Car Wrap Hub

I've been a data engineer for years. Decent salary but I have absolutely no control in the technologies I work with and I simply hate the fact that I have no control over my time. After years I have realized a traditional desk job is just not for me.

I've wanted to build my own thing for a long time but kept falling into the same trap most of us do: overthinking the idea and not executing.

After weeks of overthinking ideas, sometimes starting something, yet quitting the same thing a week later, I stopped letting go of the perfect idea. This time I actually shipped something.

I got my car wrapped last year and the experience of finding a shop was terrible. Google Maps gives you a mix of dealerships, detailers, and tint shops that also "do wraps." No way to filter by actual certifications. No way to compare. I spent more time researching shops than I did picking the color.

The car wrap industry does $5B+ a year in the US. Thousands of shops, no dedicated directory. That clicked with my data brain; it's basically an aggregation and discovery problem. I know how to solve those and it's good practice.

The idea is not perfect, nor is the execution most likely, but for me this is a huge step: I shipped something with all the features I had in mind.
What I built:

CarWrapHub is a free directory where you search by city or zip code, see Google ratings, reviews and filter by manufacturer certifications. Claimed listings directly receive quotes as well.

I have added paid listings and am now using cold email to reach the installers. Getting them to add more info and photos will be the true value, and at the same time the challenge.

The numbers:

- 2000+ installers across 47 states, 170+ cities - Seeded the entire database for under $10 in API costs (data engineer habits die
- Installer dashboard where shops claim their own listing - $0 revenue so far (hopefully this will change) - Built solo, nights and weekends