My 2025 in Review: From Government Transformation to Building 10 Apps (and Becoming a Hacker in the Making)

5 January 2026 · Mohammad Syed

Well, 2025 was a year. A year of big leaps, late nights, and learning so much I think my brain is now at 98% capacity. If 2025 were a project, the scope creep would have been legendary. I switched careers, launched two blogs, built ten apps, and started my journey to become a (certified) hacker.

Looking back, it feels like a whirlwind, so I wanted to take a moment to capture the beautiful chaos. Here’s the story of my 2025.

Chapter 1: The Leap into Public Service

For years, I’d been in the fast-paced private sector—building SaaS platforms, managing projects for global brands, and co-founding a startup in Saudi Arabia. But a new curiosity was brewing. I wanted to taste public service, to understand its inner workings, the sheer scale of its projects, and to work on something that had a tangible impact on the country I now call home.

So, I took the leap. I joined the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) as an Assistant Director and Digital Product Owner. The mission? To help modernise the systems that support Australia’s agricultural exports and the livelihoods of our farmers.

It was a shift from optimising for clicks to optimising for national impact. The access to brilliant minds, the meticulous planning, and the sense of contributing to the "Australian dream" in a new way has been an incredible and humbling experience.

Chapter 2: The Year of Perpetual Learning (aka “Gotta Catch ‘Em All”)

My curiosity didn’t stop at the day job. This year, I went on a certification rampage.

My long-standing interest in privacy and security led me to enroll in a Certificate IV in Cyber Security at the Canberra Institute of Technology. I’m now 10 modules down with just 5 to go. Every lesson on network security and ethical hacking makes me feel like I’m one step closer to becoming a real-life (and legal) hacker.

To solidify my professional journey in the product world, I finally completed my Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO) and Certified Scrum Master (CSM) courses from the Scrum Alliance. These weren’t just about getting badges; they were about validating years of on-the-job learning and cementing the principles that guide how I build products and lead teams.

And to fully embed myself in my new public service role, I dove headfirst into a suite of Australian Public Service certifications. Courses on Leading Change, Influence & Negotiation, and AI in Government have been invaluable in navigating this new landscape. I even topped it off with a LinkedIn course on Software Project Management, because you can never be too sharp.

Chapter 3: Finding My Voice (and 50,000 Readers)

One of my proudest moments this year was launching my personal blog, mohammadsyed.com. It started as a simple desire to share my stories—the intersection of technology, leadership, and my cross-cultural life.

I wrote about my experience modernising government systems, the beautiful chaos of living between three cultures, and the lessons learned from building high-stakes platforms. I didn’t know if anyone would read it.

Six months later, the blog hit 50,000 organic views.

That number blew me away. It was a powerful reminder that authentic stories resonate. Knowing that my experiences were helping or entertaining thousands of people was, without a doubt, my favourite moment of 2025.

Chapter 4: The Side Quests

As if a new job, a personal blog, and a cyber security course weren’t enough, I had a couple of other projects brewing after hours.

The Outback Oracle

My cyber security studies sparked another idea. I quietly launched a second blog, The Outback Oracle, to document my journey and share deep dives on cybersecurity, online privacy, and the privacy-first companies I admire. With about six posts so far, it’s become my little corner of the internet to explore this fascinating and critical field.

VextoApps: How I Built 10 Apps in a Year

This was my biggest, craziest, and most rewarding side quest of 2025. After subscribing to Lenny’s Newsletter, I got access to some amazing AI tools and didn’t want the credits to go to waste. So, I thought, "Why not build all those little apps I’ve always wanted for myself?"

That idea snowballed into VextoApps—a suite of 10 privacy-first, in-browser micro-apps, built in collaboration with my AI partner, Manu. This was my experiment in "vibe coding"—meticulously planning every detail, from the prompts and designs to the marketing content, before writing a single line of code.

Each app was born from a personal need:

• AuraTimer: A gamified Pomodoro timer.
• Basil: A simple recipe manager.
• EclipSend: Secure, ephemeral file sharing.
• IdeaSpark: A visual second brain.
• JetLag: A private internet speed test.
• Luna: A private, on-device cycle tracker.
• NoteSprout: Secure voice-to-text notes.
• PixelPalette: A real-world color palette generator.
• PrivacyNest: A directory of privacy-first tools.
• TallyPal: Simple bill splitting for friends.

All ten are my babies, but two have a special place in my heart: Luna and Basil. Both were suggested by my wonderful wife. They were also the most challenging to build, forcing me to get my hands dirty with code and teaching me that "vibe coding" requires a ton of patience. Every mistake I made with them made me better and taught me how to perfect my pre-planning process.

Today, I’m officially launching VextoApps to the world. I built them for me, but I hope you find them useful too.

What I Learned in 2025

This year taught me that you’re never too old to be a beginner. Whether it was starting a new job in a new sector, learning the fundamentals of cybersecurity, or figuring out why my CSS wasn’t working at 2 AM, 2025 was a masterclass in embracing the learning curve.

It taught me that the most fulfilling work happens at the intersection of your skills and your values—whether that’s building systems that serve a nation or creating apps that protect user privacy.

And most of all, it taught me that you can accomplish a surprising amount in 365 days if you’re driven by curiosity and a relentless desire to build.

Here’s to whatever beautiful chaos 2026 brings.

What was your biggest accomplishment of 2025? I’d love to hear your stories. And feel free to check out the VextoApps suite and let me know what you think!