Shipping 4 Side Projects While Leading a Product Team
The Question I Get Most
"How do you ship side projects while having a full-time product leadership role?"
The honest answer: AI changed everything. But the system behind it matters just as much.
The Stack That Makes It Possible
Every project I build follows the same pattern:
- Next.js or React + Vite for the frontend
- Supabase for the database, auth, and storage
- Cloudflare Pages for hosting
- Claude for pair programming, content, and automation
This isn't about having the "best" stack — it's about eliminating decision fatigue. When I start a new project at 9pm, I don't want to spend 30 minutes choosing a database.
The Workflow
- Idea capture — goes into a Trello board immediately
- Scope ruthlessly — what's the smallest thing that proves the idea?
- Build in 2-3 sessions — if it takes more, the scope is wrong
- Ship to production — not "deploy someday," ship on day one
The Mental Model
Side projects aren't a distraction from my day job — they make me better at it. Every project teaches me something I bring back to the product team.
Building Revnut taught me about SEO at scale. SiftHQ taught me about AI evaluation pipelines. Nib taught me about Web Audio APIs I'd never otherwise touch.
The Burnout Question
The key is that this is fun, not work. The moment a side project feels like an obligation, I park it. No guilt, no pressure. The Trello board has a "Parked" column for a reason.
