12/08/2026
A lot of you DM me asking how to create something like Sirbus.
But before we talk about programming or tutorials, let me ask you one question: Are you ready to fail?
If yes, we can proceed. If no, don’t bother.
Let me explain.
When I completed ALX in 2023, my main goal was to build my own company. I joined a group of people to build a project, but after about six months, I realized their vision didn’t align with mine, so I left.
Then in January 2024, I decided to build a SaaS that would allow you to post something once and automatically share it across all your social media accounts. I failed at that too because I didn’t really understand how this whole software engineering and SaaS thing worked. The dream is still alive though that project eventually became Zedgad.com(this post you are reading is shared with zedgad)
Later, I created a multilingual project. It was supposed to help websites become multilingual and appear on Google for different languages. I failed at that too because I hadn’t done enough research. I was building more than I was learning.
Late last year, I built Quida, an app for students. I grew it to about 500 users and eventually sold it. Unfortunately, the buyer couldn’t maintain it or something 😂.
Then came January 2026. From the beginning of January until around February 1st, I basically did nothing. I was tired and seriously considering giving up on building products.
Then my wife asked me to build something that would help teachers create report cards. I ignored the idea at first 😂, but that advice eventually created Sirbus.
This time, I did something differently: I didn’t start by coding.
For about a week, I sent messages to fellow teachers asking how they prepared their report cards. My message was:
“Hi, quick question please 🙏
How do you currently prepare your students’ report cards?
Do you calculate manually, use Excel, or use school software?
What challenges do you face with the process?”
I messaged over 100 teachers and about 70 replied. Most of them were preparing report cards manually or using Excel, and even those using Excel had complaints.
That was when I knew I had a valid reason to build Sirbus. I didn’t need thousands of people to validate the idea. I already had about 70 teachers telling me they had a problem I could try to solve.
Before writing the code, I took a book and started drawing how I wanted Sirbus to work. The pages, forms, buttons and screens. Almost every major screen you see on Sirbus today started as a drawing in a book.
From the last week of January to around the third week of February, I kept building, testing, breaking things, fixing them and solving one problem after another.
Then on March 1, 2026, I launched the MVP.
I went back to those teachers and asked them to use it. There was no pricing yet, but I told them I would eventually charge for it. They started sending feedback — errors, bugs, suggestions and things I hadn’t thought about — so I continued building.
Those teachers also started sharing Sirbus. Within about two weeks of launching, I had over 300 teachers. Then I made a Facebook post, and that post moved Sirbus from around 300 teachers to about 700.
School heads started calling to ask about it. Teachers were sharing it. It suddenly became a real thing.
Then second-term exams started and teachers began actually using Sirbus for their reports. I was online almost 24/7 answering questions, fixing bugs and adding things teachers were requesting.
At the end of the second term, I had made a little over GH₵400 😂.
Funny enough, it couldn’t even cover some of my hosting and domain costs, but I was happy. People were actually paying for something I had built.
Then I started getting calls and messages asking for lesson notes on Sirbus. I realized that was another problem I could solve, so once again, I drew what I wanted it to look like and started building.
Within about two weeks, the lesson notes feature was ready.
I shared it with a simple message:
“Create this type of lesson notes with your phone.”
Then I attached the first lesson notes I generated with Sirbus.
That post went viral, and this time, the sales followed.
So before you DM me asking how to learn programming or how to build something like Sirbus, ask yourself:
Am I ready to fail before I make it?
Sirbus wasn’t my first project. It wasn’t my first idea, and it definitely wasn’t my first attempt at building a company.
I failed at projects. I wasted months. I built things nobody wanted. I made wrong decisions. I almost gave up.
But every failed project taught me something I needed for the next one.
If you’re ready to fail, learn, build, fail again, improve and keep going, then we can talk about programming.
If the answer is no, don’t bother.
