The SuperHero Search API has managed to consistently earn at least 1 paying user over the past year. However, the amount it continues to get is not enough to run a robust VPS, post Paypal + platform taxes.
Although Paul Graham talks about Ramen Profitability [1], it's still at 1500 USD per founder which is a very high goal to set at this stage.
So, I'm aiming for 50 USD pm as my goal for being able to rent a robust lightsail instance or DO droplet comfortably.
This lofty goal (for me, personally) of 50 USD per month would remove the stress of thinking about spending resources on better instances.
And hence, VPS profitability 🔥.
To reach this goal, the products I build will have to:
1. Either convince 10 people that it's worth paying 5 USD a month for,
OR
2. Convince 1 person that it's worth paying 50 USD a month for.
Right now I don't have enough time to build a product which would be worth asking 50 USD for. So, I will be launching a few more APIs over the month to see what works well and what doesn't, and doubling down on what does.
Aside from this, I also worked a little on a tool for my own use in this week, which allows me to maintain context and remember things without switching windows. Check it out in action in the tweet below. Eventually I’ll write on how I solved this problem, and any status updates on the tool.
See you next week. Thanks and bye!
[1] paulgraham.com/ramenprofitable.html