From First Sales to a Slowdown. Still Showing Up, Still Shipping
Hey Indie Hackers 👋
I launched AnimeMyPic a little while ago — a tool that transforms real photos into anime-style portraits using AI. Think Studio Ghibli, Naruto, Chainsaw Man, and more.
At first, it picked up traction. A few sales came in, people posted their results, and I thought, “Okay, this might be something.”
Then… things slowed down.
No sales for days. Fewer visits. That early momentum? Gone.
But weirdly enough, I’m not discouraged.
What I’ve Built:
A growing set of anime & cartoon styles
A community gallery to view and upvote creations
A leaderboard to highlight top styles and fan-favorite images
Jujutsu Kaisen & Chainsaw Man styles (just added!)
Behind-the-scenes: starting to explore a B2B avatar API idea based on user interest
What I’m Thinking About:
How do I balance “fun side project” with “repeatable product”?
Should I double down on social content… or go API-first?
Are anime fans the end goal, or is this the start of something bigger in visual identity?
If you're building something creative, weird, or personal — I’d love to connect.
And if you're into anime or AI, feel free to check it out and let me know what you’d improve 👇
Thanks for reading — and shoutout to everyone here who keeps showing up even when the dashboard goes quiet 🙏
This is such a solid share. Honestly, that “traction, then crickets” cycle is criminally underrated in founder journeys.
But I was thinking, instead of just showing off the AI-generated anime portraits as products, how about turning the whole platform into a story-driven experience? Make the project feel like a world, not just a tool.
So…
Don’t just let people generate a portrait.
Let them name their character.
Let them write a short backstory.
Let people upvote or follow their favorite characters (not just styles).
Create challenges like: “Create your anime villain alter ego” or “Anime you, but in the Chainsaw Man universe.”
All of that makes people emotionally invested. It becomes more like a community playground for creativity, not just “upload photo → get image → leave."
What do you think?
I absolutely love this direction — and you're spot on. The idea of making it a creative world, not just a one-click tool, really resonates.
We’ve actually just launched a community section where users can share their anime-style creations, get upvotes, and explore what others are making. It’s still early, but the response has been great — and your suggestions about naming characters and writing backstories take it to the next level.
I’m definitely thinking now about adding themed challenges and deeper storytelling layers. This kind of engagement is exactly where I want to take it — thank you for the push! 🙌
Glad you like it😊 I do this kind of creative strategy work with businesses who want to stand out without doing the usual boring stuff.
Im down to chat more if you ever want to bounce ideas or explore deeper angles — world-building like this has so much potential, especially when done right.
Good Luck ✨
what is this problem?
It’s not a tech issue — more about the emotional dip after launch. Sales slowed down, hype faded, and now it’s about staying consistent and improving even during quiet days.
This hit home. I’m just launching something small myself, and already thinking about how to stay consistent when things inevitably slow down.
Thanks for the honesty — it’s motivating to see someone pushing through the quiet phase. Any routines or mindset shifts that help you keep showing up?
That means a lot, really. Wishing you a great launch, and yeah, that quiet phase hits hard.
For me, what helps most is shifting from “viral or nothing” to “build one thing that adds value today.” Some days it’s a bug fix, other days a blog post or a small feature. It all stacks up.
Also: I treat any comment, visit, or like as proof that someone cares, even if it’s not a sale. That mindset shift keeps me motivated when numbers dip.
You’ve got this, keep showing up, even quietly. 💪
It might sound strange but for some reason I can imagine where you can scale this...you can into the corporate world by helping out employees with their professional pics using AI-powered image generation. You can get into AI-powered video creation where perhaps users can upload their pictures, give context to what the video can look like, and BAM! You have an AI-generated video of yourself without even filming it. You can make tools that might help out YouTubers with their editing, maybe tools that edit your videos FOR YOU! Sounds unrealistic now, but could be a possibility in the future, you never know. Basically what I'm saying is...possibilities and opportunities are endless! 😉
Not strange at all, honestly, I love the way you’re thinking! 🙌
That kind of creative leap is exactly what makes building in the AI space exciting. I’ve been so focused on the fun, expressive side (anime styles, art vibes), but you’re totally right, the core tech could evolve into way more practical and professional use cases.
AI-generated profile pics for teams, dynamic video intros for YouTubers, even full-on video generation from just prompts + photos… it all sounds futuristic now, but the pace of this space is wild. The “unrealistic” today could be tomorrow’s baseline.
Really appreciate this vision, it's the kind of perspective that makes me want to keep dreaming (and shipping)! Let’s see where it all goes 🚀✨
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