Jennifer Dewalt
Designer-turned-developer who taught herself to code by building 180 websites in 180 days, launched side projects (YumHacker), and later founded the project-management product Zube; accepted to the Y Combinator Fellowship program.
Compare Your Trajectory
See how your career milestones stack up against Jennifer Dewalt and other industry leaders.
Life & Career Timeline
Started 180 Websites in 180 Days project (Day 1)
Launched an intensive self-directed learning challenge to build one website per day to learn web development from scratch.
Completed 180 Websites in 180 Days project (estimated)
Roughly 180 days after the April 1 start date, the 180-sites challenge would have concluded; this marked the core intensive learning phase.
Reached full-stack capability after initial learning period
Within six months of starting the project Jennifer was coding in JavaScript, Ruby on Rails and Node.js and able to build a full-stack web app.
Began work on YumHacker
After finishing the 180-websites challenge, Jennifer started working on YumHacker, an experimental website/project mentioned on her blog.
Featured / referenced in The Muse ('The Sort of Crazy (But Totally Effective) Way I Taught Myself a New Skill')
Contributor page / article (The Muse) documents Jennifer's self-teaching approach; raises public profile as a maker/learner.
Published 'My First Year of Coding' blog post (1-year anniversary)
Reflective blog post summarizing the first year after starting the 180-websites project and the personal/career impact of learning to code.
Left coworking space (last day)
Posted about it being her last day in her coworking space (Hatchery SF).
Moved to 'New digs' (posted)
Posted on social about moving to new digs the day after leaving her coworking space.
Traveled to/attended HIVESeattle (posted)
Social post notes travel to HIVESeattle; evidence of participation in tech/meetup community events.
Reblogged resources and learning materials (Twitter/dev resources)
Shared curated developer learning resources (reblog from 'thinkfulfilled') indicating engagement with learning community.
Attended/posted about CalHacks
Posted 'Not a bad view from @CalHacks' indicating attendance/participation at the hackathon.
Founded/Launched Zube (project management product) — approximate
Took coding and business learnings to build Zube, a project-management platform; later admitted to Y Combinator Fellowship; used by teams like Autodesk and Universal Music Group (company milestone). Date is approximate (post-180-sites).
Became a Y Combinator (YC) Fellowship Founder (role/recognition) — approximate
Accepted to Y Combinator's Fellowship program (Jennifer identifies as a YC Fellowship Founder). Exact acceptance date not specified in sources; noted publicly by 2016 blog post.
Zube used by enterprise teams (Autodesk, Universal Music Group) — milestone
Zube achieved adoption by larger teams such as Autodesk and Universal Music Group (sign of product traction).
Published blog post 'How I Built 180 Websites in 180 days and became a YC Fellowship Founder'
Personal blog post recounting the 180-websites project and noting acceptance/participation in the Y Combinator Fellowship program.
Featured as a case/example in Medium piece about side projects
Yunzhe Zhou's Medium article ('How 25 Side Projects Led to Dream Careers') cites Jennifer's 180-websites project as an example of side projects transforming careers.
Ongoing use and support of Zube by teams (product milestone)
Zube continued to be used by product and engineering teams; referenced as an outcome of Jennifer's transition from art to software/entrepreneurship.
Public profile as 'maker' and teacher of self-directed learning established
Through blog posts, Medium/The Muse mentions and YC Fellowship status, Jennifer became a referenced example of learning-by-doing for career transition.
Maintained public blog and speaking/teaching presence (ongoing)
Continued to publish reflections, resources, and examples for people learning to code and building side projects.
Zube product maturity / team adoption (ongoing product milestone)
Zube continued to exist as a project-management tool used by engineering/product teams; public references indicate sustained adoption after initial YC exposure.
Referenced in career-advice and maker communities as exemplar of rapid learning
Jennifer's 180-websites project continued to be cited across blogs and teaching resources as a high-profile example of fast, project-based learning.
Legacy of 180-websites project sustained in online resources and interviews
The project remains a frequently-cited case study in discussions of side projects, career pivots, and self-teaching in web development.
Public writing and talks continue to encourage self-directed learning
Jennifer's blog posts and public writing (and citations in aggregated resources) continue to influence learners; she is profiled as an example of how side projects can lead to startup founding and accelerator acceptance.
Similar Trajectories
Nilay Patel
American technology journalist, co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Verge, host of Decoder and co-host of The Vergecast. Formerly of Engadget and a contributor to major broadcast outlets.
Matthew Panzarino
Tech journalist and editor who served as Senior Editor, Co-Editor and then Editor-in-Chief of TechCrunch (joined 2013; EIC from 2015). Former Managing Editor at The Next Web, Apple-focused blogger and photographer. Led TechCrunch editorial and events (notably Disrupt) through a decade of change; stepped down in 2023.
Nick Bilton
British‑American journalist, New York Times columnist (former), Vanity Fair special correspondent, bestselling author and Emmy‑winning filmmaker and screenwriter.
Roman Mars
American radio producer, host/creator of the podcast 99% Invisible, co‑founder of the Radiotopia podcast collective, TED speaker and author focused on design and the built environment.
Scott Hanselman
Programmer, teacher, speaker and Microsoft Vice President of Developer Community; podcaster, blogger, open-source contributor and author focused on .NET, developer experience, accessibility and diabetes technology.
Benedict Evans
Independent technology analyst and writer focused on mobile, consumer tech and platform ecosystems; former venture-capital and strategy professional; author of a widely-read weekly newsletter and public speaker.