I Burned The Boats, Again.

The Middle-Class Rebellion (2019-20)

I didn't drop out of college because I was lazy. I dropped out because I was hungry.

I come from a typical middle class family where "Safety" and "Job" are the only religion. The path was set: Get the degree, get the job, stay safe.

But I was sitting in a classroom, staring at a 15-year-old syllabus, with a student loan on my head. I asked my computer lab teacher, Ashish Sir, why we were learning outdated theory. His brutally honest answer shook me awake, and I'm grateful he said it: "This degree is just a certificate. You'll have to build real skills later to get a job."

My hostel room desk. This laptop was my lifeline.

I was literally bunking college to do freelancing video editing so that I could make some pocket money. And even there, the college administration wouldn't leave me in peace. The HOD would show up at my hostel and call my parents, and the next day, even humiliate me in front of the entire class.

I was fed up. First, there was the nonsense of 90% attendance requirements. Then, the school uniform stupidity (WTF? I thought movies showed casual dress in college, but this was literally a school-like uniform, lol). I was stuck - either deal with college assignments OR bunk and build real skills. But they wouldn't even let me do that in peace. I thought, it's better to focus full-time on skills without college. I'll reach far.

Around the same time, I started reading self-help books for the first time in my life - Rich Dad Poor Dad, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, books on the subconscious mind, and whatnot.

The beginning of self-education.

When I told my parents I wanted to drop out, it was World War III. To them, the word "Drop" was a curse. "What will you do without a job?" "Society kya kahegi?"

Thousands of questions. Heated arguments.

Long story short: I begged for just 1 year to prove myself. (The details - a lot of drama happened. I'll tell you some other day.)

I cried to build my own legacy. I calculated the cost: A $200 office cubicle 9-to-5 job vs My Freedom.

Finding My Zone (The Pivot)

I didn't start with coding. In college, I did video editing for pocket money ($50-$80/month). But I hated it. The constant changes, the burnout - it wasn't for me.

So, I switched to Android Development. It was fun until Google replaced XML with Jetpack. Suddenly, it became theory-heavy and boring.

And you know me - I hate theory. If I have to rely on outdated concepts that won't be useful in the real world, I lose interest.

That's when I found my hack: Rebranding Open Source Apps. I stopped trying to be a "Coder" and started being an "Executor."

Hacking The System (Level 1)

I went to Fiverr. My "Bug Fixing" gigs failed miserably because thousands of devs were already doing it.

So, I used my Jugadu (Hacker 😂) mindset. I cracked the Fiverr algorithm, targeted a micro-niche (App Rebranding), and ranked my gigs on Page 1. It worked. I hit Level 1 on Fiverr (I think it was around 2021-22).

As of Dec 2025, this is my Fiverr condition: Level 2 seller (may have dropped by now due to inactivity), 60+ five-star reviews, and hibernated my account till 2030 (or forever).

The Betrayal & The Peak

I landed a Hong Kong client that paid me $600 for rebranding a famous open source app. He liked my work so much that he asked for its maintenance for $260 per month.

For someone who dropped out of BTech college in 2nd year and had just completed 1 year since dropping out, earning $260/month working from home felt like Cloud 9.

Then, reality hit. After working properly with the Hong Kong client for 1 year, things changed. His startup went through some management changes, and after all that chaos, the payments started getting defaulted.

Being a nice guy back then, I waited and kept working for the next few months. The client kept saying, "Just wait, the situation will be okay soon. I'll pay you everything together."

I worked for 6 f*cking months for free, and he still owes me $1,560.

Every time I ask, he says 'I haven't forgotten.' ...still waiting.

I was broken, but I didn't stop. I leveled up. I created my website where I listed all famous open source app clone services. I started listing the same services on Fiverr too.

I looked at GitHub and F-Droid for famous open source apps with MIT licenses. I successfully rebranded them first to check if I could actually do it (back then, there was no AI to help, lol).

