Back an Independent Solo Engineer Building the Open Web
DevCastle has zero venture capital, zero corporate subsidies, and zero bloated teams. It is designed, built, and shipped entirely by a solo software developer. Here is the unfiltered truth, the live cost ledger, and how you can back this craft.
Hey, I'm Lalit Sharma. I am a software engineer building DevCastle completely on my own.
I want to be completely transparent: I don't have a formal tech job right now, no corporate salary backing me, and zero venture capital. Over the past year, instead of sitting idle or playing politics in endless corporate interview loops, I made a conscious choice to bet everything on myself and build the platform I always wished existed.
Every single line of code in this system — from the Next.js App Router engine and MySQL database models to the AI semantic agent pipelines, Reddit scraper tools, and the Flat Register design system you see right now — has been engineered, designed, debugged, and shipped by my hands alone.
DevCastle is fast, un-enshittified, and respects your privacy. No paywalls to launch products, no surveillance trackers, and no venture capitalists demanding we spam your inbox.
Building something this massive alone is both the most rewarding and the most demanding challenge of my life. The servers, database clusters, AI inference tokens, and domain infrastructure cost real money every month out of my own pocket.
If DevCastle has brought you value, if you respect genuine software craftsmanship, or if you want to support a solo developer pouring his soul into open software — backing this project directly provides the runway for me to keep coding, surviving, and shipping.
Support the Solo Builder Directly
Send a fast coffee tip or set up recurring support. Zero account required. Supports international credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.
Sponsor Lalit directly on GitHub. GitHub takes 0% in processing fees, grants you a sponsor badge on your GitHub profile, and can be expensed under developer tools.
Hire Lalit for Advisory, Contract, or Full-Time Engineering
If your team, startup, or fund appreciates the engineering quality behind DevCastle, the best way to support is to hire or consult with me. I am open to select high-leverage roles:
Full-stack architecture, Next.js optimization, TypeScript systems, AI agent integrations, and MVP buildouts.
Product strategy, RAG & vector search implementation, indie hacker launch coaching, and database scaling.
Open to exceptional Founding Engineer, Staff Systems Architect, or Principal Technical Lead positions.
Patronage Levels & Recognition
Covers 1 week of dedicated Hetzner VPS compute and Redis job queues.
- Permanent Supporter badge on your public DevCastle profile
- Credited in the monthly public engineering changelog
- Direct gratitude from a solo engineer keeping the lights on
Directly funds a full week of multi-model AI inference and semantic vector searches.
- All Coffee perks included
- Name prominently immortalized on the DevCastle Supporter Wall
- Direct early preview access to experimental builder features
- Priority triage on your feature requests and bug dispatches
Funds the managed cloud MySQL database cluster and daily backups for a whole month.
- All Builder Patron perks included
- Avatar or brand linked in DevCastle registry footers
- Distinct 'Castle Steward' gold ring badge across community enclaves
- Direct 1-on-1 communication line with Lalit for tech insights
For engineering startups, devtools companies, agencies, and tooling leaders.
- High-visibility brand logo on DevCastle homepage and global footers
- Guaranteed priority placement in Launchpad weekly spotlight
- Free featured job or contract opportunity posting per quarter
- Direct architecture consultation & ecosystem partnership line
Infrastructure Expenses Breakdown
We operate with strict financial transparency. Every single dollar donated directly offsets the actual runtime cost of DevCastle servers, managed database clusters, and AI inference engines.
Other Ways to Back the Solo Developer
Financial support is invaluable, but word-of-mouth, GitHub stars, and honest developer feedback keep this project alive just as much.
Star on GitHub
Give the repository a star to increase open-source discovery across the developer collective.
STAR REPOSITORY ↗Launch Your Product
Publish your developer tool, library, or SaaS on the Launchpad to grow the ecosystem.
SUBMIT LAUNCH ↗Report Edge Bugs
Help a solo engineer polish the system by filing UX edge cases, bugs, or performance ideas.
DISPATCH FEEDBACK ↗