I built an international calling app after I got laid off

I got laid off in March this year, that's 2025.
I got broke after exactly one month. I started looking for a job almost immediately, and for 6 months.

6 months was enough time to grieve, to be angry, to get working on my next bootstrap...

Working or coding while being angry is not easy. I was burned out, I was battling my own life, counting every penny to see how the month would go, and how the next month would be. I had no clue back then on how I will gather my rent, I sold old laptops, old gadgets I don't use. I vented with ChatGPT: Isn't it sad that I sell my stuff to survive? The answer gave me serenity; it's an asset, not a loss, use it to pay the rent.

I started building nevertheless, I started write the backend for voklit.com, line by line, step by step, I had a clear image of the end product, I just didn't know if it will sell, but I had to use the time.

I invested sweat, tears, and 11 years of experience in it, a digital phone number platform, for international calling, an alternative to Skype, you call it whatever you want. I was my first customer. I always wanted a roaming-less number that's affordable, something that connects me to official institutions.

I launched it on HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46481544
it got me my first paying customer...

I still have a long way to go, but this journey is a lifelong lesson.