I've switched to Codex a few months ago when Claude's weekly limits were getting pretty stiff, and I haven't looked back. Both GPT 5.5 and 5.6 are quite capable, especially compared to nerfed Opus 4.7 (haven't tried 5).
Also, the Codex guy regularly resets weekly limits for everyone, which is a nice bonus (I know it's a temporary gimmick to attract more users, but I might as well use it while it lasts.)
1. uptime monitoring service [1]. launched in 2019. decided to enter a crowded niche so as not to reinvent the wheel and try to figure out distribution, but gave up. sold in early 2021. total sales before selling: $1,686
2. notion backups service [2]. launched in late 2021, total sales $100k, while still growing ~60% YoY. in hindsight, I should have picked an adjacent niche, since this business is technically difficult and not as easy to sell as a Notion site builder, for example.
3. churn analytics for stripe [3]. got accepted to the stripe marketplace, but still haven't gotten a single customer because I haven’t marketed it much. I use it daily and it is very helpful. for that reason alone, i don't want to kill it.
So I have many, but sold a few too. Right now I am in that uptime monitoring service but I went a different route and just made it 100% free. I started https://boxwatch.app awhile ago, was going to go pay but then I sold another business and said screw it.. 100% free. I am currently working on a companion ios/android app to go with the service but still totally free.
oh good luck, it's a tough space to be. some indie makers have managed to make it work (like healthchecks.io for example) but it requires patience and dedication, esp dealing with some entitled people on the free plan.
my hunch is that we're moving towards more surveillance, censorship and deplatforming in the future, and CBDCs are a major tool for that.
I like Bitcoin, despite its problems (price volatility and quantum vulnerability) but I think censorship-resistant stablecoins would be a better solution for people looking to protect themselves from Big Brother.
Shockingly bitcoin gained a lot more power for me when prominent government officials started using it to start operating outside the checks and balances of the banking system.
It is very basic now: it tells me which of the customers have cancelled their subscription and why (Stripe lets people choose the reason before cancelling). I've yet to gain a customer despite launching on the Stripe Marketplace but it's been personally helpful for me so far.
tangentially related, but as someone who built multiple internet businesses -- mostly unsuccessful, some mildly successful -- I barely have any new ideas to work on.
I don't know if this is the effect of relying on AI too much in my day-to-day work or leading a more monotonous life as of late, but I'm sure I'm not the only one. Lots of ideas that I could have built before LLMs took over now seem trivial to build with Claude & friends.
I can relate to this, in the past I felt like I could write down pages of projects to try if only I had time. Now my mind immediately goes towards "do I want to manage this long term after the initial spark".
They're done. They export oil/LNG, import food, invest the proceeds in the US companies/treasuries and brand themselves as logistics hubs + safe havens for the global rich. It's all out of the window now.
the closure of the strait (i.e. a toll booth by Iran) will cause massive inflation, destroy the GCC, and eventually lead to a global recession and the end of a petrodollar, which is how Iran is retaliating.
And if the US attempts a ground invasion to keep the strait open, it will be a complete disaster for the US.
yes. they export oil/LNG and import most of their food. and they invest their proceeds into the US economy/treasuries, which they're going to stop if this continues.
by some estimates, Qatar and Kuwait could experience ~14% GDP contraction this year if this goes on.
I've finally finished the long-abandoned project that I've been meaning to build for a while.
If you use Stripe Billing for subscriptions, your customers can specify reasons why they cancelled (e.g. too expensive, not using it, switched to competitor, etc.). However, to access those, you either have to use Stripe Sigma or pull them from the API. I wanted to build a more convenient way to access those (and also act upon them).
I've submitted the app to Stripe's App Marketplace, but I have a limited number of test invites to send out if you're interested (I will happily waive your subscription for 3 months).
"Only report to me in ASD-STE100 Simplified Technical English."