
the
link
to
business
ideas
in
the
description
and
we'll
send
it
over
for
free
Also
I'd
love
to
hear
more
what
you
thought
about
this
documentary
and
what
you'd
like
to
see
on
the
channel
going
forward
Please
drop
a
comment
I
make
sure
to
read
every
single
one
Alright
guys
much
love
I'll
see
you
in
the
next
one
very
soon
peace
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