Building two functional SaaS products before turning 18 (Case study: Aaptics & GitHub Actions Cost Calculator)

Hey IH community,

I’m Shubham, a 17-year-old solo founder currently in "deep build" mode for my main project, Aaptics (an AI platform launching April 15 to automate LinkedIn growth frictionless-ly).

While waiting for the launch, I decided to tackle another massive pain point I personally faced: GitHub bill shock. Instead of waiting, I spent a few weeks building www.githubactionscost.online —a functional standalone SaaS. It's a free web tool where developers paste their YAML, see exact costs across all runners side-by-side, and get AI suggestions to cut their bills instantly.

I’m monetizing it via ads, and it’s been a great way to understand user acquisition for technical tools.

But the biggest learning is Cross-Credibility. When creators/founders hear I’m building Aaptics (for LinkedIn), they are skeptical. But when they see I also built a functional CI/CD cost optimization tool, it instantly proves that I have the technical depth to deliver on Aaptics' promise.

We are officially launching Aaptics on April 15th. aaptics.in/waitlist

My question to fellow founders: Did building a side-SaaS ever directly increase the credibility and waitlist for your main SaaS? How did you handle the context switching?

Cheers,
Shubham