Why I started JobTag and learned to build it myself

Early in my career, finding a job regularly took me four to six months. I would search, apply, follow up, and spend time pursuing opportunities that led nowhere.

When I spoke with people in my network, I kept hearing similar experiences. What frustrated me was how normal everyone seemed to think this was.

If finding work could take that long even with professional training and experience, what barriers were other people facing? What about someone without formal qualifications, or someone looking for practical, hands-on work?

Those questions became part of the motivation behind JobTag.

But having an idea and bringing it to life turned out to be very different things.

After receiving quotes in the hundreds of thousands of dollars just to build JobTag’s minimum viable product (MVP) from established iOS developers, including some with well-known YouTube channels, I hired freelancers to help with development. Several disappointing experiences later, I decided to learn SwiftUI myself, starting from zero while continuing to provide consultancy and run my company.

That decision became a substantial part of the journey: learning enough to take a more direct role in building the product I wanted to exist.

I founded JobTag in November 2021 and brought it to market in November 2025. Between those dates sits a much longer story. One I’ll share here, including the setbacks, decisions, and things I had to learn along the way.