You're Not Bad at Side Projects. You're Just Building the Wrong Thing.

Source: Dev.to

The Side Project Death Spiral

You know the pattern because you’ve lived it.

1. You get inspired by a podcast episode or a tweet about someone hitting $10K MRR.
2. You have an idea—maybe even a decent one.
3. You spin up a new repo, configure your build tools, start implementing features.
4. The first weekend feels productive. You’re making progress, the dopamine is flowing.

Then reality hits.

• How should you price this?
• Should it even be paid?
• Maybe you should build more features first.
• Who’s actually going to use this?
• How do you get users anyway?
• Is this idea even good, or are you just building something you think is cool?

Three weeks in, you’re still building. The initial excitement is gone. You haven’t talked to a single potential user. You have no idea if anyone will pay for this. You start another project, telling yourself this time will be different.

The worst part? You’re spending 10–15 hours a week on side projects—more than enough time to build a real business. But those hours are scattered across false starts, tutorial hell, and building features that don’t move the needle. You’re working hard but going nowhere.

I’ve seen senior developers—people who make $120K at their day job—who can’t figure out how to make their first $100 online. Not because they’re not smart enough. Not because they can’t code. But because nobody taught them the system for going from idea to paying customers.

What If You Started with Evidence Instead of Ideas?

Here’s the fundamental shift that changes everything: stop starting with “what should I build?” and start with “what are people already trying to pay for?”

Ship Your First Paid Chrome Extension in 30 Days isn’t another course about passive income, building an audience, or finding your passion. It’s a tactical, step‑by‑step system for developers who want to ship something people actually pay for, using a distribution channel that’s under‑utilized and a format you can ship in weeks, not months.

Why Chrome extensions?

• The Chrome Web Store is a distribution channel with 200 + million potential customers, built‑in payment infrastructure, and far less competition than the app stores.
• Extensions solve clear, immediate problems for people who are already at their computers, ready to pay.
• You can build and ship an MVP in 30 days without learning a new framework or hiring a designer.

But here’s the catch: most developers who try to build paid extensions fail for the same reasons they fail at other side projects. They:

• Build the wrong thing.
• Don’t understand pricing.
• Get rejected by the Chrome Web Store for fixable mistakes.
• Can’t figure out how to get those first crucial users.

This course exists because I got tired of watching talented developers waste months building extensions nobody wants.

From Analysis Paralysis to First Dollar

Section 1 – Validate Three Extension Ideas in 48 Hours

You’ll learn to validate as in: you’ve found evidence that people are already searching for solutions, paying for inadequate alternatives, and expressing willingness to pay. The systematic framework forces you to identify:

• The specific buyer.
• Their specific problem.
• Clear monetization—before you write a single line of code.

Most courses tell you validation is important, then leave you to figure out how. You’ll get the exact research workflow:

• Where to look for competitor pricing.
• What questions to ask in user interviews.
• How to interpret pre‑sell signals.
• How to kill bad ideas fast so you don’t waste weeks on them.

Section 2 – Build a Production‑Ready Manifest V3 Extension

We solve the technical overwhelm problem. You’ll build a production‑ready MV3 extension with proper architecture from day one—not a hacky prototype you’ll need to rebuild later. Topics include:

• Service‑worker lifecycles that don’t randomly fail.
• Content‑script injection that works reliably.
• Message passing that handles edge cases.
• MV3 gotchas that cause random bugs at 2 am, and how to architect around them.

You don’t have time to rewrite your codebase when you’re trying to grow to $3K MRR. You need it built right the first time, with patterns that scale.

Section 3 – Design Extension‑Specific UX

Extension UX isn’t web‑app UX. You’ll design the flows that matter for paid extensions:

• First‑run onboarding that drives activation.
• Time‑to‑value that happens in seconds, not days.
• Upgrade moments that don’t feel spammy.

You’ll implement UI patterns unique to extensions (popup, side panel, options page, in‑page injection) and connect them directly to business outcomes. This is where conversion happens—or dies. Even the best solution will fail if users don’t understand the value in the first 60 seconds; they’ll uninstall. You’ll learn exactly how to prevent that.

Section 4 – Payments & Licensing

What you’ll master:

• End‑to‑end Stripe subscription integration.
• Authentication and licensing that work across devices without friction.
• The complete paid funnel: checkout, webhook handling, entitlement verification, graceful downgrades.

