Forem: Manuel S. Martone

Ship5 #12 [BIG News + FREE one-page teaser]

Manuel S. Martone — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 10:01:40 +0000

Read the full issue with 5 new curated side project ideas on Substack → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/ship5-12?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=ship5-12

Before we dive into today’s 5 new ideas, ✨✨✨ we have something big to share.✨✨✨

Over the last 11 issues, we’ve published 55 project ideas — all designed to help software engineers start building.

But here’s the thing…

Many of you told us you still haven’t found your idea yet.

So, we decided to fix that.

✨ Introducing No Idea → noidea.one

It’s a growing library of real-world, ready-to-build project ideas — each small enough for a weekend, but big enough to become something real.

If you’ve been waiting for the right idea to start your next side project… this is where you’ll find it.

Join the waitlist to access our exclusive pre-launch deal! → noidea.one

Intro

This week is about shipping smarter under constraints.

Across indie hacker forums, r/androiddev threads, agency Slack post‑mortems, and Facebook advertiser groups, we kept seeing the same pattern: small budgets and opaque platforms punish momentum.

So we collected five ideas that turn those constraints into leverage—by extracting clean signal, choosing better distribution, learning policies the way teams actually work, and converting to the web when stores slow you down. If you’ve been stuck waiting for statistically significant tests, guessing which app store to try next, or crossing your fingers on CAPI and compliance, pick one of these and move.

Each idea is scoped to get you to a useful outcome quickly, with a clear path to revenue if you stick with it.

Want a quick snapshot of this week’s top ideas? Grab our one-page teaser and get all 5 concepts at a glance...

Read the full issue with 5 new curated side project ideas on Substack https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/ship5-12?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=ship5-12

Ship5 #11 [BIG News + FREE one-page teaser]

Manuel S. Martone — Fri, 10 Oct 2025 18:39:15 +0000

Read the full issue with 5 new curated side project ideas on Substack → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/ship5-11?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=ship5-11

Before we dive into today’s 5 new ideas, ✨✨✨ we have something big to share.✨✨✨

Over the last 10 issues, we’ve published 50 project ideas — all designed to help software engineers start building.

But here’s the thing…

Many of you told us you still haven’t found your idea yet.

So, we decided to fix that.

✨ Introducing No Idea → noidea.one

It’s a growing library of real-world, ready-to-build project ideas — each small enough for a weekend, but big enough to become something real.

If you’ve been waiting for the right idea to start your next side project… this is where you’ll find it.

Join the waitlist to access our exclusive pre-launch deal! → noidea.one

Intro

This week is about shipping smarter under constraints.

Across indie hacker forums, r/androiddev threads, agency Slack post‑mortems, and Facebook advertiser groups, we kept seeing the same pattern: small budgets and opaque platforms punish momentum.

Each idea is scoped to get you to a useful outcome quickly, with a clear path to revenue if you stick with it.

Want a quick snapshot of this week’s top ideas? Grab our one-page teaser and get all 5 concepts at a glance...

Read the full issue with 5 new curated side project ideas on Substack https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/ship5-11?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=ship5-11

Upsell Potential & Evergreen: Increase LTV and Avoid Trend Rot

Manuel S. Martone — Mon, 06 Oct 2025 13:07:33 +0000

Make one sale worth two, and pick jobs that still matter in 3–5 years. Natural upsells raise LTV; evergreen jobs protect you from trend rot.

Upsell Potential

List add‑ons users naturally request post‑success: seats, SSO, API, priority support, templates.
Map a clean path: Core → Pro → Team; price the jump on value, not features.

Evergreen Potential

Is the job trend‑locked or durable? If a regulation or fad changes, does the core job survive?
Prefer jobs with long half‑life; keep trend‑specific features modular.

Weak on both? Expect thin LTV and shaky growth.

Worksheet → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/10-ways-to-evaluate-your-ideas-potentialeven?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=issue_idea_eval_10ways

Urgency & Market Size: Validate Pain and Reach Without Fancy Research

Manuel S. Martone — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 16:45:51 +0000

Pain first, then people.
If I can’t name real workarounds and a reachable segment, I don’t build. Here’s the quick way I validate both without surveys or months of “research.”

Urgency checklist

List 3 current workarounds. If “do nothing” dominates, urgency is weak.
Quantify pain: hours lost, failed SLAs, real money at risk.
Look for paid hacks (consultants, overtime, duct‑taped tools). That’s heat.

Market size checklist

Define a reachable segment (SAM), not “everyone.”
Write: “I can reach X people who do Y via Z.” Replace X/Y/Z with real numbers/channels.
Quick TAM→SAM→SOM sketch: top‑down sanity + bottom‑up channel math.

Decision rule: If you can’t name a workaround and a channel to reach 1k prospects, park and refine.

