I've shipped 20+ apps in 6 months as a solo founder — here's what actually worked (and what didn't)
About 6 month ago I started MRVL Technologies with one goal: build a portfolio of genuinely useful apps without a team, without VC, and without burning out.
6 months later I have 20+ live apps across iOS and Android — everything from a teleprompter for creators (Promptr) to a church management platform (Ekklesia) to an NFC-powered review tool (TapTrust).
Here's what I've learned:
What worked:
- Building in a vertical stack rather than random apps. Every app I ship cross-sells to another. Promptr users become Scribr users become Podcastr users. The portfolio compounds.
- AI as a force multiplier, not a replacement; the product decisions, the positioning, the "does this actually solve a real problem" — that's still all human.
- Researching the market before a single line of code. Every app starts with a competitive teardown. I've walked away from 3 ideas that looked good until I saw what the market was actually paying for.
- Honest free tiers. No watermarks, no fake credit systems, no scareware. Users notice. Reviews are better. Conversion is higher.
What didn't work:
- React Native on iOS 26. We lost weeks. Rewrote everything in Swift. Never again.
- Building features before validating distribution. The app isn't the hard part — getting anyone to see it is.
- Trying to do everything at once. The apps that got focused sprints shipped clean. The ones that got fragmented attention are still unfinished.
Happy to go deep on any of it — the build process, the AI OS setup, the tech stack, pricing strategy, App Store tactics, whatever is useful.
What are you building?
Replies
Wow, shipping 20+ apps solo in 6 months is incredible! The vertical stack and distribution insights hit home...I'm feeling that pain.
I'm building The Sponge, an AI-powered flashcard app with a browser extension that turns webpages into study material using spaced repetition.
If you're up for it, I'm launching on PH soon...would appreciate a follow (See "PRODUCT HUNT LAUNCH" Link in my profile)
@rianbrob Thanks so much — honestly the first 6 months were chaos in the best way 😅 You learn more shipping 20 products than reading 20 books about it. The distribution piece is still the hardest part — building is the fun bit, getting people to actually find it is the real game.
The Sponge sounds genuinely useful — the browser extension angle is smart, turning passive reading into active recall is exactly the kind of friction-reduction that makes habits stick. Spaced repetition is criminally underused outside of language learning apps, so there's a real gap there.
Followed and will keep an eye out for your launch 👀 Drop the link here when you go live — happy to show some love on the day.