14. Was It Worth It? (The Founder's Reflection)
So here we are. After thirteen rounds of pain - from account sign-ups to DUNS purgatory, from provisioning profiles to App Review arguments - the big question is:
Was it worth it?
The Honest Answer
Yes… and no.
Building an app is never the simple "hack it out in a weekend, launch Monday, retire Tuesday" fantasy that Twitter hustlers love to push. It's paperwork, bureaucracy, tooling disasters, and three weeks of your life you'll never get back.
For CutCompass, the process from "we should launch" to "we're live" was 3–4 weeks of constant grind. And that was with me knowing what I was doing (literally my job).
It's painful. It's arduous. And it never really ends - because every update, every new feature, every bug fix means you run the review gauntlet all over again.
The Upside
But here's the thing: once you get through it the first time, it does get easier.
You know which forms Apple nitpicks.
You know how to answer privacy/data questions.
You know what to expect from reviewers.
Your automation is humming in the background, handling the grunt work.
And most importantly: you've got your app live. People can download it, use it, pay you. That part is worth the suffering.
The Bigger Lesson
The real takeaway? Don't romanticise the process.
App development is not just coding. It's legal hoops, compliance theatre, and endless toolchain hacks. It's not glamorous - but that's also why most people quit before they finish.
If you push through, you're already ahead.
My Advice to Other Founders
Don't go native unless you absolutely need it. Use Ionic, React Native, Flutter - whatever saves you time.
Automate everything you can. Appflow is your friend.
Don't expect to pass review the first time. Budget time for rejections.
Be transparent with data/privacy. Over-explain everything.
Remember: this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Final Rant (Because Of Course)
Apple will keep charging $149/year for the privilege of existing. Google will keep pretending they're nice while also tightening the screws. Reviewers will keep rejecting apps for dumb reasons.
That's just the reality.
But if you're a founder, you learn to live with it. Because the alternative is to never launch at all.
So… Was It Worth It?
Yes. Because CutCompass is live. Because users can actually use it. Because the vision is finally in their hands, not just in Sam's (CoFounder) and my head.
Would I do it again? Absolutely. Would I recommend it to everyone? Only if you're ready for pain.
But that's the founder's life. We suffer so our apps can live.