Deep dive + template → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/10-ways-to-evaluate-your-ideas-potentialeven?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=issue_idea_eval_10ways

Ship5 #9 [FREE one-page teaser]

Manuel S. Martone — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 12:55:47 +0000

Read the full issue with 5 new curated side project ideas on Substack → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/ship5-9?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=ship5-9

💡 Ship5 is a side project for us too, which means we’re building it just like the ideas we share: one iteration at a time. Your feedback is essential for us to keep improving and make each issue more valuable for you. Got thoughts? Hit comment, we’re listening.

Intro

Today’s theme: fight silent decay in your Meta ads.

Across dozens of agency Slack threads, DTC forums, and post-mortems, the same patterns keep popping up—fatigue creeps in before anyone notices, seeds go stale, audiences saturate, exclusions lag, and seasonal chaos makes teams reactive.

Each idea here attacks one of those slow leaks with a focused, buildable tool or service.

Pick one that matches your skills and network. If you can save brands from even a fraction of wasted spend or volatility, you’ll earn trust fast—and a recurring seat in their stack.

Start small, measure the delta, and ship an opinionated solution that does one thing exceptionally well.

Want a quick snapshot of this week’s top ideas? Grab our one-page teaser and get all 5 concepts at a glance...
Read the full issue with 5 new curated side project ideas on Substack https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/ship5-9?utm_source=linkedin&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=ship5-9

Recap: Seven days, one feature, real signal.

Manuel S. Martone — Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:03:23 +0000

What you did

P: Job Story + metric
A: One‑pager (on one screen)
S: Thin slice (1/2/3/1)
T: Tiny test (fake door or cohort)
A: Binary decision

Keep: the loop, the Not‑Doing list, and the single metric habit.

Cut: anything that didn’t change the number.

Next: run one more PASTA cycle—either add one adjacent feature (if PASS) or tighten the job (if FAIL).

Starter prompt for week 2

Given the results {{metric}}, redesign the one‑pager to improve [value prop | job clarity | path | prompt].
Keep 1 screen, 2 endpoints, 3 tests, 1 metric. Propose exactly 1 adjacent feature if we passed.

Post a screenshot of your metric and the one sentence Next experiment. I’ll reply with a suggestion.

Full recap + templates → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/pasta-al-dente-ship-a-one-feature?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=issue_pasta_al_dente_week

Ship5 #8 [FREE one-page poster]

Manuel S. Martone — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:19:20 +0000

Read the full issue with 5 new curated side project ideas on Substack → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/ship5-8?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=ship5-8

💡 Ship5 is a side project for us too, which means we’re building it just like the ideas we share: one iteration at a time. Your feedback is essential for us to keep improving and make each issue more valuable for you. Got thoughts? Hit comment, we’re listening.

Intro

This week’s issue spotlights a repeating pain point in the research and academic software world: reference management chaos.

From citation mismatches and broken exports to bloated libraries and missing PDFs, thousands of researchers on forums like Reddit’s r/academia, Zotero groups, and Mendeley migration threads are looking for safer, smarter tools.

Each idea here tackles hidden friction that costs researchers countless hours—not in writing, but in fixing tools.

If you’ve ever wrestled with a broken citation database or manually hunted a missing PDF, you’ll see why these projects matter. Each is small enough to prototype, but meaningful enough to save users hours of frustration. Pick one, and you’re not just building a tool—you’re solving a real, persistent research workflow headache.

Want a quick snapshot of this week’s top ideas? Grab our one-page teaser and get all 5 concepts at a glance...

Read the full issue with 5 new curated side project ideas on Substack → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/ship5-8?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=ship5-8

A — Assess the Metric (decide the next move)

Manuel S. Martone — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:09:47 +0000

Don’t “add anyway.” Decide with a number.

Target vs Actual (example)

Target: ≥60% “useful” in 24h
Actual: 42% (n=19)
Decision: FAIL → tighten Job Story and landing
Next experiment: clarify input constraints; rename primary button

Decision tree

PASS → add one adjacent feature (history or export).
FAIL → fix one thing this week: value prop | tighter job | UX path | prompt/model.

Why binary helps

Prevents “maybe later” creep.
Makes scope predictable.
Teaches you where leverage is (copy? prompt? flow?).

One‑pager update checklist

Keep the Not‑Doing list intact.
Write what you’ll test next (one sentence).
Set a new metric or same metric with a clearer path.

Examples + rubric → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/pasta-al-dente-ship-a-one-feature?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=issue_pasta_al_dente_week

S — Slice to Essentials (build the thin slice)

Manuel S. Martone — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 08:53:15 +0000

Definition of the slice

1 screen (+ success state)
2 endpoints (POST /action, GET /status)
3 tests (happy, bad input, mocked failure)
1 metric instrumented (per attempt)

Minimal folder skeleton

/app
  /api        # endpoints
  /ui         # one screen + success
  /tests      # 3 tests
  /metrics    # logger/tracker

Fastify stubs (copy‑paste)

app.post('/action', async (req, reply) => {
  const { input } = req.body || {};
  if (!input) {
      reply.statusCode = 400:
      return { error: 'missing input' };
  }
  const id = Date.now().toString();
  // TODO: enqueue or mock work
  return { id };
});

app.get('/status', async (req, reply) => {
  const { id } = req.query || {};
  // TODO: return mocked result for demo
  return { id, state: 'done', result: { ok: true } };
});

Tests (Given/When/Then)

Given valid input → When POST /action → Then receive id
Given missing input → When POST /action → Then 400
Given id → When GET /status → Then state in {'queued','done'} and result?

