What was your first program?

My first program was a Space Invaders clone on a Commodore 16 that used nearly all the machine's memory. Every constraint taught me something. What was the first program you ever wrote, and what did it teach you?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately—how those early constraints shaped the way I think about building things.

That Space Invaders clone was maybe 8KB of machine code. Every byte mattered. I couldn't afford bloat. I couldn't afford to guess. I had to understand exactly what the machine could do, strip away everything unnecessary, and make the rest count.

It taught me that constraints aren't obstacles—they're teachers. They force clarity. They kill perfectionism. They make you ship.

I see the same pattern now in founders I talk to. The best ones aren't the ones with unlimited budgets. They're the ones who've learned to work with what they have: limited time, limited money, limited attention. And somehow that produces better products, cleaner strategy, more authentic marketing.

So I'm genuinely curious—what was yours? Your first program, your first project, your first thing you shipped?

Was it on a constraint? What did you build, and what did it teach you about building?

Drop it in the replies. I'd love to read it.