Fourteen years is a long time to be working on an app.

But my journey as an indie developer would have ended abruptly had it not been for a three-sentence review.

Back then, I had just completed the first version of Due. It tackled just one thing—quickly capture what needs to be done, and when it needs to be done.

I sent out promo codes and press releases to all the tech blogs that I could think of. Nothing happened. No responses. Not a single redeemed code.

With zero publicity, sales trickled in. I made $28 on day one, and by day seven, nothing. I thought my career was over before it even began.

There was however one download that day—a promo code redemption.

That download, as I would later learn, was by John Gruber. He liked it enough to pen 3 sentences about Due on Daring Fireball a few days later.

John’s endorsement remains the proudest moment of my career—even more so than winning an Apple Design Award for Elk years later.

Sales for Due soared. Other reviewers, and even Apple, started paying attention. Overnight, it became viable for me to continue working on Due again. And that was how it all began.

If you were one of those customers who took a chance on Due based on John’s recommendation, thank you.

If Due is new to you, you can learn more about what Due can do for you, or what it had done for others.