I’ve built a lot of projects that went nowhere.
Most died before launch. Some launched but nobody cared.
This one makes $50/month MRR. Tiny, but it’s the first time I’ve ever seen real money come in from a side project.
It’s called Colorazen.
It’s just coloring pages for adults. Sounds boring. But I needed it. I was coloring with my daughter during a stressful time and the sites I found were all clunky and outdated. So I made my own.
I built it with the tools I already knew (PHP/Symfony). Nothing fancy. Launched fast, shipped imperfect, fixed things as I went.
People found it through SEO, Pinterest, Facebook groups. That was enough to get to $50/month.
This week I added AI-generated coloring pages. Now every user can get fresh designs, unlimited. It’s early but people like it.
Next steps:
• Let users publish their own coloring pages.
• Auto-categorize those pages, even create new categories based on demand.
• Keep growing with SEO and slowly build a small community around it.
It’s not a “big startup.” It’s a tiny side project. But for me it’s proof that something can actually work.
If you’ve been through this stage: how did you onboard new users so they stick around? Any advice is welcome.
beardyw · 7h ago
I was expecting enclosed areas for each colour, particularly in beginner mode. My result was more like just a line drawing.
numerogeek · 7h ago
Thanks for pointing that out! Beginner mode should indeed have closed areas... I’ll work on improving that so it feels easier :)
rikem · 8h ago
good work on getting this far!
How have you monetised this? I can't see any ads or prices
numerogeek · 8h ago
there's Google ads on it, but you probably have an adblocker ahah !
rikem · 8h ago
I did wonder that, I can't see them even with the adblocker turned off
numerogeek · 8h ago
Lucky you !
Do you live in a country where there are no Google Ads, or are you behind a VPN ? I don’t see why you wouldn’t have ads if you don’t have an adblocker, it’s really strange
It’s called Colorazen. It’s just coloring pages for adults. Sounds boring. But I needed it. I was coloring with my daughter during a stressful time and the sites I found were all clunky and outdated. So I made my own.
I built it with the tools I already knew (PHP/Symfony). Nothing fancy. Launched fast, shipped imperfect, fixed things as I went. People found it through SEO, Pinterest, Facebook groups. That was enough to get to $50/month.
This week I added AI-generated coloring pages. Now every user can get fresh designs, unlimited. It’s early but people like it.
Next steps: • Let users publish their own coloring pages. • Auto-categorize those pages, even create new categories based on demand. • Keep growing with SEO and slowly build a small community around it.
It’s not a “big startup.” It’s a tiny side project. But for me it’s proof that something can actually work.
If you’ve been through this stage: how did you onboard new users so they stick around? Any advice is welcome.
How have you monetised this? I can't see any ads or prices