Once I proved it to myself, I started creating Fiverr gigs directly with app names. For example, instead of just "Open Source App Rebrand," I wrote "I will rebrand XYZ App to your brand."

That strategy went viral. A Canadian client noticed. Their message came.

They were skeptical: "Can you really do this?" I said, "Yes bro, it's easy work for me now."

Maybe they were testing me. The first order was just $10. Lol, yes, I agreed for $10.

They were so amazed by the work quality that I could see their desperation. They said, "I have 10+ apps that need this."

Long story short:

My family went crazy. I was on Cloud 10,000.

The Golden Handcuffs (The Trap)

But money is a dangerous drug. Someone who was struggling at $260/month suddenly jumped to $2,700/month - in India, this amount is considered a lot.

After a few months of that work-from-home Canada client job, under family and society pressure, I did the biggest mistake - I bought a new house.
Suddenly, I was trapped in the EMI Loop.

The golden cage.

And then things got worse, and I suddenly realized - bro, what am I doing?

I asked myself: "Why did I drop out of college? To work a 9-to-5 job from home?"

So, after thinking a lot, I didn't even care to ask my parents about this decision. I decided to quit the job. As soon as the 1-year agreement ended, I left.

I still remember how angry the client was. Everything was going great for them - I was over-delivering. From 10 apps, it had become 14+ apps.

He angrily gave legal threats: "You can't leave like this! Where will I find a new dev now?" I said, "Sir, we agreed on 1 year. I can't work for you my whole life."

But he was still furious. Long story short, a lot of nonsense happened. I had to remove job descriptions from LinkedIn, clean up everything. I don't know how I managed it alone, but I had made my decision, so I did it.

Deep inside, I was scared. But thank God, nothing happened.

To secure my future, I bought 44 grams of 24 carat gold as my emergency fund (in case anything goes wrong, it will act as a backup for me).

I bought 44 grams of 24 carat gold. My only safety net.

The Struggle (Startups & Failures)

I tried to build my own startups. I tried many things. Most of them failed, probably because I was more focused on the outcome instead of enjoying the process.

And anyway, half the time went to client work with freelancing.

The chaos, the attempts, and the failures.

The Canada client was gone. My savings were draining. I had to restart Fiverr to survive.

It dragged on - a mix of client drama, burnout, and the constant itch to build something of my own. I was stuck in a loop of "Plan B."

I tried multiple startups and experiments. You can see them in the whiteboard above. One of them was Unwiring Studios. When I started it, I promised myself I would never close it. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. It was a service-based startup where we provided video editing related services. I hired employees, scaled things up. But by year-end, the profit was very low and my savings got screwed up. Unfortunately, I had to shut it down.

Then I restarted freelancing on Fiverr to get some funds. Clients came, work started, and it ran for a few months. But I got stuck in the same loop again - I didn't want to sell the gold, so I just kept going.

Then I thought, let's restart Unwiring Studios. But this time, not service-based. This time, I'll build what I actually enjoy - products. I decided to build a SaaS. I thought, this client work will last 6 months. I'll build my SaaS meanwhile and launch it.

But the client drama started again. Delays, endless revisions, scope creep. I realized I was back in the same trap - trading time for money, while my real dreams kept getting postponed.

The Final Burn (Nov 2025)

I was stuck.

I remembered the story of Alexander The Great. When he landed on enemy shores, he ordered his generals to burn their own boats. He told his army:

I realized I couldn't build Unwiring Studios while secretly keeping a "Safety Boat" (my 44 gram gold and my Fiverr account) waiting for me at the shore. You cannot conquer the island if you have an escape plan.

So, I made the hardest decision of my life:

The 9-Month War

I don't have a degree. I don't have a job. I have a runway until August 2026.

That's why I built an app to keep myself accountable - The Last Boat. It's live on Google Play Store.

- Tanmay Agarwal
Founder, UnwiringTech