Key Concepts
- AI Side Projects
- Profitable App Building
- No-Code/Low-Code Tools
- Full-Stack Development
- Building in Public
- Distribution Before Product
- AI-Assisted Coding
- Bootstrapping
- Lifestyle Business
- Generative AI Use Cases
Romsri's Background and Business Overview
Romsri, an app builder from India, earns $100k a year from his AI side projects while maintaining a full-time job. He spends only 1-2 hours per week on his apps, which largely run on autopilot. He has no plans to quit his full-time job due to a desire to avoid VC funding, hiring responsibilities, and the associated lifestyle changes.
His two main apps are:
- Supermeme.ai: Lifetime revenue of $130k USD, 1.5 million+ users, 400 paying customers.
- Question.ai: Lifetime revenue of $100k USD, 150k+ users, 180-200 paying customers.
Combined, the apps generate approximately $8,500 per month (over $100k ARR).
Building Profitable Projects While Employed
Romsri emphasizes the importance of consistency and continuous learning. During the initial development phases, he dedicated 1-2 hours daily to learning and development, covering aspects like payments, authentication, databases, marketing, and SEO. He highlights that AI-assisted coding tools like Windsurf and Cursor have made building and maintaining apps easier. He now treats his SaaS apps as being in "autopilot mode," allocating a couple of hours on Saturday afternoons for updates and bug fixes.
Reasons for Keeping a Full-Time Job
Romsri prefers to bootstrap his projects and avoid VC funding. He doesn't want the responsibility of hiring and managing a team for the sake of growth. He also values maintaining a balanced lifestyle for himself and his family, avoiding the "roller coaster ride of emotions" and constant busyness often associated with high-growth startups.
Romsri's Journey into App Development
Romsri immersed himself in online courses (MOOCs) from platforms like Coursera and Udacity between 2015 and 2018. Inspired by the AI space, he began experimenting in 2018-2020. He documented his experiments on LinkedIn and Twitter, building an audience and establishing himself as a thought leader. In 2021-2022, he launched a Udemy course that generated $10,000 in revenue, marking a turning point in his entrepreneurial journey. In 2022-2023, he learned no-code tools and created the first version of Question.ai. Recognizing limitations, he then spent six months learning full-stack development to rebuild Question.ai with a modern tech stack. For Supermeme.ai, he partnered with a full-stack developer and a marketer.
Finding Profitable Side Project Ideas
Romsri's framework for finding profitable ideas involves identifying manual tasks that people currently pay for and determining how generative AI can significantly enhance or substitute them. He emphasizes keeping a close watch on the advancements in generative AI to identify new business use cases that were previously impossible, complex, or costly.
Example: Question.ai was conceived after observing that large tech and publishing companies create many quizzes. Romsri foresaw the potential of AI to automate quiz creation from text, even though the technology wasn't fully ready at the time.
Growth and Distribution Strategies
Romsri advocates building distribution before building the product. He achieved this by consistently writing about his work and interests on platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. He built in public, sharing his progress even before achieving virality. This approach helped him attract his first users and even find co-founders. He launched on Product Hunt, leveraging his existing social media followers to achieve the #1 spot on launch day for Supermeme.ai.
Tech Stack and Costs
- Primary App Development: Next.js (full-stack JavaScript framework)
- Backend: Superbase
- Landing Pages: Typedream (no-code)
- AI-Assisted Coding: Windsurf, Cursor
Romsri operates at a 70-75% profit margin. The biggest cost is AI API usage (OpenAI, Anthropic). He keeps costs minimal by having no employees besides the founders.
A Day in the Life
Romsri's day starts at 7:30 AM with family responsibilities. He drops his child off at school and uses the free time for exercise and catching up on AI news. He works on his full-time job from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM. After dinner with family, he allocates an hour for urgent work tasks or relaxes. He dedicates Saturday afternoons (2-4 PM) to feature updates and maintenance for his SaaS apps.
Advice for Aspiring App Builders
Romsri advises aspiring app builders to "think like a builder from day one." He recommends using no-code/low-code tools like Lovable, Bold, and New for rapid prototyping. He also suggests using automation tools like Make, n8n, or Zapier to chain together existing tools and products to solve problems, rather than spending months in R&D. He emphasizes the importance of closely following tech updates to identify new use cases.
Conclusion
Romsri's success demonstrates the potential of building profitable AI side projects while maintaining a full-time job. His approach emphasizes continuous learning, building in public, leveraging no-code/low-code tools, and focusing on solving real-world problems with AI. He prioritizes a balanced lifestyle and avoids the pressures of VC funding and rapid scaling. His story is an inspiration for those seeking to build lifestyle businesses and explore the opportunities in the AI space.
AI summaries can miss context or contain errors. Check important details against the original video.
