🧊 After 7 years of unfinished projects, I'm trying something different
The personal stuff first
7 years of starting products, getting 80% done, then chasing the next shiny idea. Co-founders, MVPs, excitement... then BANG - new idea, and I'd abandon everything.
Sound familiar? 😅
I don't know if this time will be different. But I'm trying a new approach.
The problem that's annoying me right now
You know those LinkedIn messages from recruiters that make you cringe?
"Hi [FIRSTNAME], I hope this message finds you well. We have an amazing opportunity..."
I get 5-10 of these generic, copy-pasted messages weekly. Zero personalisation. Zero research. Zero chance I'd reply.
Then I watch friends in sales do the opposite extreme - spending 2-3 hours researching each prospect, reading their posts, checking their company news, crafting the "perfect" personalised message. Great results, but completely unsustainable.
What I'm building (very early stages)
ThatsCold - a Chrome extension that generates hyper-personalised LinkedIn messages in 3-5 seconds.
The idea: You're on someone's LinkedIn profile → click a button → get a personalised message that references their recent activity, company, role, etc.
Full disclosure: I've been working on this for literally 2 days. The Chrome extension sort of works, but I'm calling it "early early early" for a reason.
Why this might be different (or might not be)
Previous pattern: Big vision → build for months → get overwhelmed → abandon
What I'm trying this time:
Stupidly simple scope - One button, one function
Baby steps - No 6-month roadmaps, just weekly iterations
Real conversations - Talk to actual users before building anything new
Personal pain point - I actually want this to exist
Will it work? No idea. But at least I'm aware of my pattern now.
The tech reality check
Building a Chrome extension that works with LinkedIn is harder than I thought.
LinkedIn actively prevents DOM manipulation - their class names change constantly, they have detection systems, the page structure shifts between updates.
I spent most of yesterday just trying to inject a button that doesn't disappear when you refresh the page 😅
What I need (and what I'm trying not to need)
What I want: Early feedback from people who actually do LinkedIn outreach
What I'm trying to avoid: Getting excited about features before anyone uses the core thing
Current status:
Marketing site with early access form (just launched)
Chrome extension MVP (works most of the time)
Zero users yet
Planning to pick 5-10 people for initial testing
Future pricing idea: $9'ish per month, but that's way premature to think about.
Anyone doing LinkedIn outreach regularly? I'd love to chat about your current process and frustrations - not to sell you anything, just to understand if I'm even solving a real problem.
Also: Fellow serial-project-starters, any tips for staying focused? I'm 2 days in and already have 3 "enhancement ideas" 🤦♂️
Thanks for reading! 🙏
Feelin you bro! almost 10 years in solopreneurship, over 20 projects started, 10 killed, 10 in „coma“ mode, next big ideas in the queue. i had some therapy days with dr gpt the last days, who helped to figure out wich projects have most potential. although i have the feeling gpt is more optimistic than me :)
my key take a way: either push the project to a point where it shows notable income or kill it.
i figured our that having so many projects, even thought i don’t put much effort, keeps your brain occupied.
Yea, GPT is waaay to optimistic. Easy talking, being an LLM :D
hello im findin my co-founder ur skills will be usefull for me would u want to listen
Working with somebody could keep the motivation? Though maybe you don't need the extra resources if trying to stay lean. Either way, sounds like we have the same personalities - I build lots of things out of curiosity and then get distracted by the next thing once I've built. It's the most infuriating thing ever - I think I'm just trying to take path of least resistance by doing the things that are "challenges" in my head (the coding, which I think isn't as much of a challenge as it is fun, and easy to see linear improvements, less disappointment, etc) , and then I have sort of a wall built up when it comes to anything non-technical maybe because it's a different part of the brain and I get really stuck? I really don't know.
Interested in syncing to dive into this pattern more? Maybe we can help each other avoid our own bad habits?
DM at rkotcher at gmail dot com. No worries if not :-)
Happy to talk about your project too, sounds neat
I have the same issue when coding with others on a project. They do keep me accountable, but the fire dims anyway. Sadly.
Keep going, Doctor Lime..
Let's gooo!
This hit home — that “80% done → new shiny idea” loop is way too familiar. Kudos for naming the pattern and actively building against it.
The "one button, one function" focus is smart, especially for something as tricky as Chrome + LinkedIn. I’ve dabbled in extension dev before and yeah… LinkedIn’s DOM obfuscation is its own boss level 😅
The pain point is very real. I’d be keen to try this once it stabilizes — I do occasional outreach for partnerships and I’ve never found a tool that feels both fast and human.
Following along — excited to see where weekly iterations take you. Rooting for it 👊
Totally get what you mean, that combo of speed and human tone in outreach is surprisingly rare. Glad it resonated! And yes, LinkedIn DOM is a real-life boss fight 😂 Appreciate the support, would love your thoughts once it’s in a steadier spot.
Curious: what’s your usual go-to's for outreach right now or are you winging it like me half the time?
Sounds great, I like that you're building and sharing to the market / community at the same time.
While I think I have a good product, I made the mistake of finishing it up first before considering marketing. Marketing seems like a different beast.
Appreciate that and yeah, I feel you. Building feels natural, but marketing is a whole different game. I’m trying to treat it more like product dev: test small things, iterate fast, talk to people. Have you found anything that makes marketing feel less overwhelming? I have this idea to work one week in code and try to do one week marketing then cycle that.
Hey Doctor Lime, love your honest approach — I totally relate to the “shiny idea” syndrome and the struggle to stay focused! Your extension sounds like a smart, practical tool for outreach. At CompliAssistant, we’re tackling a similar problem but in compliance for SMBs — making complex regs like HIPAA, GDPR, and SOC 2 easy to manage without overwhelm or endless research. If you or anyone in your network needs a straightforward AI-powered compliance assistant, check us out at compliassistant.com. Would be great to swap insights on keeping projects lean and user-focused!
Thanks! Totally hear you on the “no overwhelm” mission — compliance can be a beast if it’s not simplified. Just checked out CompliAssistant — love the clarity of the pitch. Would definitely be up for swapping notes on staying lean while still delivering value. What’s been your biggest learning so far building in that space?
Appreciate that, Doctor Lime — means a lot coming from someone who clearly values simplicity and efficiency too! Biggest learning so far? Honestly, that most SMBs want to be compliant but just don’t have the time or headspace for it. So stripping out jargon and giving clear, AI-guided steps has been a game changer.
Would love to hear how you’ve approached keeping your tool lean without sacrificing usability — especially curious how you validate what features are actually worth building.
Happy to trade war stories anytime — feel free to drop me a line at compliassistant@gmail.com if you're ever up for a quick brainstorm!
I am pretty much the same tbh. Decided to focus on one thing for a year. Just one thing. I hope it goes well. Congrats on creating and sharing about your recent work!
Do you have systems, rituals or a way of working that will keep you focussed on the one thing?
I don't, but I guess I should have one. Do you have a ritual and way of working? What does that look like if you have one? may need inspo
Haha, honestly I might just try to ritualize not having a ritual 😅 But seriously, I’m curious too always wondered how others stay consistent when zooming in on one goal. Might try a weekly check-in or something.
A weekly check-in would be good. I already had another idea two weeks in lol. If you create a weekly check-in group, do let me know. I wanna join.
I might just have forgotten to link to the website -> https://thatscold.app