Pradeep CE

🎥 - auto-translate + dub videos with AI
💰 $3263 (2.94% of $111,000 goal)

#buildinpublic • DMs open — say hi 👋

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Today, I am starting a new series where I share my journey to making my first 111k USD while building in public.

Why 111k? Why not 100k, or 10k, or a million? You see, 111k USD is almost exactly one crore INR (1,00,00,000 INR), and it is a life-changing amount of money where I live. It's also an amount that sounds ridiculous when you consider that my business is just me and my laptop. I'm sharing the entire journey: all the wins, and all the losses.

So, how am I going to do this?

I code for a living, and it's probably the only thing I know how to do, at least moderately well. So that's how.

Why am I doing this?

I have tried my hand at doing a bunch of things since I started freelancing full-time over 3 years ago:

1. Techoffee: this is the brand under which I do all of my "agency" stuff like building websites and setting up Shopify stores

2. FortnightMVP: a service to build SaaS MVPs in around 15 days; has had maybe 2 clients since launch, and all offline, from people I knew already

3. Freelancing: I'm on Fiverr, and it is currently my primary source of income; I took up a few projects offline, but not many; I wanted to expand into Upwork, Toptal, and others, but haven't had any luck there

4. SaaS: I help build a hotel management software called StayElf, and it's got some early traction, but I want to scale it up; I have built a few other apps like TransDub and SkyKeeper, but none got much traction

None of these have been truly successful. I haven't really "made it" yet. I have gotten by ok, but it feels nowhere near what I know I am capable of doing. I have a list of ideas which I have only talked about building, but never did. I suck at marketing, and haven't really done or tried to do much of it, except maybe create a couple of social media posts, and wait for enquiries to land in my Fiverr inbox.

So this is my way of taking a proper shot at trying to do better, and building a successful business. This is my way of trying to grow and upskill.

Some rules for myself:
- Be obsessive about hitting this goal; make every minute count; win or lose, give it everything I've got
- Be honourable in pursuit of this goal, and always
- Do the hard things

It just so happens that I signed on a new freelance project, and have received the first milestone payment: 332 USD (0.299 % of 111k goal).

#buildinpublic

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Get 50% off your first month on Cursor with my referral link.

https://t.co/eyrIbiaQ67

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 30-86 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $3263 (2.94% of goal)

Made some money with freelance projects, learnt a lot, built a lot, got through my openclaw phase. 😅

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[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 29 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $1397 (1.26% of goal)

Made $92 from a payout for referrals and commissions.

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[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 28 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $1305 (1.18% of goal)

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[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 27 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $1305 (1.18% of goal)

Made $55 from an old project.

#buildinpublic

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

With TransDub, I've been on the wall too long because auto dubbing is now available on YouTube. I'm not really sure if anyone would pay for this now, although I have 100+ on the waitlist (not sure how many of these are real, though)

111k is 1 Crore INR (1,00,00,000) and it's a life changing amount of money. That's why 111k 😁

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 26 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $1250 (1.13% of goal)

#buildinpublic

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 25 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $1250 (1.13% of goal)

#buildinpublic

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 24 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $1250 (1.13% of goal). Made $90 from a Fiverr gig.

I've been feeling a bit optimistic about this after I crossed the 1k mark. It's a 50 here and a 100 there, but it all slowly seems to add up :)

#buildinpublic

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 23 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $1160 (1.05% of goal).

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[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 22 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $1160 (1.05% of goal).

Made $556 from a project payment. We've officially crossed the $1000 hump! 🎉

#buildinpublic

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

@LalaniNiraj Thankyou, Niraj! :)

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 21 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $604 (0.54% of goal). No revenue today.

I made a Google Sheet to track progress, and it tells me I only have to keep doing this for the next 10.72 years. Wish me luck!

#buildinpublic

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 20 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $604 (0.54% of goal). No revenue today

Shipped an activity log feature for StayElf, and a Google Tag Manager integration.

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[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 19 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $604 (0.54% of goal). No revenue today

#buildinpublic

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

@manoj_ahi Wow! 👏

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 18 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $604 (0.54% of goal). No revenue today

#buildinpublic

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 17 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $604 (0.54% of goal)

Made a modal + completed a milestone in a freelance gig 🚀

#buildinpublic

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 16 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $604 (0.54% of goal). No revenue today, but a lot of progress! 🚀

#buildinpublic

[Pradeep CE @pradeepcep]

Day 15 of making $111k USD while building in public

Progress: $604 (0.54% of goal). Got paid $180 from a freelance gig.

At this rate, it's going to take me a hundred months to hit my goal 😂

#buildinpublic