Instrumentation (pseudo)

log('attempt', { id, ts });
log('success', { id, ts, useful: rating });

Ship boring. Learn fast. The goal isn’t elegance; it’s evidence.

Full checklist + copy blocks → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/pasta-al-dente-ship-a-one-feature?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=issue_pasta_al_dente_week

A — AI the One‑Pager (ruthless scope)

Manuel S. Martone — Fri, 26 Sep 2025 08:12:40 +0000

AI is best as a constraint enforcer. Use it to draft a one‑screen spec, then cut anything that doesn’t serve the single path.

One‑pager contents (must fit one screen)

6‑step user journey (one happy path)
Minimal data model (entities + key fields only)
Required UI only (screen + success state)
2 API stubs (POST /action, GET /status)
Fake/stub plan (what you’ll mock or WoZ)
3 tests (happy, bad input, external failure mocked)
Landing blurb (headline → value → CTA)
Not‑Doing list

Example API stubs (Fastify)

// POST /action
app.post('/action', async (req, reply) => { /* validate input; enqueue work; return id */ });

// GET /status?id=...
app.get('/status', async (req, reply) => { /* return {{ id, state, result }} */ });

Not‑Doing list you’ll thank yourself for

OAuth, teams, roles
Fancy state machines
“Nice to have” settings

Tip: If your one‑pager doesn’t fit a single screenshot, it’s not a one‑pager.

Grab the exact prompt + examples → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/pasta-al-dente-ship-a-one-feature?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=issue_pasta_al_dente_week

P — Pick the Job Story & Metric

Manuel S. Martone — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 08:08:53 +0000

A Job Story forces clarity without personas or feature lists. It anchors scope to a single user outcome.

Template
When [situation], I want to [action], so I can [outcome].

Strong examples

When I open a long article and have 2 minutes, I want a 5‑bullet summary, so I can decide to read now or save.
When I receive a supplier invoice PDF, I want line items as CSV/JSON, so I can import without manual typing.
When I find a lead on LinkedIn, I want a tailored cold email draft, so I can send a relevant message in <2 minutes.

Metric rubric (pick one)

Outcome‑tied: success %, “useful” rating %, time‑to‑value.
Numeric & time‑bound: “≥60% attempts rated ‘useful’ in 24h.”
Actionable: if it fails, you know what to change this week.

Anti‑patterns

Vanity counts (pageviews, followers) for week‑1 validation.
Multi‑persona flows (“for marketers and engineers”). Pick one.
Two success paths. One path → less ambiguity.

10‑minute worksheet
1) Draft 2 Job Stories; cut to one using: which shows value in ≤60s?
2) Write the metric in the form: target comparator unit window (e.g., ≥60% useful in 24h).
3) List 3 things you’ll not build this week.

Save these somewhere visible. They’re your guardrails.

Examples + pitfalls in the full issue → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/pasta-al-dente-ship-a-one-feature?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=issue_pasta_al_dente_week

Ship faster by doing less (on purpose)

Manuel S. Martone — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 12:31:33 +0000

Most “MVPs” fail because they’re v1.0 with a smaller backlog. Today, I'm sharing the PASTA Framework, a 5-step loop that forces focus and provides a weekly pass/fail score.

Why one‑feature MVPs win

Faster signal: you validate the riskiest bet first.
Cleaner code: one path means fewer edge cases.
Easier asks: users can say “useful/not useful” without a demo.

What to do today (60–90 minutes)
1) Write a Job Story (1 sentence): When [situation], I want to [action], so I can [outcome].
2) Pick one metric tied to the outcome (numeric + time‑bound).
3) Generate a 1‑page spec with AI (see prompt below).
4) Commit to a thin slice: 1 screen, 2 endpoints, 3 tests, 1 instrumented metric.

Copy‑paste prompt (one‑pager)

Redesign [idea] as a single killer‑feature MVP. Choose one user, one job, one success metric.
Produce: (1) 6-step user journey, (2) minimal data model, 
(3) required UI only (screens/states), (4) API stubs (endpoints + payloads),
(5) fake/stub strategies, (6) 3 tests (Given/When/Then), 
(7) 2-paragraph landing blurb, (8) Not-Doing list.

Not‑Doing list examples

Auth, dashboards, settings
Admin panels, multi‑tenant
Non‑critical integrations (mock them)

Measure this path
visits → clicks → attempts → successes → "useful" ratings

TL;DR
If your first value isn’t visible in ≤60s, it’s not thin enough. Cut again.

Full breakdown and templates → https://shipwithai.substack.com/p/pasta-al-dente-ship-a-one-feature?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=issue_pasta_al_dente_week