how i got 100k users on 3 of my side projects

@startuptim

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Promoted product

Shopmech.comshopmech.com

Why it worked

The video likely performed well due to its relatable "side project" theme and the creator's success in achieving significant user numbers, offering valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs and developers. The specific niches (mechanical keyboards, productivity tools) also appeal to dedicated online communities.

Summary

The creator discusses three side projects that achieved over 100,000 monthly active users. The first was Shopmech.com, an aggregate store for custom mechanical keyboard parts, which gained traction on Reddit and through influencer partnerships. The second was Easynote, a desktop wallpaper note-taking application that reached 100,000 downloads on Steam. The third, Thumbnail Game, helped the creator get into Y Combinator.

Structure

1Introduction of achieving 100k users on 3 side projects
2Description of Shopmech.com, an e-commerce site for mechanical keyboard parts
3Explanation of Easynote, a desktop wallpaper note-taking app

Original caption

i love building and getting users #startup #ycombinator #founder #sideproject #gettingusers #monthlyactiveusers #startuplife #csmajor #swe

More from @startuptim

Product placement

Shopmech.com is presented as the first side project, an aggregate store for mechanical keyboard parts. Easynote is presented as the second project, a desktop wallpaper for taking notes. Thumbnail Game is mentioned as the third project.

On-screen text

how i got 100k users on 3 of my side projects

Transcript

so I had around 3 projects that got around 100,000 monthly active users. First was a mechanical keyboard aggregate store called Shopmech dot com. Basically in the custom mechanical keyboard market, there are a bunch of individual stores that sell a bunch of different parts and I wanted to aggregate all of those parts into one website. So I made it, posted it on Reddit and it went semi viral. It got 6000 uploads and I started making TikToks, YouTube videos about my keyboard site. I even partnered with some of the keyboard YouTubers and I was able to grow to almost 150k monthly active users and I was able to monetize it through affiliate links and I was making good money. The second thing I built was called Easynote. It was a desktop wallpaper where you can directly take notes on it. The idea was you didn't have to open any note applications when you wanted to take notes and that I believe has close to 100k downloads on Wallpaper Engine on Steam. The 3rd one is called Thumbnail Game and that's kind of what got us into Y Combinator and I'll talk about that in part 2.