Fabian Janisch-Lang

Building in public | iOS sleep app | 5 failed projects before this

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

I've shipped 5 products in the last year.
Taisk. PromptForge. Yobio. LostWin. Callora.
None made real money.

Now I'm building a sleep tracking iOS app with a co-founder.
Swift + Supabase + HealthKit.

I document what actually happens here.

What are you building?

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

@pcshipp Oh, okay. What exactly does the app do?

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

@heyitzami The second one. The first one looks AI-generated, but I think the second one is clean and modern. Perhaps you should combine them to create a mixture.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

@omarvvvr It depends. would use that what the best for your product is. If you need complex data or you only want to track some basics.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

@victor_bigfield I have seen both sides already. I think every side has something the SaaS is a bit more complex and tech based and the IOS app is the light weight version. For sure you have also a lot of code. I like both in different ways.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

@Anas_founder Depends on costs and for what I need the AI.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

the projects i was most excited about lasted the shortest.

taisk, promptforge, yobio. all gone in under 3 months.

excitement isn't signal. it's noise.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

the projects i was most excited about lasted the shortest.

taisk, promptforge, yobio. all gone in under 3 months.

excitement isn't signal. it's noise.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

5 saas projects. zero revenue. all of them dead.

every single one died for a reason i could have seen before writing one line of code. here is what each one taught me.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

people say "build in public" like it's a strategy.

for me it started as accountability. because i'd already quit 5 times without anyone noticing.

hard to abandon something when you've told people it exists.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

@chrislutzxy Totally agree. When your job or business feels like a hobby, it’s an amazing feeling.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

@seraleev That’s sad, but sometimes selling is the right choice, especially when you no longer have the time or motivation to keep improving the product. Seeing it fail hurts, but that’s the compromise you make when you sell it.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

@starter_story Both sides are valid. A successful business can make you a lot of money, but learning new skills should always be the priority. If things fail, you’ll still have valuable experience to fall back on.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

@sergeynazarovx @ProductHunt What is the best way to prepare for a Product Hunt launch?

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

people say "build in public" like it's a strategy.

for me it started as accountability. because i'd already quit 5 times without anyone noticing.

hard to abandon something when you've told people it exists.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

5 saas projects. zero revenue. all of them dead.

every single one died for a reason i could have seen before writing one line of code. here is what each one taught me.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

four of five died before they had a single real user, because i built before i checked if anyone wanted it.

the sixth is the first one i validated first. demand was already there. building for a problem people have instead of one i invented.

what killed your projects more often, the idea or the execution?

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

5 saas projects. zero revenue. all of them dead.

every single one died for a reason i could have seen before writing one line of code. here is what each one taught me.

[Fabian Janisch-Lang @JanischSaaS]

taisk. built when ai tools were already solid. the tooling was fine, my instructions weren’t.

weak inputs, broken logic, half working features. the tool was capable. i wasn’t precise enough to use it.