How Thomas Sanlis failed 30 projects before building a $10K/month SaaS

Executive overview

Most side projects fail not because the idea is wrong, but because founders quit too early, stop marketing, or pick markets they don't understand. Thomas Sanlis spent years building and abandoning over 30 projects before one finally stuck.

He pivoted an underperforming tool directory into a Product Hunt alternative at exactly the right moment — when frustration with Product Hunt peaked among indie hackers.

Distribution and market knowledge matter more than the product itself.

Five reasons projects fail

• Giving up too early — no product grows overnight; iteration over weeks and months is required
• Unclear purpose — if visitors don't understand the headline, they won't scroll
• Loss of momentum — stopping public updates forces you to rebuild awareness from zero
• "Build it and they will come" thinking — without active marketing, no one finds the product
• Wrong timing — a failed January launch may succeed in July; consistency outlasts bad timing

What makes an idea good or bad

• A good idea is one you know how to sell — through market knowledge, distribution, or a clear marketing plan
• Having competitors is a signal, not a threat — no competitors means no existing market
• Thomas failed with Gum Affiliates because he didn't know Gumroad or the affiliate market
• Uneed worked because he knew Product Hunt, indie hackers, and had built a Twitter audience

How Uneed reached $10K/month

• Started as a simple directory for front-end tools; peaked at $200/month
• Pivoted to a launch platform after spotting indie hacker frustration with Product Hunt
• Revenue initially dropped after the pivot, then recovered and grew to $10K/month
• Timing was critical — launching a Product Hunt alternative during peak community discontent drove early traction
• Current metrics: 40,000 users, 2,000 paying customers, 30,000 monthly visitors, 10,000 outbound clicks/month

Sustaining the work long-term

• Treat building as a marathon — wealth in a month is lottery odds
• Sustainability requires protecting personal routines: exercise, social life, time outside
• Pick a work pace you can hold for years, not weeks