The Bootstrapped Founder 399: NativePHP: How Simon Hamp & Shane Rosenthal are Building & Monetizing PHP on Mobile
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Jul 2, 2025 Shane Rosenthal and Simon Hamp are key players in the NativePHP Project, which brings PHP and Laravel to mobile devices. They share their journey of adapting established tech for mobile platforms. The duo discusses overcoming technical challenges, the entrepreneurial spirit within the PHP community, and their monetization strategies. They also highlight the impact of recent changes in mobile billing on SaaS businesses and stress the importance of community engagement in project evolution. Their innovative approach promises to redefine app development.
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Simon Hamp's Long Journey
- Simon Hamp started the journey to bring Laravel to mobile in 2019 after seeing Marcel Poziot's work.
- It took years to pick up the project seriously after leaving his job in late 2022.
Pragmatism of PHP Developers
- PHP developers tend to be pragmatic, focused on getting work done quickly rather than perfection.
- This pragmatism shapes PHP and Laravel communities as entrepreneurial and practical rather than academic.
Mobile Apps with Laravel
- If you can build in Laravel, running a single command can give you an app on iOS and Android.
- You need to adjust for device-specific data handling, APIs, and security, but the ecosystem makes it easy.
