🗞 What's New: Where will you build next, Web2 or Web3?

What are the best spaces to build in this year?

• With all of the buzz around the metaverse and Web3, which new spaces hold potential for micro-SaaS? Founders weigh in below!
• Creating side projects means new learnings and new experiences. These 7 lessons can help streamline the roadmap for your next side project for maximum impact.
• Founder Matt Visiwig quit his job 4.5 years ago to launch his web and graphic design business. Below, he shares how he managed to create his own luck.

A piece of news: I am now co-hosting the Indie Hackers Podcast with Courtland. Ask us anything!

Want to share something with nearly 95,000 indie hackers? Submit a section for us to include in a future newsletter. —Channing

🛠 Best Spaces to Build Micro-SaaS

by Odai

The metaverse and Web3 are super buzzy right now. What are the most exciting, promising areas to build micro-SaaS tools for in 2022?

Crypto tools

Damien Roche built a crypto research app that tracks market, social, and developer activity for most of CoinGecko's list (13K+ cryptocurrencies). It expanded to also tracking tokens on decentralized exchanges:

One of the major issues that I have with building any software in crypto is how the looming regulations will play out. You might live in a country that is fairly lax on crypto, but it's still a difficult obstacle for a developer to be distracted by. I can't even legally build certain innovative features into my app without being properly assessed or registered with a financial authority (because it will become a "financial service"). This is one of the reasons that I haven't bothered to release my own cryptocurrency tokens or NFTs, or expand with smart contracts.

Someone mentioned DAOs, and the same legal uncertainties limit innovation there, too.

I have to be honest: I kind of regret investing so much time into building software for crypto. I still believe that there are tremendous opportunities there, and in the wider Web3 movement. But be sure that you understand all of the implications before investing your resources.

VR apps

Shane White sees major opportunity in VR apps:

I think it’s just a tad early for the metaverse. However, I think that VR apps are going to be a really good platform to build subscription-based businesses for in the near future.

If you look at smartphones and the App Store, it all started in 2008 with everyone writing stupid little games and making flashlight apps. A lucky few went viral and made some money, but it was all so gimmicky. By 2012, almost everyone had a smartphone. This ushered in a golden era of niche apps and software.

I think that in terms of VR, we’re in a 2008-like era. Eventually, everyone will have a headset, and a whole new world will open up. Lots of opportunities will arise in writing VR apps for specialized businesses and use cases.

Productized services

Heleana Grace says not to overlook productized services:

I know this thread is about SaaS, but I wouldn't sleep on productized services. If you are really good at one specific thing, and you can wrap it into a product, go for it!

The project in this space that I reference the most is Designjoy. The founder is currently at $2M ARR, with zero employees. Some might argue that he pretty much created a job for himself, but you can apply the same idea behind it and scale with limited resources.

I launched my productized service three months ago, and I'm at $8K MRR as of this week.

If you have a SaaS already, it might make sense to have an agency or productized service paired with it. That's what I plan on building this year.

Don't abandon Web2

Many founders believe that abandoning Web2 for Web3 is the wrong way to go. Darko says that stability should be considered:

When someone asks this question, the answers usually come from founders in one of two categories:

1. People who suggest building based on the latest trend (Web3, metaverse, etc.).

2. People who suggest building around goals or problems that have existed for a long time.

I'm in the second camp. Sure, growth will be slower than if you build the next sexy NFT project, but things will be much more stable as well.

Upen agrees:

There is a lot of money still in Web2. Don't immediately jump to Web3 just because of the hype. Whether it's Web2 or Web3, it's going to be a long journey. Check us out at Micro SaaS Ideas for more!

What spaces do you see potential in this year? Let's chat below!

Discuss this story.

📰 In the News

from the Volv newsletter by Priyanka Vazirani

📱 Elon Musk got Twitter for $44B, to cheers and fears over his "free speech" plan.

🏪 Facebook has taken on a new role as a brick-and-mortar retailer.

🤖 An emotion-sensing AI tool has sparked debate in the tech world.

🪙 Crypto is the hottest new political token.

📉 Snapchat blames Russia for negative earnings results.

🌮 Taco Bell uses this crazy strategy to keep customers coming back.

Check out Volv for more 9-second news digests.

📝 7 Lessons Learned From Side Projects

by Artur Fijał

I spent over 400 hours developing an app as a side project, adding up to about 10 weeks of full-time work. But, because I took long breaks and struggled with motivation, the whole development process took over two-and-a-half years. I reinvented the wheel a few times, and switched the architecture in the middle of the process, but I learned a lot. Here are the lessons that I will apply to all of my future side projects!

Keep it simple, stupid

This is probably the most important thing. As a programmer, it is really easy to get carried away and over-engineer simple things, especially if you are a person who gets fixated on certain details.

Identify the problem and choose the simplest, most effective solution for it that you can manage. It will save you lots of time.

You may not need any tests

Yes, it's true: You might not need tests, at least in the beginning. Of course, it depends on the category of product. If someone could lose something of value, or any major harm could be done, then obviously you should do the test driven development (TDD). However, if you are only displaying data from an API, then it should be fine. If your app is successful, and you plan to release more often, it might be a good idea to gradually add tests later on.

