signalReddit r/SideProject2026-10-03
Almost gave up on my side project. This morning someone paid for it.
A developer built a Chrome extension that rewrites emails based on sender, recipient, and desired tone, launched it on the Chrome Web Store, and promoted it on Reddit and X for weeks with almost no installs. This morning, a complete stranger purchased a lifetime plan, marking the first paying customer after the creator had mentally filed the project as a failure.
- for who
- Indie hackers and solo developers who are close to abandoning their side projects.
- what changes
- The first sale validates the idea and gives the creator concrete evidence that strangers find it worth paying for, shifting the decision from quitting to continuing.
- to do
- Keep building and marketing the extension, using the first customer's purchase as proof of demand and motivation to persist.
key points
- Chrome extension rewrites emails by persona, recipient, and tone
- Lifetime plan purchased by a complete stranger after weeks of zero installs
- Promoted via Reddit threads and X, got signups but no installs initially
#chrome extension#email rewriting#side project#cold start
score
score 5 out of 10. 0-10: how dense the facts are, multiplied by how much you can do with them after reading. 8+ means the topic's evidence bar is met: benchmarks and availability for a new model, amount and investors for a funding round, revenue figures for a solo-money story. Below 5 an item does not enter the digest. A press release scores 3 or less, a reprint loses 2, anything older than 14 days loses 1, a headline that misleads loses 3.
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