I originally built OnlineOrNot (https://onlineornot.com) with the expectation that no one would use it, using 100% serverless compute that would cost me nothing when unused.

I was a consultant at the time, and wanted to point out how crappy my client's webhosting was (really I just wanted to convince them they were going offline long enough that spending an extra $50 per month on a proper wordpress host would actually make them money)

I kept a twitter thread of all the features I was adding (https://twitter.com/RozenMD/status/1364881512500404224), and eventually it spread via word of mouth. It doesn't make life-changing money, but I could see myself running the service full time eventually.

I ended up moving off of 100% serverless compute, since enough people were using it constantly that it was 80% cheaper to run several servers 24/7.

Haha, this is a brilliant marketing technique. Create an external website to demonstrate the problem.

It's also an interesting model that you either waste $19/month on something that gives no alerts or waste $50/month on unnecessary hosting. Or do neither and waste lots more money on lost customers.

I see it more like insurance - that $19 isn't wasted, it buys them the ability to be immediately notified when their business's ability to generate revenue goes down.

The alternative is being alerted by emails or phone calls from prospective customers asking if they're still in business - a very awkward phone call to be on!

Interesting. Is it just a hobby and complementary income for you? I see you still have a fulltime job. What's the ROI if you can disclose it?

Not a hobby - I treat it like a business that doesn't yet get enough revenue to demand my full attention, and I don't draw income from it

great. I just followed you on Twitter. I have a similar idea - I'm building a software testing tool using 100% Rust and serverless. Do you regularly post updates of your works on twitter?

I ship almost daily, and post about it on my twitter, yeah

We’ve seen some moderate success with Smores - https://www.smoresmusic.com/

Brings in about $100 MRR split between 2 people.

I made a mobile game several years ago that brings in $100-200 per month: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/card-crusade/id1383938095

Took a few hundred hours to implement, we got pretty lucky to find an audience, and it’s too a year or two after making it free to actually start getting recommended by the App Store - I think we must’ve crossed some threshold for getting enough positive reviews, or something. Anyways, I can’t say it’s a reliable way to make money, but I had fun doing it, and it does bring in some money.

https://gifmemes.io - tool for making gifs, 250 USD last 30 days.

I built YCRM (https://ycrm.xyz/) as a tool to help me get in touch with YC founders for user research to validate B2B SaaS ideas!

It's been surprisingly successful with other B2B startups.

Not enough revenue to be my main source of income, but it's a nice monthly bonus.