I build automations that save solopreneurs real time.
I spent a decade writing software for other people. When the layoff came, I stopped waiting for permission and started building for myself. Not a startup. Not an agency. Just useful automations that solve the same problems I was already drowning in.
My first automation was my inbox. Sixty emails every morning, most of them noise. I built an n8n workflow in one afternoon that sorts, labels, and drafts replies using AI. It has run every morning since. That workflow became my first product.
Matt Chong
Developer · Automation Creator · n8n Workflow Builder
- Based in: Melbourne, AU
- Tool of choice: n8n and Claude AI
- Building in public: Daily posts on Threads
- The rule: Only sell what I use myself
The full story
I spent the better part of a decade as a software developer. Building systems, shipping features, solving other people's problems on other people's timelines. It was good work. I learned a lot. But I never built anything for myself.
The layoff removed that excuse. It was not a tragedy. It was the forcing function I had been dodging for years. Suddenly there was no sprint to deliver, no standup to attend, no roadmap that belonged to someone else. Just time, a laptop, and the question: what would I build if the only person I had to answer to was me?
“I was spending 90 minutes every morning on email before I had done a single thing that mattered. I built an automation to fix it. One afternoon. It has run every morning since.”
The n8n workflow that became my first product was built out of frustration. Sixty emails every morning. Newsletters I forgot I subscribed to, invoices that needed filing, client messages buried under noise. I was not managing my inbox. My inbox was managing me.
So I built a workflow that did. It reads every email as it arrives, sorts it, labels it, and generates draft replies using Claude AI. The important things surface instantly. The noise disappears. I went from 90 minutes of inbox time to under 15.
When people on Threads started asking how I managed my inbox, I showed them. When they asked for the workflow, I packaged it and put it on Gumroad for $29. No subscription. No upsell. One workflow, one price, one problem solved.
The path here
The career
Software developer
Years building other people’s systems.
The catalyst
The layoff
Not a victim story. A forcing function.
The first build
Built the inbox workflow
One afternoon. Solved a daily problem.
April 2026
First product launched
AI Email Manager. $29 one-time.
What’s next
Three more products coming
Content, customer journey, support chatbot.
Three things I will never compromise on.
These are not marketing lines. They are constraints I build around.
Only sell what I use
Every workflow I sell runs in my own business first. If I would not pay for it, I will not ask you to. That is the integrity check.
Outcomes, not tools
I do not care about clever automations. I care about hours saved, emails handled, replies drafted. If the outcome does not matter, the automation does not ship.
Honest build-in-public
Real numbers, real mistakes, real lessons. I share what is working and what is not on Threads every day. No curated highlight reel.
Try the $29 workflow. You will feel it tomorrow morning.
Or grab the free prompt pack first if you are not ready for n8n yet. Five prompts, zero commitment, instant download.