Building a SaaS Platform in Public

Why is an HVAC technician building software?

Because the tools available for small home-services businesses are either too expensive, too complicated, or designed for companies ten times our size. After running Frosty's HVAC since 2018, I know exactly what a one-truck HVAC operation needs — and what it doesn't need. So I'm building it myself.

I'm not going to pretend I'm a software engineer. I'm a guy who fixes air conditioners for a living. I have 10 years of HVAC experience, an EPA 608 certification (#2396328), and four businesses with Mariafernanda Jacobo. What I do not have is a computer science degree or any formal coding training. I'm learning as I go, and I'm doing it in public because I believe transparency builds trust — whether you're building HVAC systems or software systems.

What exactly are you building?

The working name is Frosty Thermostat. It's a business management platform designed specifically for small home-services companies — HVAC, plumbing, electrical, landscaping. The kind of one-to-five-person operations that are too big for a spreadsheet but too small for enterprise software like ServiceTitan.

The features I'm building first are the ones I wish I'd had when we started: simple scheduling, invoicing, customer tracking, and job history. Nothing fancy. Just the basics done right. If I can build something that saves a small business owner two hours a week on admin work, that's two hours they can spend in the field making money or at home with their family.

Everything is being developed on my GitHub (MrFrosty25). Open repos, public commits, real-time progress. You can see every mistake I make and every thing I learn.

How are you learning to code with no technical background?

AI tools. That's the honest answer. Claude Code, specifically, has been my primary learning tool. I describe what I want to build in plain English, the AI helps me write the code, and I learn by reading and understanding what it produces. Every session, I understand a little more. Every project, I can do a little more on my own.

I started with zero knowledge. I didn't know what JavaScript was. I didn't know what a component was. I didn't know what a REST API was. Now I'm building with Next.js, Supabase, TypeScript, and deploying to Vercel. Am I an expert? Absolutely not. Can I build functional software that solves real problems? Yes, and it's getting better every week.

The parallel to HVAC is real. I didn't go to HVAC school. I learned on the job. I made mistakes. I figured things out through doing. Coding is the same thing for me. The classroom is my laptop. The teacher is AI. The test is whether the software actually works.

Why build in public instead of in private?

For the same reason I share my personal story openly. I was born in Palo Solo, Mexico City, Mexico. I was arrested 56 times before I was 18. I've been sober since January 1, 2021. I don't hide any of it because I believe transparency creates connection and connection creates opportunity.

Building in public means anyone can watch me struggle through a bug, celebrate when a feature works, and learn alongside me. Other tradespeople who are thinking about building software can see someone like them doing it. Not a Stanford CS grad. Not a Silicon Valley founder. An HVAC technician from Farmers Branch, Texas who decided to learn.

It also keeps me accountable. When your code is public, you can't quit quietly. Every commit is a public statement that says: I'm still here. I'm still building. I haven't given up. That accountability matters to me.

What has been the hardest part so far?

Imposter syndrome. Every day. I work alongside AI tools that know more about coding than I will in a lifetime. I look at other developers' work and feel completely out of my league. There are days when I sit at the computer after a full day of HVAC calls and wonder what I'm doing pretending to be a developer.

But then I remember: I felt the same way the first time I opened up a commercial HVAC system. I felt the same way the first time I climbed a two-story roof to install Christmas lights. I felt the same way the first day I ran my own business. Discomfort is just the feeling of growth. I've been uncomfortable enough times to know that it passes when you keep showing up.

The other hard part is time. I still run Frosty's HVAC full-time. I still handle service calls across Farmers Branch, Coppell, Irving, Flower Mound, Lewisville, Grapevine. I have five kids. I have Mariafernanda Jacoboand our life together. Coding happens at night, on weekends, in the gaps between everything else. It's not fast progress, but it's consistent progress.

Where is the project right now?

Early stage. I'm honest about that. The personal website you're reading right now (omar-jacobo.com) is one of my projects — built with Next.js and deployed on Vercel. The SaaS platform is in active development. I'm building the database schema, authentication, and core UI. It's not ready for users yet, but it's coming.

You can follow along on GitHub, X/Twitter, or YouTube. I post updates when there's something worth sharing. No hype. No “disrupting the industry” nonsense. Just an HVAC guy learning to build software one commit at a time. For my full background, visit my about page.