The author reflects on eight years as a bootstrapped founder after leaving Google. His journey includes a mix of unprofitable ventures and the eventual creation of TinyPilot, a remote computer control product that he sold in 2024. In the past year, he earned $16.3k in revenue, with a profit of $8.2k, which he acknowledges isn't enough to support a family. He attributes much of his income to a book he's writing for developers on improving their writing skills, generating $6k from a Kickstarter and $11.8k in total pre-sales. His primary expenses were $2.1k on hardware and $1.9k on AI tools, which he uses for various tasks but not for writing itself. This year has been particularly fulfilling for him, as he found a business that aligns with his interests and skills. He identifies five key criteria that enhance his enjoyment as a founder: personal enjoyment of the domain, leveraging his skills, profitability, work-life balance, and alignment with customer interests. He contrasts his current project, "Refactoring English," with a previous business, "Is It Keto," showing how the latter failed to meet his criteria. While his book is not fully profitable yet, he finds it more rewarding and sustainable than past endeavors. The author also shares how becoming a father has changed his daily routine but hasn't diminished his enjoyment of work. He still relishes the independence and flexibility of his role, even if family dynamics have shifted his schedule.