Why I'm shutting down my profitable product 👀

Today's the day I'm closing down my profitable side-project - Maker Threads 😮

After two years of building, this was my first product that had ever generated revenue. So why shut it down?

My thoughts, reflections, and future plans below 👇

1️⃣ In my eyes, Maker Threads has been a huge success 🎉

It took me two years to generate my first dollar online. When I created Maker Threads, the product was profitable from day one (more on this here).

I remember feeling so accomplished and determined to turn this into a real business.

2️⃣ As a maker, this product helped me prove to myself that I knew how to quickly validate an idea, build something of value, then source a distribution channel.

At a time when I'd questioned my capabilities, Maker Threads gave me a much needed confidence boost 🙌

3️⃣ So why shut it down?

To be frank, I have another product that's prevailed with more potential and opportunity.

Creating no-code resources has never been more lucrative, and it'll only continue as the whole industry grows 📈

In just one month, my new product has already exceeded Maker Thread's monthly revenue 🚀

This product solves a genuine pain point that customers are willing to pay for, whereas Maker Threads was only something that was nice to have.

5️⃣ But why not focus on both?

Although Maker Threads didn't require a great ordeal of my time, I truly believe you should focus your attention on doing one thing well.

While others are capable of working across multiple products, I personally know that I'll work best when I'm dedicated to a single goal.

I'm slowly learning that the best superpower to have as a maker is experience. While advice is helpful, experience is unparalleled.

Two years ago, I was the kind of maker that was working across three different products in the hope that one would gain traction.

After knowing first-hand where this path leads to, I won't waste a second repeating this mistake...

6️⃣ The end result 💰

Over the period of 6 months, Maker Threads generated a total of $2,539 in revenue, with a profit of $513 after all expenses.

Just one and half months in, my new product has reached $1,600 revenue, with $905 in profit.

7️⃣ I wanted to give a massive shoutout to everyone who had ever purchased some Maker Threads swag, shared a tweet, or even just sent a message of support 💕

While I'm sad to move on from the product, I'm ecstatic about what lies ahead over the next few months 🚀

If you were interested in following my journey, I'd recommend checking out my Twitter.

  1. 3

    What's the new product?

    1. 5

      Still yet to even build a website, but I'm creating video tutorials for Bubble's no-code platform.

      The plan is to create a bundled product with lifetime access to a series of tutorials. In the meantime, I've started posting them on Udemy to drive initial revenue.

      1. 2

        Hi, congrats on the accomplishment! Great to see you've made such progress.

        I'm building https://get-lumo.com, it's great for improving the engagement in your video course. As your going to build a course on Udemy and you are in our target audience I would love to hear your opinion on our product to see how we could improve or hear why your interested / not interested. I would owe you one! Thanks..

      2. 1

        Sounds like you're onto a winner. Checkout CourseMaker for a course builder option, would be open to giving you one of the founding customer slots. Or feel free to use our open-source GatsbyJS theme if you're more of DIY person.

      3. 1


        Unrelated. Why is everything on Udemy always ~90% off. Does anyone ever pay full price.

        1. 1

          I have a Udemy course -- the reason is actually simple: Udemy does price testing. When you launch the course, you can either leave it at a set price or give Udemy the permission to regularly run promotions on it.

          As it turns out, that means listing it for as little as $10-$20, which mostly sucks from a revenue standpoint, but helps a lot from a discoverability/distribution standpoint to earn early reviews.

        2. 1

          Thanks! I don't think anyone in the history of time has ever paid full price for a Udemy course.

          The commission fees aren't very generous on Udemy either, but it's a temporary way to leverage their free distribution while I work on the next iteration of the product.

  2. 2

    You message is clear. Try whichever you like more.

  3. 2

    Have you considered selling Maker Threads?

    1. 2

      That's a great question. Selling it did cross my mind, but I didn’t think the sale price would be worth the effort of finding a buyer and doing a handover.

      I'd rather focus that time on building out my new product.

      Have you ever sold a side-project before? Would be curious to know what the experience was like.

      1. 2

        I haven't sold any project before, but just yesterday I read a story about selling a side project https://tinyprojects.dev/posts/selling_a_tiny_project

        1. 2

          Thanks, this looks great! Will spend some time looking into it over the weekend.

  4. 2

    Congratulations! Both on your successful new product and letting go of the not as successful one despite the revenue it generates. Not all opportunities are created equal and learning to choose which to take on is a good life skill.

    1. 2

      Absolutely! I think as a maker it’s just as important to know when to let go of an opportunity as it is to pursue one.

  5. 2

    Congrats! It's a huge accomplishment. And it's only natural that as you get better, you'll make better products too. All part of the learning curve.

    I feel you in the sense that I too can only focus on one big project at a time. So I'd probably have done the same thing :) I think focus is everything.

    1. 1

      Appreciate it!

      As I mentioned, I've failed enough times to have a general idea of what DOESN'T work. I'm slowly starting to appreciate all the experience I've learnt along my journey so far.

  6. 1

    What about hiring some one to manage this product? (full time employee or a freelancer)

    1. 1

      With only $500 in profit over the life of the product, there's not much flexibility to hire someone while maintaining my own income.

      1. 2

        I I were you, I would maintain this product like hiring a cheap freelancer and launch more products for founders.

        Or, Sell your company on Flippa.

      2. 1

        You have already aroused a crowd of founders , Then Try creating a eco system for founders.

  7. 1

    a little clickbaity - 2 years building - $500 profit

  8. 1

    Hi Lachlan, Thanks for sharing your story. Its very inspiring.

    I would be interested to speak to you in regards of Makers Threads and potentially buy the business.

    Could you please let me know what would be the best way to carry on talking about this with you?



    1. 1

      Sure, feel free to shoot me an email. My contact details are attached to my profile.

  9. 1

    Congrats Lachlan. Focus is underrated.

    1. 1

      Thanks! Couldn't agree more.

  10. 1


    Would love to hear your thoughts on this. What would you do differently? Why?

    1. 3

      When I first started making, I'd always believed that if you place more bets across a handful of products, one would be bound to pay off.

      I did this for two years and not one had ever worked because it didn't get the commitment it needed.

      Instead of spreading myself thin, I can concentrate on building one product well. This means I can fail faster, learn faster, and hopefully grow faster.

      Every maker might be different, but I know what will work best for me.

  11. 1

    Congrats! As a serial product creator many years ago, I can attest that going deep on 1 thing and making it big is better than having many little projects. Way to go!

    1. 1

      Appreciate it! Still a long way to go, but I'm looking forward to seeing where I can take this.

  12. 1

    Congrats on your new product! From your post, it's not clear what is your new product. Is it a new no-code editor or a course about no-code?

    1. 2

      Looks like a Udemy course

    2. 1


      The new product is currently just a series of no-code Udemy courses, but I'm planning on building out a bundle with lifetime access on my own platform.

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