<There are many blockchains you can build on.
But I chose one that’s worth building for — Optimism.

This is my story as a solo builder, and why I believe in the Optimism Collective.
No team. No grants. No sponsors. Just belief, purpose, and public goods.

⸻

🛠️ I’m Not Just a Builder — I’m a Believer

I discovered Optimism at a time when I was searching for something deeper than infrastructure. I found a movement — one built on coordination, generosity, and meaningful impact.

It’s not just another L2 with low fees and fast transactions.
It’s a place where you can build for good.

⸻

🧡 Why Optimism?

It wasn’t the tech alone that pulled me in. It was the values:
• Public goods > profit
• Retroactive rewards for real contributions
• Open infrastructure for thousands of builders

And above all:

🧠 Impact = Profit

No gatekeeping. No promises. Just recognition of work that lifts others.

⸻

🔁 RetroPGF Changed My Mindset

The idea that you could build first and be rewarded retroactively — if your work truly created value — was a breakthrough for me.

RetroPGF gave me:
• The freedom to build without asking for permission
• The motivation to create real public goods
• The belief that meaningful work would not go unseen

⸻

🧱 What I’ve Built (So Far)

Everything I’ve created has one thing in common: it’s public, free, and built with care.

🟠 An illustrated book about Optimism — a visual, easy-to-read guide
🟠 The same book translated into 10 languages — accessibility first
🟠 4 NFT collections — educational, interactive, and open
🟠 RetroGPT bot — an AI assistant trained to explain RetroPGF and my work
🟠 A trial DAO — with real onchain voting using Aragon
🟠 Threads, memes, articles — community-facing storytelling
🟠 YouTube channel — short motivational and educational videos

All of this was built without funding.
Just my own time, skills, and desire to contribute to a collective mission.

⸻

🧭 What I Learned

You don’t need a grant to build something valuable.
You don’t need permission to create something meaningful.
You don’t even need a team — if you have purpose.

What you need is:
• 💡 An idea
• 🧡 Belief
• 🔨 Action

⸻

🧡 To the Badgeholders and the Collective

If any of this resonates with you —
I’d be truly grateful for your support 🧡

Every RT, like, or vote means the world to a solo builder.

⸻

🔗 Explore My Full Contribution

📘 Book: Build for Good on GitHub https://github.com/stephanschwab/build-for-good

📚 Translations: 10-language version https://github.com/stephanschwab/build-for-good-global-book-texts

🖼️ NFTs: OP Cards on OpenSea: https://opensea.io/collection/build-for-good-op-cards

🖼️ NFTs: Build for Good — The Coloring Way https://opensea.io/collection/build-for-good-the-coloring-way

🖼️ NFTs comic: Meme Saves the Day https://opensea.io/collection/meme-saves-the-day

🤖 Bot: RetroGPT https://stephanschwab.github.io/BuildForGood-bot/

🗳️ DAO Voting (Trial): Aragon DAO https://app.aragon.org/dao/optimism-mainnet/0x80b65555D91430c4A24E6b36b139A2a7DE8D112c/proposals/TV-1

▶️ YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@StephanOptimism>

I’m a solo builder who created public goods for Optimism — including an illustrated book in 10 languages, NFTs, a DAO, a RetroGPT bot, and more. This is the story of why I chose to build for Optimism — with no team, no grant, just belief.

#Optimism #RetroPGF #BuildForGood #PublicGoods #Badgeholders #OnchainBuilders #SoloBuilder#DAO