From 30 failed projects to a successful $10K/month app | Starter Story

From 30 failed projects to a successful $10K/month app | Starter Story

Thomas had built over 30 projects that went nowhere. "I felt way more often than I have succeeded," he says. Then something finally clicked. His latest app grew step by step until it reached $10,000 in monthly revenue. In this conversation with Pat Walls on Starter Story, Thomas breaks down the five core reasons his earlier projects failed, what distinguishes a good idea from a bad one, and why his successful app worked when nothing else did.

The five reasons projects fail

Thomas identifies five patterns that killed his earlier projects. First, building something nobody wants. He admits he often built what he thought was cool rather than what people actually needed. Second, over-engineering. As a developer, he would spend months building complex features before launching, only to discover no one cared. Third, lack of distribution. He focused entirely on the product and ignored how people would find it. Fourth, giving up too early. Most projects died after a few weeks of no traction. Fifth, building in a vacuum. He never talked to potential users before building.

"A lot of the hackers, especially developers, don't realize this," Thomas says. The trap is treating the building part as the whole game. In reality, building is only the beginning.