My Side Hustle: Building the ni18 Ecosystem

Published on February 1, 2026 • By Nitin Kanade

Solving Real-World Problems Through Code

In the world of software development, a resume tells you what I can do, but my side projects show you what I love to do.

Welcome to the ni18 App Ecosystem—my personal laboratory and side hustle. Operating under the developer handle ni18 (derived from my name, Nitin), I have built and maintained a portfolio of Android applications that serve a simple purpose: bridging gaps.

Unlike my 9-to-5 work, which often focuses on enterprise constraints, these apps allow me to be the "Solver-Developer." I identify friction points in daily life—whether it's a student struggling with English grammar or a developer needing offline documentation—and I engineer a solution.

Today, these apps act as a "utilitarian" ecosystem, serving thousands of users across three distinct sectors: Vernacular Education, Competitive Exam Prep, and Technical Tools.

My Core Philosophy: "Offline-First" & "Privacy-First"

When I build for myself, I build for the user who doesn't have a perfect internet connection or unlimited data. This constraint has shaped my engineering philosophy.

1. The "Download Once, Use Forever" Standard

I realized early on that my primary demographic (students in Tier-2/3 cities) cannot afford apps that constantly fetch data.

The Solution: I architect my apps to be self-contained. Whether it's the JEE Mock Test or Physics Formulas, the core content is bundled with the APK. This ensures that a student on a bus with zero signal can still study.
The Result: High retention rates. My apps become permanent utilities on users' devices because they are reliable.

2. Ethical Monetization & Data Privacy

I monetize through AdMob to keep these tools free, but I draw a hard line on privacy.

No Data Harvesting: I do not collect emails, contacts, or location data.
No Third-Party Sales: I believe in "Sandboxed Utilities." What happens in the app, stays in the app. This builds trust, especially with parents allowing their children to use my grammar tools.

1. Bridging the Language Gap (Vernacular Tech)

One of my biggest passions is using technology to democratize education. I noticed that most English learning apps are designed for Spanish or French speakers, not for the unique sentence structures of Indian languages.

All English Grammar in Marathi (AEGIM)

The Hustle: This is my "Crown Jewel" with 50,000+ downloads.
The Problem: Marathi students struggle with complex English syntax required for 10th and 12th-grade board exams.
My Solution: I built a "Digital Guidebook" that uses the Grammar-Translation Method. I coded logic tables for "Voice Change" (Active to Passive) and "Direct-Indirect Speech" that map directly to the Marathi thought process. It’s not just an app; it’s a pocket tutor.

All English Grammar in Hindi

The Goal: Scaling the model.
The Tech: I replicated the architecture of the Marathi app but adapted the linguistic logic for Hindi speakers, focusing on the shift from SOV (Hindi) to SVO (English) sentence structures.

2. Reducing Exam Anxiety (EdTech)

In India, entrance exams are high-stakes events. Students need more than just books; they need simulation. I built these apps to provide a "safe failure" environment where students can test themselves before the big day.

JEE Mock Test: PYQ & Prep

Why I built it: Engineering aspirants need to practice Previous Year Questions (PYQs). I digitized these papers and added an analytics layer.
The Feature I'm Proud Of: The "Chapter-wise Granularity." I wrote algorithms that allow students to filter questions by specific topics (e.g., Optics vs. Thermodynamics), enabling surgical study sessions.

MPSC Quiz

The Niche: Serving Civil Service aspirants in Maharashtra.
The Tech: I focused on an "Ad-Light" experience with a backend that delivers detailed explanations for every answer, turning a quiz into a learning loop.

CDAC CCAT Prep

The Target: This was a personal project for the tech community. It targets graduates entering the C-DAC program, focusing on my own favorite topics: C Programming, Data Structures, and OS.

3. Tools for Professionals (Scratching My Own Itch)

As a developer, I often found myself frustrated by fragmented documentation. Instead of complaining, I built tools to fix it. These apps show my expertise in the Salesforce Commerce Cloud (SFCC) ecosystem.

SFCC Doc

The Use Case: Official documentation is heavy and hard to navigate on mobile.
The Innovation: I created an offline viewer that indexes "Legacy Documentation" (SiteGenesis) and specific API Quotas. It’s a tool for maintenance engineers who need answers fast.

SFCC Quiz

The Use Case: Helping peers drill rote facts for certification exams.

The Tech Stack

These apps are built to be robust and low-maintenance.

Core: Native Android Development (Java/Kotlin).
Web Integration: My website, ni18.in, serves as the command center, hosting web-based versions of tools like JSON Visualizers and Text Analyzers.
Maintenance: I actively maintain the codebase, recently updating the JEE Mock Test and Physics Formulas to target Android SDK 34/35, ensuring compliance with Google’s latest security standards.

Conclusion

My "ni18" portfolio is more than just a collection of APKs. It is a testament to my belief that technology should be useful, accessible, and private.

Whether I'm helping a rural student pass their English exam or assisting a senior developer in checking a legacy API, my side hustle allows me to make a tangible impact on the world, one download at a time.

Check out my full portfolio on the Play Store:
Google Play Store Profile: ni18