We launched AppToolkit.io earlier in the year and it's now breaking $500 monthly. Since we use it in-house, we don't judge it quite the same as if it needed to support itself. It isn't profitable yet, but as more app developers sign up for our Super User and Cloud Config service, we're seeing faster revenue growth.
Our original goal was to cover the AWS bill and pay for all the in-house dev work and I think we'll have that by the end of the year.
So the apptoolkit.io SDK is out of beta and ready for production use.
With it you can edit your app code remotely without a resubmit - Cloud Config - and segment your users into your Super Users and everyone else.
Super Users lets you not only see what your users are doing while they do it, but also lets you target just those users within your app. So instead of asking every user for an app review every 10th time they open the app, only ask your super users. They're much more likely to give you a positive review anyway.
I wrote an article about how segmenting your users by the how often they open your app and how long they stay in it is one really good way to be able to target different groups in your app for engagement.
You only need the three cars if you insist on owning the vehicle you're riding it. So if Mom, Dad and Kid all need to be somewhere different at the same time, Uber Pool could work for two of the three, or all three while the car is earning more as Uber Black (or the future equivalent). They only need their own vehicle if they want to ride together.
Probably more common than you'd think. Brainstorming for new ideas or looking for something that doesn't work as well as you think it should or seems to be "missing" is a valid way of trying to start a business. You may not be passionate about it, but if it can make money, you can be passionate about that.
However I also think that is a problem for many people who want to startup. They don't usually think about how they'll show a profit and manage to run their business within that profit. Investor money gets them started and an exit by selling an unprofitable yet growing business to a larger company is the goal.
I think this is both an indictment of "squirrel" syndrome (the dog from Up), and YC not choosing well in the first place. maybe that's the environment there, but I would guess if you brought in a new team with an idea, gave them money for that idea and then they went and dumped the idea right off and went to something new and shinier, they shouldn't have been funded in the first place?
And with two previously abandoned businesses in his past, someone should have asked about commitment to the idea. Sure you can work on something you don't love, but then its a job not a career or a self focused business, not something worth others investing in without a really clear business plan and exit strategy.
I think most of them will be an oddity or way underused. Some will probably catch on, I know we're planning on buying some .app domains for landing pages, but overall, I think its a going to be a huge money suck from large brands who feel the need to protect their name across any tlds as they can.
Our original goal was to cover the AWS bill and pay for all the in-house dev work and I think we'll have that by the end of the year.
If you're interested in the background to AppToolkit and where it came from, we did an interview on Indie Hackers here - https://www.indiehackers.com/businesses/apptoolkit