2025 Year In Review

As the year comes to an end, I wanted to pause and reflect on 2025. Not in a “highlight reel only” way, but in an honest way. The good and the messy.

Overall, 2025 was a big year for me. Not perfect, but definitely meaningful.

From a work perspective, this was my strongest year ever.

I sold my first SaaS for $50k, which still feels a bit surreal when I write it down.

I earned around $45k in less than 30 days from sponsorships, something that didn’t seem possible just a couple of years ago.

I also started this newsletter and, more importantly, kept showing up. This is issue #7 in a row, and I’m very proud of it.

The audience growth surprised me, too. I crossed 200k followers on X, launched four apps, and one of them, IndieAction.club, became a tool I used a lot. That alone made it worth building.

One of the biggest wins, though, wasn’t a number.

After about 6.5 years of doing my own things online, I finally feel like I have a clear business plan. A real one. Something that, if executed well, could realistically take me past the $1M mark in the next ~3 years (we’ll see how that goes).

Along the same lines, I finally accepted something important: I’m no longer a “dev educator”. That’s how I started my online journey, and I’m grateful for it, but today I’m an online entrepreneur and creator.

I build apps and monetize them. I create content and monetize it through ads and sponsorships, and drive people to my products. That mental shift brought a lot of clarity, and to be honest, I’m relieved that I finally embraced my new way.

Financially, I made $140,196 toward my $1M goal this year from 10 different income streams. I like growing my portfolio of income streams and will continue to do so.

Consulting has been one of the most satisfying ones I've done this year. Helping people, seeing the AHA moments on their face… I love that!

On the personal side, the year started strong!

January and February were incredibly productive: clean eating, no junk, no sweets, reading daily, no TV, training, and running consistently. I got into the best shape of my life. It was the first time in over a decade that I dropped below 80kg.

We moved into our new apartment toward the end of the year. It was stressful, chaotic, and full of last-minute decisions. A lot didn’t go as planned initially, but in the end… it all worked out, and it’s beautiful!

Another huge financial win was related to our apartment. The impossible goal was: don’t touch our investment portfolio. Even though the apartment ended up costing more than expected, we managed it. No withdrawals! (Okay, I sold a bit of crypto, a few thousand, but I’d have sold that anyway.)

One of my biggest personal wins came late in the year: I started going to the gym. I’d wanted this for a long time, and I’ve now been going consistently three times a week for three months. I’m hoping more muscle will finally help fix my long-term weight issues. 🤞

Travel-wise, we kept it lighter this year. We visited Dubai (my favorite), Germany, Italy, Turkey, and Hungary. Less than in previous years, mostly because we were busy with the apartment and also wanted to save more.

Not everything went up and to the right.

Work-wise, even though launching 4 apps sounds good, in retrospect, I should’ve launched more. And I barely posted on YouTube, despite wanting to. Both are things I want to fix in 2026.

Personally, April was a turning point, and not a good one.

I burned out again. Lost most of the progress from the first three months. Gained weight back. Junk food and sweets returned. The TV came back into the bedroom. Reading slowed down. Old habits crept in quietly and did what they do best. Slowed me down and made me question myself. 🤷‍♂️

I also didn’t hit my running goal of 2025 km. I “only” ran 1,335.6 km. Still solid, but not the target I had set.

But that’s how life goes. Ups and downs. We win some, and we lose learn some.

2025 wasn’t perfect, but it moved me forward. I learned a lot about myself, about focus, about recovery, and about what actually matters long-term.

Next week, I’ll share a 2026 goals article - where I’m heading, what my plans are, and what I’m doubling down on.

Until then, I hope you’re closing the year next to the people you love. Take a breath, celebrate what you did in 2025, and prepare for the next chapter.

Happy end of the year 🫶
Florin Pop