#OneAppPerQuarter

#OneAppPerQuarter

The biggest advantage AI has brought to my daily work is that it allows me to focus on the bigger picture.

Instead of spending most of my time coding, I can now focus more on designing systems, thinking about how they interact, and making sure they are scalable and robust. Since I started using AI assistance, I feel that my work has improved significantly. I can leave more of the implementation work to AI and focus on supervising the process, validating the results, and using my years of experience to ensure the quality of the outcome.

This has also improved the way I collaborate with my clients. I can deliver better work in less time, and I can take on more challenging problems. My clients benefit because I come with solutions that fit their needs while removing much of the technical overhead from their shoulders.

I love creating software. Maybe it’s because my mind is always generating ideas. I’ve always wanted to be able to build those ideas and put them out into the world, letting people decide whether they are good or bad. And I’m not afraid of failure, so I can accept bad ideas easily. The secret is simple: I take the lessons with me and move on to the next idea.

AI agents fit perfectly into this way of thinking.

They’ve made it much easier to create applications, services, and websites in a short amount of time. Recently, I discovered that I especially enjoy building websites and small applications - simple products focused on one idea, one task, one pain point. The kind of application that reduces friction in something that usually takes too much time and slowly becomes a burden.

I love simplicity. I’ve always been inspired by Steve Jobs’ philosophy behind Apple products: simple, but better. That idea resonates deeply with me. And every product I manage to ship, even in an MVP state, gives me joy. There is something deeply satisfying about knowing that something created by my own mind and hands is now out there, online. And if it helps people too, even better. I truly love contributing.

I build websites and applications with AI, but I also want to bring AI into the applications I create. I want to explore how AI can be integrated into different contexts and how it can become a useful part of a product - something that helps users move through a process more easily and naturally.

Recently, I read Tiny Experiments by Anne-Laure Le Cunff. It’s a very good book, and I genuinely recommend it. One of the ideas that stayed with me was the value of taking tiny steps instead of chasing big, rigid goals. I wanted to find a way to integrate that mindset into my own life.

And because I like turning ideas into practice, and because I love software, I decided to start a personal challenge this year.

I call it #OneAppPerQuarter.

The challenge is simple: build 4 apps this year, one per quarter.

The final idea or outcome matters less to me than the process itself. For me, this is a time for learning, building, and enjoying the act of creating software from my own ideas. The main goal is not perfection. The goal is to make something real.

There is only one rule: the app must be available online by the end of the quarter.

Even though a simple app can sometimes be built in a week, or even in a few days, I intentionally gave myself one full quarter for each project. I want this challenge to feel relaxed, creative, and sustainable. I want to enjoy the process, not rush through it.

For Q1, I worked on lexter.ro.

It’s a simple tool that uses AI to read an ID card and a contract, extract the relevant data, and generate the completed forms needed when registering a new company (SRL) in Romania. For the user, the process is very simple and happens in three steps: upload the documents, verify the extracted data, and fill in a few additional required fields. After that, the forms are ready to be generated.

It is far from perfect. Not all forms are included yet, and the document formatting can still be improved. But the AI is already doing a very good job when it comes to extracting the necessary data. For me, the most important objective was to keep the experience as simple as possible.

At first, AI helped me build a version with 8 or 9 steps. I reduced it to 3.

I truly believe that almost anything can be simplified, because simplicity is often more powerful than perfection.

I loved the process of creating this app, and I plan to keep improving it - maybe even while working on my Q2 idea.

In the meantime, if you ever want to try it and share feedback, I would truly appreciate it. Especially if you are a lawyer or part of a company that registers new businesses at ONRC. Any small idea can become a great one, and if you believe this product could reduce friction in your daily work, guide me and I’ll do my best to improve it.

And if you are a developer who loves building software, like I do, and you want to join this challenge, go for it.

Make it public. Share the app you created, or the one you plan to create. Ask for help. Learn. Build.

Who knows? Maybe great ideas will grow from a very small starting point.

Because in the IT world, learning AI is like learning any tool, framework, or language back in the day: it gets better with experience. And soon enough, developers who have learned how to work with AI will have a significant advantage. For those who ignore it, the gap may become very hard to close.

So use it, and you will learn it.

Over time, it will become just one more powerful skill in your toolbox.

Learning is my superpower.