He Failed Hard at 23. Then Taught Himself to Code by Locking Himself in a Room.

Ideas are the starting line. We built NTE Pro to help you find them and NTE Zero to One to help you shape them.

But none of that matters until someone decides to actually build.

That’s what It Exists is about. Real people turning sparks into something real. And along the way, we point to tools that can help you do the same, like GummySearch for validating demand straight from Reddit conversations.

And sometimes, we point to builders themselves. Like Paul - a founder who failed hard at a young age, but didn’t let that stop him.

Here’s his story.

At 23, Paul was flying.
Events business booming. Voucher website printing cash. Three years of wins.

Then it all collapsed.

One day he’s running around managing deals. The next, he’s sitting there broke, staring at the wreckage. And the thing about your first failure? It stings. Hard.

So what do you do when life slaps you that hard?

Some people sulk. Some people pivot careers.
Paul… locked himself in a room and started reverse-engineering HTML sites for therapy.

Literally: save page → mess with code → refresh browser → repeat.
Day after day, learning CSS the way a DJ learns by scratching vinyl.

It wasn’t supposed to be a comeback. It was survival. But it planted a seed:
“I can build my way out of anything.”

Lesson 1: Failure Hurts. But It Gives You Superpowers.

That crash at 23 wasn’t just a failure. It was the forge.
It gave Paul the bias to build. To keep trying.

He started pumping out WordPress sites for affiliate marketing, price comparison, voucher codes, cashback plays. One site a month. Most flopped. A few sold. But the reps gave him speed.

That cycle of building-through-failure eventually led him to spin up apps like Nearby Deals (a location-based shopping app), scale digital agencies to 30+ people, and lead transformations for HSBC, IBM iX, and Abu Dhabi Government.

Pain was the fuel. And momentum was the outcome.

Lesson 2: The Landing Page Is the Truth Serum

Forget fancy decks. Forget stealth mode.
Paul runs every idea through a brutal checklist in his head 

• Revenue model?

• Growth plan?

• Market size?

• Painkiller or vitamin?

• Do I know this industry?

If it passes, it earns one shot: a landing page.

That page becomes the talking point, the filter, the truth serum. Share it everywhere. If strangers sign up? Keep going. If they don’t? Kill it fast.

Because strangers don’t care about your feelings. They’ll either sign up or ghost you. Both answers save you years.

Lesson 3: Stop Adding Features. Start Adding Eyeballs.

Ask Paul what killed most of his projects? Not bugs. Not tech.
Marketing.

Visibility has always been the hardest part. Without a community, ads budget, or loud personal brand, even the best products die in silence.

It’s why his mantra now is: stop shipping endless features, start shipping distribution.

And the most rewarding part? Not the polished product. Not the fancy demo. It’s that first organic signup. That random stranger who validates you’re not just shouting into the void.

Lesson 4: Friends and Family Feedback Is a Scam

The best advice Paul ever got?
Friends, family, and fools will always believe your pitch. But they’re not your customers.

Your mom will tell you your app is amazing. Your buddy will nod along at beers. None of that matters.

The only feedback that counts comes from real users with real credit cards. If you’re not uncomfortable asking strangers for feedback, you’re not actually validating.

Lesson 5: Solo Doesn’t Mean Small

Paul’s been a solo founder for most of his journey. No co-founders, no mentors, no safety net. Just trial, error, and grit.

But he’s not against teams. He’s seen both sides from one-man builds to scaling agencies. That’s why his current bet, ChilledSites.com, is designed to grow as a lean, AI-powered team. Not a bloated org chart. Not “hire 100 engineers.” Just a handful of people and a stack of AI tools moving faster than old-school companies ever could.

Now he’s pouring all of that into ChilledSites, a site builder that spins up landing pages in seconds. Not the full-stack “we’ll replace developers” fantasy. Just the tool he wishes he had back when he was fumbling through WordPress themes at 2am.

What Paul Thinks Needs to Exist

He’s bullish on AI, but not for another builder. His call: AI-powered predictive health coaches.
Not just fitness trackers. Coaches that actually anticipate problems and nudge you before they happen. Preventive, not reactive.

What You Can Learn From Paul’s Journey

🔥 First failure cuts the deepest. But it can hardwire resilience.
🛠 One landing page is worth 100 brainstorms.
📣 Marketing isn’t “later.” It’s part of the build.
🙅 Stop asking your friends if it’s good. They’ll lie.
👤 Solo doesn’t mean small, AI is the new team.

Follow Paul & Try His Work

👉 Build your landing page today: ChilledSites.com
👉 Follow Paul’s journey: he’s sharing live builds, wins, and fails on Twitter & LinkedIn .

Paul’s story is proof that you don’t need co-founders, investors, or a perfect plan, just the guts to take a hit, lock yourself in a room, and keep shipping anyway.

That’s the same spirit fueling NTE Pro, where thousands of startup sparks are waiting for the right founder to grab them. Tools like GummySearch are there to help you validate demand, cut through noise, and figure out what people actually want.

And if you’re ready to go deeper, NTE Zero to One is where we roll up our sleeves together and turn one of those sparks into something real.

Because the world doesn’t need more dreamers with slides, it needs more builders like Paul, proving it exists.