Start new projects syndrome

I suffer from Start New Projects Syndrome.

Whenever I think of an exciting project, I immediately jump on it.

Last weekend, Aravind told me I should build products with code and AI as the possibilities are significantly higher in comparison to no code tools.

I understand the power of coding, but I was like, “Product is a product”, and that’s what matters: what people use over how it is built.

But I didn’t want to be a jerk who comments without trying.

So I did the obvious.

I love Paul Graham’s website and wanted to build a vintage space like that. No ads, No fancy formatting, just plain text full of value. It could be a good start because I like it and is simple to build.

I always start by asking my friends because I am lucky that way - my friends are way smarter than me.

Once I got the basic idea, I played around with AI. I prompted my build plus learned the functionalities of HTML so I know what all are possible. It’s here if you wish to learn.

I did what I could and got stuck at deployment. I immediately called Sreekar and he showed me how. I could have asked Google or played around to figure out the platform, but it slows the execution - WHICH I ABSOLUTELY HATE.

When you have friendship perks to call any time and annoy people, take them maybe? This was at 11 pm by the way.

I planned my tasks for the next day and by evening - I finished building newslettercasestudies.com. It’s a website with all my case studies about newsletters.

Honestly this is too basic and I find it difficult to believe if someone says “Learning is hard” in today’s age.

So I built a project and launched it. It had 133 visitors in the first 24 hours:

So what’s the problem? Why this Start New Project Syndrome drama?

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Why this Start New Project Syndrome drama?

The problem is ROI. Building a hundred things simultaneously sounds cool unless you realize the time required to manage everything. Plus I should check for the money I make.

No doubt I make useful stuff. People like reading my newsletters. They listen to my Telugu playlist. Or discover newsletters on Newsletter Hub. And now, they read case studies on this website I built.

Newsletter sponsorships make money but it’s substantial when readership is high.

I could charge newsletter operators to showcase their content on Newsletter Hub, but I’ll have to drive traffic to the website for it.

These things make money but rely heavily on distribution, which I am confident I’ll get to one day.

But here comes the problem with start new project syndrome.

Every project I start takes time away from existing ones. It is not shiny object syndrome because I don’t abandon my previous projects, but allocating time becomes difficult.

Sometimes I look back and feel I could have picked only three projects and scaled them quickly. But that’s the downside - you don’t know what three projects to focus on.

The advantage is it lets you explore. I am okay with it. I am okay with starting hundred projects and shutting down 80% of ’em if it doesn’t make sense anymore.

But as I have said: ROI and Scale have been my roadblocks. The immediate money for the active time invested isn’t great, and the scaling of current products slows down.

It is what it is, I guess.

My newsletters, no code projects, communities, etc., are a result of me acting fast. By the time someone goes from an idea to a perfect plan, I’d ship the first version and show it to people. I get real feedback and insights.

Now I am in search of a method to my madness.

In fact, I can see progress. In the last 45 days:

• I’ve set up better systems

• I’ve rejected more ideas than I have worked on

• I look at alternatives before I decide

• I check for traffic, money-making possibilities, and how easy it is to automate

• Buy domain only after the project is completed and ready to show to people (Domain nerds will know what I am talking about)

Doing my best to develop a framework for myself before I work on a project. Something that saves me from wasting time and money.

Gautham once explained this even more deeply and called it Error Minimization Framework.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress.

Vikra, over and out.

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