Resources
A growing list of tools and reads for side project builders, grouped by where you are in the journey.
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Ideation
How to find ideas, spot niches, and decide what's worth exploring.
The best way to have a great idea is to have more ideas
A 1-page business modeling tool that helps you deconstruct an idea into key assumptions or beliefs
Paul Graham, founder of YC, explains how to get more startup ideas.
Paul Graham, founder of YC, explains why your idea isn't as important as you think: initial ideas are just starting questions, and real value comes from building and adapting.
Community and interviews with founders building profitable side projects.
Validating
How to test demand, talk to potential users, and prove it before you build.
How to achieve Product/Market Fit by leveraging your personal edge in a viable market, validating with customers first, shipping a simple and lovable product quickly, and prioritizing sales and retention over writing more code.
A presentation at CYC 2026 covering the key lessons to launching your side project startup.
A practical, step by step guide to building a landing page that tests real demand before you build anything.
Build-measure-learn: how to test ideas fast and avoid wasting time on the wrong product.
How to talk to users, run great user interviews, and how to interpret feedback.
How to talk to customers and learn if your idea is worth pursuing.
Free curriculum on validating and shaping an early idea.
Building
How to scope an MVP, choose your stack, and ship a working product.
Why you should choose boring technology to propel your business rather than chasing the brand new shiny object.
A grounded look at when AI actually speeds up an MVP build, what to prepare before prompting, and the most common failure mode: shipping unreviewed AI code.
Julian Shapiro's guide to scoping a minimum viable product, picking what to build first, and avoiding the trap of building too much before testing it.
Paul Graham's essay on why the earliest version of your product should be manual, hacky, and built for a handful of users before it's built for everyone.
Ship a frontend fast with zero-config deploys.
Open-source backend — Postgres, auth, storage — for weekend-speed builds.
Reference for wiring up payments correctly the first time.
Design and prototype your UI before or while you build.
Growing
How to launch, market your project, and build an audience.
Kevin Kelly's classic essay on why you don't need mass reach to sustain a project, just a small number of people who deeply care and pay attention.
Andrew Chen's book on how products and communities go from zero to self-sustaining growth, starting with a small, highly specific first network before expanding.
Raise a round, find angels, or explore syndicates.
Launch publicly and get your first wave of users.
Cap table management for when you start raising or issuing equity.
Monetizing
How to generate revenue, price your product, and earn your first dollar.
Patrick McKenzie's practical rundown of common SaaS pricing mistakes, why most builders charge too little, and concrete tactics for structuring your tiers.
Amy Hoy's case for starting with something small enough to sell right away, so you learn pricing, delivery, and support before committing to a bigger build.
Merchant of record for selling digital products without the tax headache.
Simplest way to sell a digital product or subscription.
Sustaining
How to manage your time, avoid burnout, and keep building alongside a full-time job.
A founder's honest, first-hand account of learning the hard way that nonstop work isn't sustainable, and the simple rule that keeps him from burning out.
An Indie Hackers thread of practical, lived-in advice on carving out time, staying organized, and taking breaks without letting either the job or the project slip.
Stack Overflow's roundup of real developers on how they actually find time for a side project around a full-time job, from prioritizing to shipping fast.