From Layoff to $3K MRR: A 10-Day Challenge Success Story

When I first launched https://www.producthunt.com/products/aicarousels-com I had set a 12-month goal of reaching $2500 MRR 🎯 About 3ish months in, I've already surpassed it! 🚀 The truth is, www.aiCarousels.com almost didn't happened. I wasn't really sure about the idea. But it was an incredibly stressful period in my life, and I needed to take my mind off the potential job cuts at my 9-to-5. While I was waiting for the resolution of the situation, I challenged myself to a 10-day #buildinpublic #challenge (you can binge-watch the whole saga here: https://medium.com/@fernandopessagno) I was thinking that worst case scenario, I just lose 10 days, and I still could think about something else and learn a thing or two! 🤷‍♂️ Looking back, that first version makes me cringe a bit. It was basic compared to how it works today 😅 However, it got the job done, kept me accountable, and was good enough to check if there was interest out there. It also built momentum going forwards (shipping and rolling updates is way more exciting than building forever!) As a foreign worker relying on a work visa, layoffs were my worst nightmare, and unfortunately, losing my job became a reality 😔 But then, realizing that just around 3 months ago, this chart wasn't even a thing, and that if it triples, it could mean 10K per month, makes me think it was actually a blessing in disguise! 🙌🌟 In my specific case, I learned that when life gets a bit crazy, you can find ways to channel the negative energy into something awesome. And if you're uncertain about bringing your new idea to life, maybe an X-day public challenge to put it out there can work for you too. Challenges get a bad rap because of TikTok, but I swear, this one isn't that terrible! 🕺 PS. Still trying to sort out the visa thing! Not everything looks as good as the MRR chart – yet!