I started with Particle because it's so easy to get going, partly due to the OTA firmware loading. If I remember correctly I only needed an app on my phone and

I started with Particle because it's so easy to get going, partly due to the OTA firmware loading. If I remember correctly I only needed an app on my phone and the in-browser IDE. No wires, no programming hardware, etc. From there on I transitioned to more DIY things like the ESP over time, buying cheap stuff from AliExpress.