From a Potato PC and Failed Projects to Building Something Used by Thousands — and the Reality of Being an Indie Developer.

Some projects are built to make money. Some are built to solve a problem. And then there are projects that become a part of your life, changing the way you think, the people you meet, and the person you become.

For me, that project was Orator.

Today, Orator has been through multiple versions, countless updates, and years of development. But behind everything users see is a story that started long before Orator became what it is today.

This is that story.

Before Orator: Two Failed Attempts

Around five or six years ago, I wanted something that many Discord developers wanted at the time: a verified Discord bot.

My first attempt was a music bot called Coco, which I built with another developer. Unfortunately, we couldn't get it verified. It was a failure, and I moved on.

Then I started another project called Wiston, a moderation bot. I tried again, hoping things would work out differently, but that bot didn't get verified either.

Two projects. Two disappointments.

At that point, I didn't know much about development, and I certainly didn't know what was waiting for me next.

Looking back, those failures were not the end of anything. They were the beginning of a journey I hadn't even imagined.

March 2, 2022: The Beginning of Orator

On March 2, 2022, I started working on Orator.

At the time, I had no idea how much this project would eventually mean to me. I was still in Class 11, learning development as I went, figuring things out through trial and error.

I wasn't working with expensive hardware or a professional development setup. I built Orator on what I can only describe as a potato PC:

• Intel Core i3, 2nd generation
• 4 GB RAM

That was my development machine.

I didn't have years of experience, a team of engineers, or a proper business behind me. I just had an idea, the willingness to learn, and the motivation to keep building.

On March 18, 2022, Orator got verified on Discord.

Less than a month later, it reached its first 1,000 guilds.

For someone who had failed to get two previous bots verified, this felt huge. Orator was finally working, people were using it, and the project was growing.

But there was still a long way to go.

Finding My Footing as a Developer

The developer I had started Orator with eventually had to leave because of exams. Suddenly, I was trying to keep a growing bot alive while still being a beginner myself.

I didn't fully understand everything required to operate a project at that scale. There were technical challenges, infrastructure decisions, bugs, and countless things I had to learn along the way.

After searching for a while, I found another developer on May 19, 2022.

He helped me revive the bot and get things moving again. That support made a real difference at a time when I was still learning the fundamentals of building and maintaining a live service.

From there, Orator began to evolve. New milestones followed, updates arrived, and I gradually became more experienced.

I wasn't just learning how to code anymore. I was learning how to maintain a real product that people depended on.

September 2022: My First Laptop

Around September 10, 2022, my parents gifted me a laptop for my birthday. By then, Orator had reached around 3,000 guilds, and I was in Class 12.

My board exams were approaching, and my parents would often remind me to focus on my studies instead of spending so much time in front of a screen. They wanted me to do well academically, and their concerns were completely understandable.

At the same time, I was deeply invested in Orator. I was learning new things every day, solving problems, and watching something I had built gradually grow. For me, those hours weren't just about sitting in front of a computer; they were an opportunity to learn and build something of my own.

Balancing school and development wasn't always easy, and I knew my studies were important too. I was still figuring out how to manage both while continuing to work on something I genuinely cared about.

I had no idea where Orator would take me or whether it would ever become financially successful. I just enjoyed building it and wanted to see how far I could take it.

A few months later, on March 14, 2023, Orator made its first-ever premium sale of $50. At the time, I was still preparing for my board exams, and that small milestone would become a turning point in my journey as a developer.

March 14, 2023: The First Premium Sale

On March 14, 2023, Orator received its first-ever premium purchase.

One user purchased premium for $50.

I won't reveal the user's name, but I will always remember that sale.

At the time, I wasn't running a registered company or operating with a professional team and a business budget. I was a student building a Discord bot while preparing for my board exams.

And suddenly, someone had paid $50 for something I had created.

That $50 changed the way I looked at Orator.

It wasn't just a project anymore. It was proof that something I had built could generate real revenue.

I used that money to improve the project. I was able to get better, more secure hosting for the bot and integrate new text-to-speech APIs.

Those improvements helped me expand Orator's capabilities and gave users more reasons to purchase premium.

The first sale led to better infrastructure. Better infrastructure helped me improve the product. And a better product created more opportunities for sales.

For the first time, I could see a path toward making Orator sustainable.

That first $50 wasn't just revenue. It was validation that the time and effort I had invested could lead somewhere.

More Than a Discord Bot

As Orator grew, my life outside the code changed, too.

I met many people online through the project. Some of those people eventually became close friends in real life.

Today, I work with some of them, spend time with them, and enjoy experiences that might never have happened if I had never started Orator.

