Day 22 – The First Full Loop

There is a certain moment in any product journey when something just clicks. Day 22 was that moment for us. After weeks of refining, debating and stripping things back, we hit a proper milestone — SWAIN generated its first full set of CRUD endpoints from a real database.

This wasn’t a mocked-up demo or a design prototype. It was a real database, real queries and real-time documentation appearing instantly. The tool connected, interpreted the schema and returned usable results with no manual intervention. That loop — from connection to usable API — was the core promise of the product. Seeing it happen was a quiet but powerful turning point.

Of course, it wasn’t perfect. There were edge cases, messy outputs, and bits we knew we’d need to refactor. But none of that mattered as much as what it represented: the difference between theory and reality. We were now looking at a working proof, something that could be tested, challenged and improved in the open.

What made this day special wasn’t just the code, though. It was the shift in mindset. Up to this point, a lot of the journey had been internal — defining scope, finding purpose, getting out of our own way. But now we had something we could show, even in rough form. Something that invited feedback instead of just ideas.

It was also the point where building in public felt less like a concept and more like a commitment. If we were going to continue this way, we had to be honest about what worked, what didn’t and how fast we were learning.

Key takeaway

Shipping something imperfect is better than endlessly preparing something ideal. Progress is momentum, not polish.