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23 Comments

6 products in 3 months - Spent < $100 Each

Want to build your side project for less than $100?

It’s very possible. We’ve done it 6 times in the last 3 months. #buildinpublic

Below are the products that we (badunicorn.vc) have built in the last 3 months without...

  1. writing any code.
  2. spending over $100.

for context we build funny/bad startup products

#001 https://MuskOnMars.space 🧑‍🚀

@webflow for website: $20
@calendly for booking days: $15
@namecheap for domain: $1
@zapier for automation: $20
@fomo for social proof: $19

Price tag: $75 Label 🏷️

#002 https://ZoomHypeman.xyz 🎙️

@carrd for website: $0
@cameo for funny videos: $24
@fiverr for funnier videos: $20
@namecheap for domain: $1

Price tag: $45 🏷️

#003 https://MemeUniversity.lol 🎓

@carrd for website: $0
@namecheap for domain: $10
@gumroad for payment: $0
@canva for ebook design: $0
@printful for merch:$0

Price tag: $10 🏷️

#004 https://Slow.sale 🐢

@webflow for website: $15
@namecheap for domain: $7
@carrd for fake checkout flow: $0
@gumroad for payments: $0
@printful for merch: $0

Price tag: $22 🏷️

#005 https://Scarebnb.rentals 👻

@carrd for website: $0
@gathertown for virtual space: $0
@namecheap for domain: $7
@canva for design: $0
@gumroad for payments: $0
@printful for merch: $0
Merch giveaway: $30

Price tag: $37 🏷️

#006 Unslack.co 📄

@carrd for website: $0
@googlesheets for chat: $0
@namecheap for domain: $8
@canva for design: $0
@gumroad for payments: $0
@printful for merch: $0

Price tag: $8 🏷️

Landing Page: BadUnicorn.vc 🦄

@webflow for site: $20
@mailerlite for newsletter: $10
@zapier for automation: +$0
@trello for organization: $0

Price Tag: $30 🏷️

It's never been cheaper (& easier) to build something. Get that idea out of your head 💡

(even if it sounds like a “bad idea”)

Follow at badunicorn.vc for more madness!

  1. 3

    Love the transparency and dedication to consistency, Whit + Ash. Glad to be an angel investor and follower of the "madness".

    1. 2

      Thanks so much! We're so grateful Alex - you're a real one!

  2. 2

    Aboslutely hilarious and creative solutions! I actually think Slow.Sale would have to get out of Bad Unicorns, might as well be a real unicorn:)

  3. 2

    This is so true.

    I go even either!
    I have spent less than 100 for 3 side projects,probably because I put the time on coding the sites and design myself.

    The newsletter has a great landing page.

  4. 2

    Even "code" websites can be super cheap! My current project Jamform is just starting out but I've only spent:

    • Namecheap Domain - $8
    • Mongo DB Atlas - $9/mo (could use free for now if I wanted)
    • Sendgrid - Free
    • Stripe - Free
    • Vercel hosting - Free
    1. 2

      Looks really nice! Where did you get the jam SVG from?

      1. 1

        Thanks I got it from one of those stock photos website (not sure which anymore I clicked on a lot), but it was offering a free month trial for the premium images so I grabbed it and then cancelled, modified it a bit and it was good to go!

    2. 2

      Love the design, frontend in next.js?

      1. 1

        Yep! And next API routes for the “backend”, I’m building off this boilerplate.

        1. 1

          Btw, did you build your awesome landing page from scratch? I always have trouble making them responsive and prefer to find templates.. :(

          1. 2

            Tailwind UI, it’s expensive but i use it on all my projects. You can just grab a full prebuilt page sections and piece them together, super helpful

            1. 1

              Works well with react? I see on their docs it just says you have to go html => jsx, is that it?

              1. 2

                It works pretty well, setup is fairly simple and then you can just inline the styles like className=“bg-white flex flex-1”, or I typically just use PostCss so I can move it into a style sheet and use the classes basically the same way like “.foo { @apply bg-white flex flex-1 }”

                1. 1

                  I'm testing tailwindui out with their free components and its doing magic! Also found a chrome extension that converts the html to jsx, not sure if you've tried this before.

                  1. 2

                    Oh that’s awesome! I’ve gotten used to all the things that you need to convert so I didn’t really realize but that’ll save a ton of time. Thanks!

        2. 1

          Awesome! Might have to give it a try, thanks

  5. 2

    If you need a formula, here it is. Unfortunately less than one in five will follow through. That’s why building in public will always be a differentiator.

  6. 2

    This thread is a bold statement for people who find excuses more often than solutions.

    Whit, you inspire people!

    1. 2

      It is certainly the easiest time ever to build! Now it feels like it's all about audience building

  7. 1

    Amazing. But how about the marketing budget? Don't you spend anything on marketing?
    If yes, then what kind of marketing strategy you are using? :)

    T. Hanks!

  8. 1

    @whitandersonIV Thanks for putting this together -- it's is really inspiring. One thing I was curious about was how you were using the free version of carrd.co with a custom domain. Do you mind sharing your wisdom?

  9. 1

    Amazing bro @whitandersonIV

    Can't wait to learn and hear your growth stats ;)

  10. 1

    Love how well you are executing bro.

    So good to see

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