The project gave me opportunities to learn, earn, collaborate, and build relationships. It taught me things about software development, infrastructure, product decisions, and dealing with problems that I could never have learned from tutorials alone.

Most importantly, it gave me something I could call my own.

I started with almost no experience and very limited hardware. Over time, I learned by building, making mistakes, fixing problems, and trying again.

Orator became much more than a Discord bot. It became a major part of my life.

Years of Building, Updates, and Milestones

Over the years, Orator went through multiple versions and a huge number of changes.

Every update brought new challenges. Every new feature required time, testing, infrastructure, and maintenance. As the bot grew, keeping it reliable became just as important as adding new functionality.

Orator also expanded its text-to-speech capabilities, giving users access to different voices and providers.

Behind every feature was work that most users would never see: debugging, managing servers, dealing with API limitations, improving reliability, and trying to make the experience better.

There were exciting moments and frustrating ones. There were milestones worth celebrating and problems that took far longer to solve than expected.

But I kept going.

By October 2026, Orator had released seven major versions, and I had been planning to release version 7.5 later in the year.

I had ideas for new features, improvements, and other projects I wanted to build around the same ecosystem.

I genuinely wanted to keep going.

But wanting to build something and being able to afford to keep building it are two different things.

The Reality of Running Orator

Over the last five to six months, Orator has struggled financially.

Orator has been able to generate revenue, but it hasn't consistently covered its own operating costs. Some months, we manage to break even. In others, the project runs at a loss, and I have to pay some expenses out of my own pocket.

I won't share the exact financial numbers, but I want to be honest about the situation.

Running a bot at scale isn't free. Infrastructure costs money. APIs cost money. Maintaining a reliable service requires continuous effort and resources.

Adding new features can introduce even more costs, particularly when those features depend on additional infrastructure or paid services.

For some time, I tried to keep pushing forward despite the financial pressure. But there comes a point when continuing to spend money on development without a sustainable financial foundation isn't a responsible decision.

I had to make a difficult choice.

Why I'm Pausing Development

On October 23, 2026, I shared an announcement with the Orator community explaining the situation.

I'm pausing new updates and features for the next five to six months while I work toward stabilizing Orator's finances.

This decision wasn't easy.

I already had a lot planned for version 7.5, and I was excited about what I could build next. I was also planning to release Vocora.io, a text-to-speech desktop application, but that project is on hold as well.

For now, I need to step back from active development and focus on other things in life.

I want to make one thing clear, though.

This is a pause, not an end.

Orator is not shutting down. The bot will remain online, and existing premium plans, add-ons, and memberships will continue to work. I'll continue monitoring the service and fixing serious problems when they arise.

The pause is specifically about new features and regular development, not abandoning the project or its users.

If Orator becomes financially stable again, I intend to resume development. If that happens before the five-to-six-month period is over, I won't wait unnecessarily to start building again.

I still want to release version 7.5. I still have ideas worth pursuing. I just need to make sure the project has a sustainable future.

To Everyone Who Has Been Part of This Journey

If you've used Orator, purchased premium, reported a bug, suggested a feature, helped me with development, or supported the project in any way, thank you.

You have been part of this journey.

Every user who joined, every person who offered feedback, and every customer who decided that Orator was worth paying for helped shape the project into what it is today.

I especially appreciate the people who believed in the bot when it was small and continued supporting it as it grew.

And to the developers and friends I've met through Orator: thank you for being part of a journey that has given me so much more than I expected when I first started coding it.

I can't promise exactly when the next major update will arrive. I also can't promise that everything will work out exactly as I hope.

But I can promise that I care about what I've built, and I want to give it a future that makes sense both technically and financially.

If you'd like to support Orator and help bring version 7.5 closer, you can contribute here: oratorbot.xyz/donate

Every bit of support helps.

What Comes Next?

For now, I'm going to step back from active development and focus on other areas of my life.

That doesn't erase the years I've spent building Orator. It doesn't take away the milestones, the friendships, the lessons, or the opportunities the project has given me.

I started this journey as a Class 11 student with an old i3 PC and 4 GB of RAM. I didn't know much about development, and I had already experienced the disappointment of two failed projects.

I kept trying anyway.

One day, a bot I had built received its first $50 premium purchase. That moment helped me invest back into the project and showed me that my work could create something real.

Years later, Orator has released seven versions, built a community, and become one of the most meaningful projects of my life.

Whatever happens next, that journey will always matter to me.

Orator is the biggest thing I've built, and I'm not ready to close this chapter.

For now, I'm choosing to pause, regroup, and work toward a more sustainable future.

Thank you for being part of Orator.

— RK

Founder of Orator