I Sold My AI Startup for $1,500 and I'm Really Happy About It

Let me tell you why.

It all started with a workshop I led last year at the biggest nocode conference in Poland called Nocode Days. The workshop showed how to build and launch a startup in just one weekend using Bubble. It was a huge hit - over 100 people attended, far exceeding the 20-30 we expected! After this success, I held another online session because so many people were interested, and I hadn't managed to cover all the topics I wanted.

Seeing all this interest, I decided to actually build and launch something myself to show it can be done. So, over a weekend in late 2023, I made Summaletter.com as a side project, using Bubble.io.

The idea was simple - to create an app to transform dozens of your newsletter subscriptions into one weekly summary digest. Summaletter uses AI to pick out important points from the newsletters you're subscribed to. It then creates a short, easy-to-read summary that you can receive once a week. It quickly got some attention after my Indiehackers.com post and started to take off a bit.

I wasn't focusing on it much, after a couple of days a guy found me on Linkedin and got in touch. He liked how fast we can get startups going with nocode and thought more people should know about this. We started to talk about a place where we talk about cool startup ideas, launch a new startup every month using nocode, and then sell it to other people starting at low rates like $1,000. We started to talk about the community of people, dreaming of launching their own side-project.

And we actually launched it.

We called it The Product Launchers Club.

We chose Summaletter as our first test project. I made some videos showing how to build stuff, wrote up extra info, and we put it up on a test landing page. We got a lot of interest - over 150 people signed up, and 20 bought memberships even before we launched anything. And Summaletter was our first project to demo the whole process. Today, after selling it, we know our idea works from start to finish! 🔥

So, the price might not seem big, but it means a lot to me. In just three months, I not only built this side-project, but we built this whole club around it and showed there's a market for our community. Even if your project is just starting out and only has a cool idea, you might be able to quickly launch & sell it for a few thousand dollars - or find a co-founder to help it grow. And it's all thanks to nocode tools, that allows you not only to dream about your ideas, but actually launch it in just few days!

I’d like to keep dreaming, building, and selling micro-SaaS projects while continuing to showcase them to our Product Launchers Club community. Currently, it’s just me building in public, but however, looking ahead, who knows? Perhaps members of the Club will also want to showcase and sell their own no-code builds and projects?

And the importance of small exits cannot be overstated. For many founders, especially those who are just starting or are running projects on their own, getting a quick and modest exit can be a game-changer. It's not just about the money - it's about validation, learning from real-market conditions, and gaining the confidence to scale up or start new ventures. Small exits help build a track record and can often lead to more significant opportunities.

Moreover, the rise of micro-SaaS and solopreneurship is shaping the tech landscape. These small, often highly focused software solutions solve specific problems for a niche market. They require less capital to start and can be managed by one person or a small team. This makes technology entrepreneurship more accessible than ever.

Actually, there's a whole market for small buys.

Platforms like Littlexits.com, Microns.io, BuyMicrostartups.com or Sideprojectors.com offer vibrant marketplaces where you can sell your project or discover others. There’s even a ProductHunt for small startups called Microlaunch.net, highlighting the growing popularity of micro-SaaS projects. Being part of this exciting movement, where you can see and contribute to the creation and growth of new businesses, is truly inspiring.

With these platforms supporting micro-acquisitions, there’s a thriving ecosystem that supports not just building with no-code but also selling small projects, offering numerous paths to success. As someone who’s part of this movement with The Product Launchers Club, I can say it's a thrilling time 🤩

To sum up, being in the industry these days means we're not just making products; we're shaping the future of how online businesses are created and grown 🚀