I Make $100K/Year From 2 AI Side Projects

Starter Story • • 13min • #72
I Make $100K/Year From 2 AI Side Projects
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Summary

  • Ramsri

    • Builds two profitable AI side projects while maintaining a full-time job, working on the apps only 1–2 hours per week
    • Combined monthly revenue of $8,500 (~$100K ARR) with no plans to quit his full-time role
    • Has a family, including a young child and retired parents, and prioritizes stability over the volatility of full-time entrepreneurship
    • Started exploring AI and technical courses between 2015–2018, then began experimenting with entrepreneurship from 2018–2020
    • Built an audience by consistently sharing his experiments on LinkedIn and Twitter, which led to co-founders and early users
    • Launched a Udemy course in 2021–2022 that generated $10,000 in revenue, marking a turning point in his journey
    • Learned no-code tools to build the first version of Question.ai, then spent six months mastering full-stack development to rebuild it on a modern tech stack
    • For SuperMe, partnered with a full-stack developer and a marketer to share the workload and accelerate growth

  • Products and Offerings

    • Question.ai: An AI-powered quiz generation tool with ~150K users and ~180–200 paying customers; lifetime revenue around $100K
    • SuperMe.ai: An AI meme generator with 1.5M+ users and 400 paying customers; lifetime revenue of ~$130K
    • Both apps run largely on autopilot, requiring minimal weekly maintenance

  • Metrics and Financials

    • Combined monthly revenue: $8,500 (~$100K ARR)
    • Profit margins: 70–75%
    • Primary costs are AI API fees (e.g., OpenAI, Anthropic); no employees beyond the founding team
    • Zero dollars spent on marketing

  • Strategy and Growth

    • Focuses on identifying manual tasks people already pay for that can be enhanced or replaced by generative AI
    • Builds distribution before the product by creating content (blogs, YouTube videos, LinkedIn posts) around the problem space
    • Grew initial user base by building in public and engaging consistently on social media
    • Launched both products on Product Hunt, with SuperMe reaching #1 on launch day due to virality and early champion users
    • Relies on founder-led content and organic social media as the primary growth engine

  • Tech Stack and Infrastructure

    • Primary app development: Next.js (full-stack JavaScript framework)
    • Backend and database: Supabase
    • Landing pages and SEO: Typedream (no-code)
    • Heavy use of AI-assisted coding tools like Windsurf and Cursor for rapid development and maintenance

  • Lessons and Advice

    • Think like a builder from day one—use no-code or low-code tools (e.g., Lovable, Bolt) or automation platforms (e.g., Make, Zapier) to quickly prototype ideas
    • Follow tech updates closely to spot emerging AI capabilities that unlock new business use cases
    • Prioritize solving real problems by chaining existing tools rather than spending months on R&D
    • Consistency in learning, building, and sharing publicly is key—even small daily efforts compound over time
    • You don’t need VC funding or a team to build a profitable business; lean, solo-friendly models can sustain strong margins
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