Your next side project should be an unsexy business

· Published · 2 min read

There’s a very simple reason why the vast majority of side projects and startups launched by developers fail: they’re often… tech projects.

  • A pure SaaS
  • Tooling
  • A plugin
  • …etc.

On paper, it looks sexy and simple:

  • the tech is the product, so you’re self-sufficient (which is why it often gets launched on a Sunday at 2 p.m.)
  • you can launch it solo
  • “no need” to talk much to non-tech people (huge mistake)
  • it “scales”, because it’s purely digital
  • the upfront investment is zero (or a few euros for a domain name…)
  • …etc.

Of course, it’s possible to hit the jackpot with this kind of project. And we’re raised on success stories…

…but the competition is brutal, because every other developer is doing the same thing. The market was already saturated… and in the age of AI, it’s worse.

And even for a digital project, without a huge effort on distribution (which so many developers dread, rightly so)… sorry, but it’s a lost cause from the start.

My advice for your next project

  • Go after an unsexy business.
  • Possibly a business where tech isn’t the main product (setting your developer ego aside a little :)
  • Team up with one or more people from that field (yes, that means leaving your cave!).
  • And if you don’t handle distribution yourself, you need someone on it.

An average product with superb distribution will always do better than a gem sleeping in a private repo.

It’ll be less smooth at first. It’ll take real effort if you’ve never done it…

…but your chances of success will be far, far higher.

And in the end, isn’t a project that works what you’re after, through all that time spent coding in your free time?

PS: I speak from experience. My current side project, the one that works, is firmly rooted in the real world, and I’m the only tech person on a team of three, with a salesperson and a communications profile alongside me! I’ll talk more about it in the coming months.