Keep in mind that if you choose a framework, architecture, or pattern, and follow it properly, the chance of a bug popping up is greatly reduced. This is especially true if you are the only developer, and you do not have to consider someone else’s code (or tackle any rebases or merges).

I am not saying that it’s a great idea to not have any tests ever, or that they do not help. But if you're really short on time, you can probably deliver an MVP without them.

Do not be a perfectionist

I think that a lot of us can be victims of our own perfectionism. I understand that it can be enjoyable and fulfilling in the short-term, and that you want your pet project to be perfect, but this will slow you down without having a huge impact on the end product.

Also, it can have horrible long-term effects: It can block you from progressing your ideas as you spend a lot of time on polishing minor things. It can also lead to discouragement and the lack of motivation.

Consistency is the key

I find that it is much better to code seven times a week for one hour, than seven hours over the course of one Saturday. Frequency promotes a lot of good things. You are constantly in the loop, and you don't need to remind yourself of where you left off a week ago. It also promotes tasks being split into more granular bits.

Also, since we are speaking about side projects that are done after your full-time job, you will likely find it more realistic to regularly squeeze shorter timespans into your daily plan.

Be iterative

There is no need to release a complete product. Start with an MVP, validate your product, and let it evolve based on user feedback. The iterative approach does not have to apply only to features. You can also iteratively improve UI and add support for other languages.

Set realistic expectations

A lot of things won’t go as well as you plan. Set realistic expectations about the outcome of your project, let the idea sink in for a while, and come back to it after some time. No matter what your ultimate goal is, strive to always learn something new, and treat every other outcome as an added benefit. You won't always be at peak performance levels! And that is totally fine.

The app release is just the beginning

So, you’ve released your app in the App Store. Now what?

Your market is most likely super saturated, so you need to have a plan for promoting your app. It would be wise to start creating promotion channels alongside the development. Build your own community, produce quality content, build in public...do whatever speaks to you, but make sure you have it all planned.

The creation of a product is only the first step. You will then need to be able to market and support your product.

If you like interval training, check out my app here, and this article about how I made it!

What did you learn from creating a side project? Share below!

Discuss this story.

👥 10M Users, Zero Funding

by Aytekin Tank

Leadership:

Instill a sense of unity among your team.

As a kid, I wasn’t a leader. I was a follower who observed and participated. Stirring people’s emotions doesn’t come naturally to me, but it’s my responsibility. That’s why I give a short speech before each Friday’s Demo Day. Communicating your excitement about the work is contagious. People hear and feel it, and it strengthens your tribe.

Discuss this story.

🎲 Matt Visiwig Shares His Tips on Creating Luck

by Matt Visiwig

Hi indie hackers! I'm Matt Visiwig, and I quit my job four-and-a-half years ago to start a web and graphic design company.

Day one didn’t look much different from day 100: Both of them were client-less. The only difference was that I was confident on day one.

I experimented with ways to land clients. My social media and blog efforts didn’t result in any leads. I found online freelance marketplaces to be overcrowded. My cold outreach to local companies didn’t get any responses. Networking started helping, but at a snail's pace.

Panicked, I decided to build a freebie resource to get leads. And...I got lucky. My Product Hunt launch went well, and I decided to monetize the site with a paid version of the product. Sales started trickling in.

Here's how to get lucky!

Luck is being ready at the right time

I did a few things to get lucky:

• Started a business with minimal risk: I pursued a safer model that was centered around my skills, and I only needed a handful of clients to succeed.
• Developed my skills: I was able to deliver exceptional work because I spent time honing my craft as a web and graphic designer.
• Experimented heavily: I tried out many marketing avenues and evaluated which methods worked best. One of my traffic generating ideas became something more valuable: My main product (years later).
• Launched an MVP: I was able to launch quickly and to warm reception. Because I got more interest than expected, I quickly launched a paid upgrade.
• Played the long-term game: I thought about the future. It’s easy to obsess about quick growth when your business isn’t profitable. I grew slowly by taking on clients to keep the lights on, while also investing unpaid time in side projects. I've been able to invest more time towards my best side project, and be choosier about which clients I take on. A win-win!

Luck requires taking chances

It’s easy to read about my trajectory and focus on what went my way over what didn’t. However, the real story is that I took chance after chance to get lucky.

Out of all the marketing channels I tried for my web design business, networking is the only one that worked; and it did so slowly. It’s lucky that I created a side project that’s working, but it wasn’t the obvious way forward early on.

At the time, I put my focus elsewhere and launched other projects that all failed to reach anywhere near the same level of success. It was tough to let go of those newer projects, but I did.

A year ago, I returned to put new energy into this early side project, as it had the most promise. I’ve been able to reinvigorate growth, going from $700 MRR last April, to $1.2K MRR this April. I don’t have it all figured out, but I finally have even more confidence than I had back on day one.

Discuss this story.

🐦 The Tweetmaster's Pick

by Tweetmaster Flex

I post the tweets indie hackers share the most. Here's today's pick:

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Special thanks to Jay Avery for editing this issue, to Gabriella Federico for the illustrations, and to Odai, Priyanka Vazirani, Artur Fijał, Aytekin Tank, and Matt Visiwig for contributing posts. —Channing