Intro / Who and What 👋
- Chris is a solo developer who built a simple Wish List app that grew into a $150k/year business, enabling him to quit his job and go full-time.
Idea genesis and product concept 💡
- How the idea started: He was using an Excel sheet for his own wish list and felt there wasn’t a nice app out there, so he built a better, nicer wish list app.
- Why it sat as a side project: He started it while juggling university, a full-time job, and life—time, codebase challenges, and lack of initial marketing kept it as a side project.
Journey timeline / milestones 📅
- 2019–2020: Ideation and first release of Wish List.
- 2021: Landed his first job as an app developer, influenced by the side project.
- 2023: Two months of free time; planned a relaunch and launched Wish List 2.0, hitting 100k registered users.
- 2024: Juggled a full-time job and the side project; negotiated a 4-day workweek to dedicate more time.
- 2025: Quit the job and went full-time with Wish List.
Growth strategy and marketing approach 📈
- No traditional marketing; limited budget.
- Early focus on getting reviews from friends/family and user feedback.
- Proactive, personalized support and thanking users; asking for reviews at opportune moments.
- Why reviews and sentiment mattered: reviews boosted app store ranking and helped with retention.
Product, monetization, and user metrics 💳
- How Wish List works: Create lists, add wishes, share with others; supports affiliate links and premium features.
- Revenue model: Affiliate links, in-app purchases/premium, etc.
- Key metrics (approximate):
- 1.1 million registered users
- 4k+ paying customers
- ~110k monthly active users
- ~$6k monthly revenue in low season; revenue can multiply ~5x in high season
- near 99% margin by cost structure described
Tech stack and operations 🛠️
- Flutter (cross-platform)
- Firebase backend
- RevenueCat for in-app purchases
- OneLink for deep linking
- AI tools (ChatGPT) for content/ops
- Basic accounting tooling
How it works (product tour) 🧭
- Create a wish list (e.g., Christmas), add notes, set visibility.
- Add wishes manually or import via affiliate-enabled links.
- Premium membership unlocks features like custom/wishlist images.
- Revenue mainly generated through affiliate links and the affiliate-enabled flow.
Learnings, takeaways, and practical advice 🧠
- Start small and solve a real, personal problem.
- Don’t overcomplicate; you don’t need VC funding or a grand vision.
- Be honest with your employer; use free time wisely; winter and “working holidays” can help maintain productivity.
- Focus on users, iterate from their feedback, and keep the project enjoyable.
Final thoughts / advice for others with a full-time job 🔑
- A marathon mindset: long-building period, not a weekend sprint.
- Monetization can come later; first aim for user adoption and satisfaction.
Notable quotes or memorable moments (optional) 🎯
- Notable takeaway: Start small, solve a real problem, and you don’t need VC funding to succeed on the side.