April and May Revenue
I am currently challenging myself to release one product per month.
In April, I released a boilerplate called SuperRails, and in May, I released LazyCafe.
I’d like to take this opportunity to summarize my retrospective for May.
Spending Next to No Time on Development
Thanks to building SuperRails beforehand, I was able to kick off the development of LazyCafe incredibly smoothly.
I believe the number of newly added models was only about two.
The architecture is extremely simple: it just returns a list of Track models via a JSON API, and each Track model simply has an MP3 file attached to it, which was generated using the Suno API.
Zero Revenue
Revenue for LazyCafe was zero.
But that makes total sense, considering my only acquisition channels were YouTube, Product Hunt, and Dev.to.
I didn’t use platforms like X (formerly Twitter) or TikTok, which are more likely to generate viral traction.
Why I Don't Use X or TikTok
The main reason is that I cannot afford to allocate my limited resources to them.
Posts on X or TikTok rarely become long-term assets; you constantly have to go through trial and error just to keep generating short-lived viral hits.
However, my goal is to launch a product that will consistently bring in profit 10 years from now.
Since chasing virality doesn't suit my mental well-being, I don't incorporate it into my business model at all.
4 YouTube Subscribers
For the time being, my goal for YouTube was to post two videos a month (ideally three if possible).
In May, I managed to put out two videos, barely hitting my quota.
As for subscribers, I have four (lol)—and two of them are myself and my girlfriend (lol).
Well, I guess I just have to focus on making videos that satisfy the two actual subscribers I have for now.
As a non-native English speaker, I still don't fully understand what kind of videos will resonate with audiences in the English-speaking world, particularly in the US and Europe. I know I just have to find out through continuous trial and error.
One thing that is certain is that nobody is looking to me for valuable information. That’s because there are already plenty of people out there broadcasting much more valuable content.
So, what is my unique strength? I honestly don't know yet.
However, takuya-san from devaslife, who is also Japanese, creates coding videos that leverage the unique atmosphere of Japan. I definitely want to keep his approach in mind as a reference moving forward.
Future Direction of My Videos
An approach combining "Japanese Train Culture × Programming" might be quite interesting.
What I’m thinking about right now is that Japan has a remarkably strong train culture.
It’s not widely known, but most cities in Japan were actually built by railway companies.
For example, it could be fun to do a challenge like launching a product entirely during a Shinkansen trip from Osaka to Tokyo.
Well, everything is worth a try.
Product Hunt Was a Waste of Time
Since everyone seems to post on Product Hunt whenever they build something independently, I decided to give it a shot. The result was absolute silence.
As I thought, it’s pointless unless you have a product that is seriously aiming for the Daily #1 spot.
Plus, it feels like Product Hunt has been almost entirely dominated by AI-related products lately.
Maybe I should build an AI product too, but I can't help feeling that those kinds of "convenient tools" are the kinds of jobs that OpenAI or Google/Gemini will handle anyway. I don't really see the point of building an AI product as an individual developer.
Because of this, I figured I don't really need to post on Product Hunt in the future.
Another reason I realized I don't need to post there again is the massive amount of spam I received.
They're probably bots, but I got flooded with junk emails.
Product Development Strategy for June
Now that the month has changed, I need to build a new product.
For this month, I am thinking about taking on a project using Hotwire Native.
toC Is Too Difficult
To be honest, I feel like toC (Business-to-Consumer) is something that should only be pursued by individuals who already hold massive influence, or by large corporations with abundant capital, expertise, and top-tier talent.
When an individual like me with zero leverage builds a convenient tool, getting it into the hands of the people who actually need it is incredibly difficult. Even if it does reach them, users with even a slight bit of technical literacy will just end up building it themselves.
Therefore, I think I will pivot towards building more toB (Business-to-Business) focused products.
Building Native Apps with Hotwire Native
Since shouting into the void on the internet like this is meaningless, I decided to leverage the power of the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Yes, native apps.
Fortunately, as a Rails engineer, I have a powerful ally in Hotwire Native.
Right now, I am in the middle of building an app with Hotwire Native.
Even though it’s only been three days since June started, it’s already nearing completion! (The synergy of AI and Rails is truly incredible.)
I'll save the details of what the app is about for my next post.
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