I figured it’d be great to have a dedicated thread for discussing side projects—whether they’re just a hobby, a passion project, or something that’s grown into a full-fledged business.
So let’s talk about it!
Would love to hear everyone’s experiences—whether it’s tech, content creation, ecommerce, indie games, SaaS, freelancing, or something totally unique. Let’s share and learn from each other!
Side project:DoseDiary a GLP-1 tracking webapp/PWA
When I started looking for ways to track my Mounjaro injections. I found an app called Shotsy but the features it charged for irked me a bit and made me want to create a something that had the features I wanted in an app. I wanted it to be more customisable, show more stats, differing data and offer more.
I also noticed existing apps were mobile-only, with no web-based tracking options. Some people prefer bigger screens.
I built DoseDiary as a PWA (Progressive Web App) so users could access it from any device without needing to download an app. Downloading and installing is optional. This helped me launch faster while keeping future options open for native apps.
To make switching easy, I added an import function so users from paid apps could seamlessly migrate their data. Unlike many competitors, I made core tracking features completely free, with no ads.
Results & Growth (No Ads!)
560 active users in 2 weeks – with zero paid advertising, just word-of-mouth and social media posts.
20 dedicated beta testers helped refine the product before launch.
Rapidly improving based on real user feedback. Updates are seamless and immediate.
Success Stories & Failures
Successes
Running costs for 5 years covered by premium membership already. Running costs are very low.
Users from China, India, Australia, USA, Germany, France, UK et al.
Fantastic feedback from users, many people saying how good the UX is and I get regular emails. I set up a public github for the project for feedback and issue tracking but the code is closed source.
I built a product I wanted, to my liking. It seemed that others liked that approach and whats on offer.
Grew the app through Facebook support groups and word-of-mouth recommendations.
First time implementing a payment model into an app, it took less than a day! (Lemonsqueezy for those wondering)
Failures
Initially, I made tracking too complex, overwhelming new users. Simplifying the UI helped a lot.
Some nasty bugs on launch, some things testing missed and some blind spots because I didn’t expect the app to have such worldwide appeal - datetime storage was a bit broken on day one.
I’m getting a lot of people not understanding what a PWA is, and thats understandable. Many start by looking on the stores, not finding it and then googling it and finding it that way. It’s sub-optimal but its just a limitation of the way I approached bootstrapping the project.
Tips & Advice for Others
Start simple – Don’t overcomplicate your MVP; get a basic working version out and refine it over time.
Listen to your users – Features I thought were important weren’t always what people actually wanted. User feedback is gold.
Engage in communities – Sharing DoseDiary in GLP-1 support groups helped me connect with real users and grow the project.
Keep iterating – Even when you think it’s ‘done,’ there’s always something to improve.
Offer more than just subscriptions - some people like to pay once and never again. Offering flexible payment options gets a lot of goodwill.
Initial code commit to launch: 4.5 months. Oct to Feb
I agree with N26throwaway above but side projects can become side hustles. I started mine as a passion project - showing it to people pushed me to turn it into something more.
