Why I’m going to build a new startup every month for the next 6 months
I love building new things. There’s nothing like the thrill of coming up with an idea and bringing it to life.
I’ve also wanted to go deeper into web development for a while. I used to build some basic websites in high school and even wrote one Chrome extension from scratch a couple of years ago. But I’ve never managed to keep at it long enough to consider myself even a lightweight developer.
At the beginning of this year, I finally started learning development more systematically (by taking a course from Codecademy). I’m about 90% done, so it’s time to get some real-world practice.
Why one startup per month?
Of course, this timeframe is completely arbitrary. It could be one startup per 2 months or 2 weeks instead.
I’m fully aware that in a lot of cases I wouldn’t need to build much at all. I could perhaps get an answer to my hypotheses in a day or two through other product management methods.
But the goal is twofold. It’s to test out some ideas for startups that I’ve had for a long time and to practice my dev skills.
“If the schedule is long, the design is wrong. If it’s tight, it’s right.”
— Elon Musk
I feel like one month is just the right timeframe. I will have to push myself but I should still have enough room to learn as much as I have to (definitely necessary as you can see from my first updates).
The limitations
I usually prefer software over hardware. But I’ve also started several hardware project over the years.
So, I won’t set any limitations for myself there. If there’s a hardware project that I feel I must test out, I will do it.
The same goes for pivots vs new ideas. If I think pivoting an old project makes sense, I will do it.
I also won’t limit myself to working alone. Some of the projects I’m thinking of are so small, that it makes no sense to have a co-founder. But for some it probably does.
I will bootstrap as much as possible but I might take some VC money as well when it makes sense.
If I do get lucky and it looks like something works, I will go all in for that project and skip the rest.
Goals
I’ve set pretty modest goals:
- Launch publicly once a month;
- 500 eur per month net MRR to me personally after 6 months (for covering rent basically).
Staying in the habit
It’s pretty hard to stay motivated when working alone. Especially with new projects where it’s always a rollercoaster emotionally.
So, whenever possible, I will try connecting with other founders. Either through events or just over a coffee.
I probably need someone to look over my code as well if I truly want to get better.
Physically I will try to keep up with my schedule of going to the gym/swimming at least 3 times per week.
I will also give weekly updates on LinkedIn and daily ones via IndieHackers.
The first startup — an integration for Mailchimp (and other email marketing tools)
The first startup I decided to build has to do with email marketing. I’ve been doing it for over 10 years. So, I know the domain fairly well.
There’s been this one nagging problem that no one (as far as I know) hasn’t solved yet. This is especially a problem when working with a lot of automated emails or messages.
Get early access
I̶f̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶u̶s̶e̶ ̶M̶a̶i̶l̶c̶h̶i̶m̶p̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶e̶m̶a̶i̶l̶ ̶s̶o̶f̶t̶w̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶h̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶d̶o̶z̶e̶n̶s̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶a̶u̶t̶o̶m̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶e̶m̶a̶i̶l̶s̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶o̶l̶u̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ ̶m̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶ ̶f̶o̶r̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶.̶
̶L̶e̶a̶v̶e̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶r̶ ̶e̶m̶a̶i̶l̶ ̶h̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶I̶ ̶w̶i̶l̶l̶ ̶c̶o̶n̶t̶a̶c̶t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶o̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶I̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶t̶ ̶g̶i̶v̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶u̶t̶ ̶e̶a̶r̶l̶y̶ ̶a̶c̶c̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶p̶a̶s̶s̶e̶s̶.̶
Update 1: Launched the first startup
Linkchimp was launched more or less on schedule. It’s a Mailchimp integration for checking broken links in emails (especially automations).
I also wrote up the lessons from building it:
Update 2: Folded the idea for the second startup
I was hoping to build courses or a paid newsletter on top of Product Loops. It’s a library of best practices from top startups which started as my personal wiki.
My biggest hypothesis was about distribution. So, I tested it out by doing product onboarding teardowns (for Monday.com and Microsoft Teams).
They did get some attention/traffic but not enough in my mind to justify building something further.
Some good things came out of it as well tho. I reached enough followers on Medium to start doing paid content, for example. So, it’s still a small win.
My main lessons:
1) Creating super in-depth content takes much more time than I thought;
2) I love writing but mainly as a tool for learning for myself. Factory-line content work is not for me — I’m more interested in learning something, writing it out/down, and then moving on.
Update 3: Launched 3rd startup — Lingo Champion for learning languages
Lingo Champion is a Chrome extension that helps you learn languages while browsing the web. It’s a take on an idea I built originally as part of another startup. A write-up of lessons to follow but until then — enjoy the extension :)
Check it out on Product Hunt.
Update 4: Launched 4th startup — ShitFilter.News for AI-augmented news
ShitFilter.News searches news for newsworthy trends and explains them using AI. The idea is to skip anecdotes and sensation-seeking pieces and concentrate on what matters in the long term.
Check it out on Product Hunt.
Update 5: Shut ShitFilter.News down
ShitFilter.News was an experiment about what AI can and can’t do. Although it could surface some interesting news I would not have found otherwise, it did not do so consistently. Sometimes it picked out random news and sometimes it hallucinated trends. Which is the opposite of what I was trying to achieve.
So, I’ve decided to shut the service down for now. The site will stay up but it won’t scan for new news. At least until a new version of ChatGPT comes out.
Update 6: The waitlist is open for GutBound — a mobile app for treating IBS
GutBound is a mobile app for treating IBS with the help of AI. I’ve just opened the waiting list for the app.
Update 7: Launched Duolingo Ninja — a browser extension for Duolingo
Duolingo Ninja is a spin-off from Lingo Champion. The difference is that Duolingo Ninja translates part of the web pages you visit based on your Duolingo vocabulary only. So, you can keep mastering the vocabulary while browsing the web as usual.
If you’re a Product Hunt user, I’d appreciate the upvote.
Update 8 (24 July 2023): Launched AI Prompt Saver browser extension
Launched AI Prompt Saver today. It’s a browser extension for saving and reusing AI prompts in different web-based AI services.
Not sure if I’d consider this an actual startup. There is some potential in terms of where to go next with it but currently just treating it as a fun little hobby project.
Update 9 (5 Oct 2023): Launched Bilingual News in Spanish
Bilingual News in Spanish is a short-form podcast to make you fluent in Spanish faster.
From the point of view of startups it’s an experiment for a growth loop for a bigger idea. So, I think, technically it would kinda count as a startup.
