Build Like Woz: When Curiosity Is the Roadmap
iWoz is the story of Steve Wozniak building for joy, not glory. From hand-sketched circuits to the Apple I, his curiosity turned side projects into history. For indie hackers, the takeaway is simple: scratch your own itch, build with care, and let playful prototypes grow into revolutions.
It starts at a kitchen table. No investors, no vision deck, no plan for world domination. Just a soldering iron, a blank circuit board, and Steve Wozniak chasing a hunch.
iWoz is the story of a guy who didn’t want to build a company—he just couldn’t stop building. It’s not about strategy or scale. It’s about what happens when someone follows their technical curiosity all the way through and accidentally changes the world.
Obsession > Ambition
Woz wasn’t in it for the glory. He wasn’t trying to “disrupt” or “scale.” He just loved making things work. Ham radios in his teens. TV jammers he’d prank professors with. Calculators designed for maximum simplicity.
Most days, he’d sketch full circuit designs by hand before touching hardware. That’s how deep the obsession ran. Not for a deadline—just for the puzzle.
That energy? You see it in indie hackers building tools to scratch an itch, testing ideas with no promise of outcome. Side projects that become companies. Weekend hacks that pick up traction. Not because someone told them to build—because they couldn’t not.
Build What You Wish Existed
The Apple I wasn’t a product idea. It was a dare: could Woz build a full working computer using fewer chips than anyone else had managed? Could he make it cheap enough that other hobbyists could afford one too?
He did. Then he showed it to Jobs. Jobs didn’t see a toy—he saw a company. He figured if you could make one, you could sell a hundred. And if a hundred people wanted it, maybe a thousand would.
The important bit: it started with no business plan. Just someone going deep on a challenge they cared about.
This is the indie loop: scratch your own itch, and if it resonates with someone else, keep going. That’s how so many of the best tools show up—quietly, organically, without market research.
Focus Beats Forecasts
Woz didn’t just build—it mattered to him how it was built. The Apple I was elegant. The layout was clean. The components were minimal. The code was lean because it had to be—memory was expensive, every byte counted.
Even the Blue Box—a device he and Jobs built to hack the phone system—was an engineering flex. Woz called it one of the best designs he ever did. Not because of impact, but because of beauty.
That mindset? It still works. The best indie founders aren’t just moving fast. They’re choosing to make things well. Thoughtful UX. Clean APIs. Copy that respects the user. Even in a prototype, there’s care.
Because when you ship with taste, people notice.
Don’t Wait for Permission
Woz didn’t know he was building a revolution. He just wanted to see what was possible. He had no roadmap, no investors, no real plan.
But what he had was momentum. The itch to solve one problem well. Then another. Then another.
That’s the quiet power of side projects. One good idea, followed earnestly, can spiral. Maybe it becomes a tool. Maybe a business. Maybe just a step toward the next thing.
You don’t need a startup to start. Just a place to build and a reason to keep going.
Know When to Collaborate
Woz thrived alone. Jobs thrived in conversation. They worked because they were opposites with mutual respect. Woz brought working prototypes. Jobs brought the pitch, the story, the boldness.
Every solo founder eventually hits this moment: you need someone who thinks differently. Not to take over. Just to make the thing louder, clearer, faster.
It might be a co-founder. Or a designer. Or a writer. But if you’re building alone and someone shows up who gets it, that’s a signal worth listening to.
Stay Playful. Stay Close to the Build.
Even after Apple was public, Woz still spent weekends writing BASIC games. He ran a dial-a-joke line for fun. He taught public school. The joy never left. The tinkering never stopped.
That’s the deeper thread: success didn’t pull him away from building—it gave him more space to do it.
If you’re building something, ask yourself: would I still want to do this if no one noticed? Would I still be here if the market disappeared?
That’s your gut check. If the answer’s yes, you’re on the right path.
One Quiet Build at a Time
iWoz isn’t about empires. It’s about a builder who stayed close to the metal. Who said no to shortcuts, no to hype, and yes to the weird, joyful work of making something new.
Indie hackers take note: The next big thing probably won’t look like a big thing at all.
Just a person at a desk. Curious. Focused. Following an idea a little too far.
That’s how revolutions begin.