Side projects that pay
boot.dev — a gamified backend learning platform started as a 2020 side project — now pulls about $441K/month (~$5.3M ARR), showing hands‑on education products can scale; FlowFerry was shared as a compact web‑clipping portfolio example that highlights local processing and UX. These examples underline that productionized, well‑documented side projects can outperform generic demos. (x.com) (x.com)
Boot.dev was founded by Lane Wagner after he built a backend curriculum to teach his wife while working as an engineering manager, a story Wagner has told in multiple founder interviews. (starterstory.com)) The company’s growth playbook—documented in case studies and podcast interviews—shows a 2022-era pivot toward deep backend specialization, self-managed marketing, and gamified lessons as the turning point for traction. (0-to-traction.com)) Public site metrics list 822,231 students, 33.7 million lessons completed, and product features that include a game‑like curriculum plus an on‑platform AI mentor named “Boots.” (boot.dev)) SaaS trackers and company profiles identify Boot.dev as a bootstrapped startup founded in 2019, headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, and operating with about a 16‑person team. (getlatka.com)) FlowFerry, published by YGeeker and announced in August 2024, positions itself as an offline‑first web‑clipping/read‑later app that performs content processing locally and can export or send clipped articles to Notion, Obsidian, GitHub, Google Drive, and Dropbox. (ygeeker.com)) The product page lists a no‑login free tier with a 12 local‑save limit, a Pro yearly option for unlimited local saves and priority support at $6.99, and a stated 20% student discount. (flowferry.app))
