🧭 Opening Note

One month ago, on June 16th, 2025, I hit “publish” — and started this journey not just as a builder, but as someone willing to build in public.

It wasn’t the first time the domain went live. In fact, gandharmengle.com sat untouched for three years — bought out of instinct, left as a placeholder. This time, though, it was different. It wasn’t FOMO or fantasy — it was a decision grounded in clarity, a vision backed by intention.

The truth is: I’ve always known I wanted to build something of my own. I just didn’t always know how. But I knew one thing — waiting for the perfect moment would mean waiting forever. So, I chose to start. Publicly. Imperfectly. With purpose.

One of the core beliefs I carry — and the foundation this community stands on — is this:

Since that day, I’ve been showing up daily — not just to write, but to learn, observe, build systems, and connect. And today, July 16th, 2025, marks one month since this platform officially began. This monthly newsletter is my way of documenting that journey — openly and honestly — for anyone who wants to walk this path with me.

Whether you’re a reader, teammate, future contributor, or just curious - welcome to Month 1.

Let’s take you inside.

🏁 Monthly Highlights

✅ 1. What We Shipped

• Launched gandharmengle.com

• Published 7 blogs across 4 categories

• Launched Instagram page @thegandharmengle

• Launched Facebook page thegandhrmengle

• Started building our first app project: Rituals

• Reached 5 email subscribers

• Set up automated email flows for new members

✍️ 2. What We Learned

• The importance of starting with an MVP — getting the product out first, refining it later

• Minimize overbuilding early — focus on what's functional and testable

• Consistency matters more than perfection when building something new

• Don't wait to feel ready — you start to feel ready only after you start

💡 3. Mindset Moments

• Working fewer hours, but making smarter, higher-impact decisions beats burnout

• Every mistake made is another blueprint avoided later

• Building solo teaches focus. But growing a community makes it meaningful

🔧 Behind the Scenes

🧱 1. Systems & Workflows Set Up

• Automated email sequences for subscribers

• A clean blog formatting template for consistency

• A roadmap to track published, upcoming, and planned blog posts

• Manual project planner in Excel — moving toward a proper tool soon

⚙️ 2. What We’re Currently Building

Rituals — the first spiritual app under this platform

It’s a spiritually rooted mobile companion to help users connect with their inner selves through timeless practices.

Key features already in MVP build phase:

• A clean, calming UI

• Personalized habit & reflection settings (like font size, language preferences)

• Multi-language support from Day 1

Stay tuned — a Rituals page will soon go live under Crafted Code on the website.

🧠 3. What Felt Messy But Meaningful

Instagram content creation — especially reels — was unfamiliar and time-consuming. But now, after testing formats, learning visual language, and tuning voice, it’s beginning to click.

🌐 What’s Live on the Website

The site already reflects a strong foundation, with room to grow.

📝 7 Blogs across 4 Categories

📚 Life Unfiltered

• Why Curiosity and Growth Resist the One Path

• Why I Refuse to Choose Just One Path

🎓 Learnings & Lessons

• The Timing’s Off, But You’re Not

• What You Don’t See When It Starts to Work

💻 Digital Thinking

• The Tools Are Smarter, But Are We?

• Why Digital Isn’t Always Progress — and That’s Okay

📈 Business & Strategy

• Not Every Idea Is a Startup — Some Are Systems

🌟 Reader Favorites (So Far)

• Not Every Idea Is a Startup — Some Are Systems [Read Now]

• Why Curiosity and Growth Resist the One Path [Read Now]

• The Tools Are Smarter, But Are We? [Read Now]

• The Timing’s Off, But You’re Not [Read Now]

📁 Website Pages (Live & Active)

• Home

• Crafted Code – Project showcase (starting with Rituals)

• Thinking Out Loud – Blog hub

• Sketch Mode – Early ideas and concept dump zone

• Join the Build – Contributor/member form

• Community Newsletter – This page, updated monthly

📣 Social Growth & Experiments

📍 Where We’re Active

• Instagram: @thegandharmengle

• Facebook: thegandharmengle

🎯 Strategy Snapshot

Every post is created with calm, builder-first energy.

The goal? Consistency, clarity, and connection — not just chasing reach.

🧪 What We’re Learning

• Posts are most engaging (56% of total engagement)

• Reels drive reach (33% of interaction)

• DM replies and story taps build trust faster than followers do

⚠️ Challenges Faced

And how we’re thinking through them

🧱 What’s Felt Slow or Hard

• Social media is still new and takes time to master

• LinkedIn presence has been postponed

• Managing all tasks solo — from design to content to systems — tests bandwidth

• Some backend systems still feel temporary and clunky

💡 Our Response

• We’re intentionally postponing over-building — MVP first, polish later

• Mindset shift: Every delay is a lesson — it’s not about speed, it’s about clarity

• Actions > stress — following Jeff Bezos’ reminder: “Stress comes from not taking action, not from hard work.”

🔭 What’s Coming Next

🚀 Month 2 Focus

• More blogs — plus a few new categories

• Rituals App: next phase of development + visual page under Crafted Code

• Launching LinkedIn presence

• Newsletter system: dropdowns, archives, proper structure

• New contributor roles under Join the Build

🧪 Experiments Ahead

• Optimizing reach and discovery on social

• Expanding blog topics across new disciplines

• Phase-based rollouts and new internal systems for smoother scale

📊 Early Analytics Snapshot

📱 Social Media (Instagram)

• 1.6K views, with 60% coming from non-followers

• 400+ unique accounts reached

• Most engaging content: Posts (56%) > Reels (33%) > Stories (10%)

• 182 profile actions + 85 total interactions

• 18 new followers (all organic)

🌐 Website

• 40 unique visitors

• 33 blog views, 5 subscribers, 5 form submissions

• Visitors came from:

  • 🇮🇳 India – 70%

  • 🇷🇺 Russia – 20%

  • 🇺🇸 USA – 6%

🛠️ Join the Build

If you’ve read this far — you’re not just curious, you’re aligned.

We’re building something real here. Something thoughtful. Something that grows one meaningful connection at a time.

👉 Head over to gandharmengle.com/join-the-build

Roles are opening soon. We’re not in a rush. But we are ready.

If you think you’re meant to be part of this — this is your sign.

💬 Final Thought

Here’s to Month Two. Let’s build forward — with clarity, care, and courage.

— Gandhar Mengle