No hand‑waving, no “figure this out yourself.” You’ll get the actual implementation with code.

This is what separates a portfolio project from a business. When you can take payment and verify entitlements reliably, you have a real product.

Section 5 – Analytics That Drive Revenue

What you’ll build:

• An analytics system focused on conversion‑critical metrics (activation rate, trial‑to‑paid conversion, churn signals, feature adoption).
• Instrumentation for the events that matter.
• Dashboards that guide decisions.
• High‑leverage experiments on the parts of your funnel that actually impact MRR.

Most developers build blind. After this section you’ll know exactly what’s working and what to fix.

Section 6 – Chrome Web Store Compliance

What you’ll learn:

• A compliance‑first approach that prevents weeks of wasted effort.
• Privacy policies that satisfy reviewers.
• Permission justifications that don’t trigger red flags.
• Store assets that clearly communicate value.
• How to interpret rejection feedback and fix issues fast.

Getting approved isn’t luck – it’s understanding what the review team is looking for and delivering it the first time.

Section 7 – Value‑Based Pricing

What you’ll create:

• Tiered pricing models anchored to user ROI, not arbitrary numbers.
• UI packaging that makes the difference between free and paid crystal clear.
• Upgrade paths that are easy to understand and hard to ignore.

Most developers leave money on the table by charging $5 / month for something that saves users hours each week. You’ll learn to price based on value, not cost.

Section 8 – Launch & Growth

What you’ll execute:

• A launch plan that combines Chrome Web Store SEO, social proof, and direct outreach to users who already have the problem you solve.
• A lightweight, evergreen marketing system: demo pages, content angles, community posts, partnership strategies.

Technical founders hate marketing because nobody taught them the system. You’ll get the playbook for your first 100 users, then your first 100 customers.

Why This Actually Works (When Other Courses Don’t)

• Tactical, not theoretical. Every section includes real code, concrete examples, and specific numbers.
• Step‑by‑step workflows. Not “validate your idea” – “here’s the exact 48‑hour validation workflow with the questions to ask and the signals that matter.”
• Full Stripe integration. Not “implement payments” – “here’s the complete Stripe integration with webhook handling and error cases covered.”
• Realistic timeline. The 30‑day schedule is built around nights and weekends while you keep a full‑time job, eliminating decision fatigue.
• Achievable target. $3 K MRR (≈ $36 K annually) is meaningful yet realistic for a well‑executed extension in a validated niche.

This Is For You If…

• You’re a developer with 3–7 years of experience (JavaScript, React, or Vue).
• You can read documentation and integrate APIs without hand‑holding.
• You’ve shipped code professionally; your technical skills aren’t the problem.
• You’ve launched multiple side projects in the past year, but none made money.
• You follow indie‑hackers on Twitter, listen to podcasts about building businesses, and know it’s possible – you’re just stuck in analysis paralysis.
• You want proof you can build something people will pay for now, not “someday.”
• You’re willing to invest 30 days of focused work if someone tells you exactly what to build, how to build it, and how to get your first paying customers.
• You’re skeptical of courses (good!) and need a system that actually works, not vague principles from someone who’s never executed it.

Start Building Something That Actually Makes Money

The reality: A year from now you’ll either have a stream of income outside your salary, or you’ll have more abandoned projects on GitHub. The difference isn’t your coding ability – it’s whether you follow a proven system or keep guessing.

Ship Your First Paid Chrome Extension in 30 Days gives you that system:

• Validation frameworks that surface real willingness to pay.
• Production‑ready architecture that doesn’t need a rewrite.
• Payment integration that actually works.
• Store‑approval strategies that prevent rejection.
• Marketing tactics that get you your first paying users.

Ready to turn your side‑project skills into real revenue? Let’s get started.

Stop Building Things Nobody Pays For

Ship Products That Generate Revenue

The developers who succeed at indie hacking aren’t smarter than you. They’re not better at coding. They simply have a system—and they execute it.

This course is that system, built specifically for developers who are done being wantrepreneurs and are ready to ship something real.

Your first paid customer is 30 days away.
The only question is whether you’ll follow the structured path or spend another year guessing.

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Tags: #webdev #chrome #sideproject #indiehacker #monetization