A stranger’s $9 purchase validates months of solo work
A spent months building an AI-powered video-making tool and rebuilt it three times. The valued that time at about $60 an hour and also spent roughly $500 on API and server costs.
Two days ago, a stranger signed up, created a video, chose the slowest option—which took minutes rather than seconds—reviewed the result, and paid $9. The payment did not cover even one hour of the work, but it showed that someone with no l connection believed the product was worth paying for.
The was numbered 0002 because 0001 had been a test. The next task is to improve the path from sign-up to payment.
Key points
- The AI-powered video tool took months and three s to create.
- The valued the work at about $60 per hour and spent around $500 on API and server costs.
- A stranger used the slowest video option and then paid $9.
- The first real payment produced 0002; 0001 was a test.
- The next priority is improving the path from sign-up to payment.