How I Built It: $20K/Month Chrome Extension

Saeed

• Background and origin story
  • Worked in Corporate America for nearly a decade across multiple startups before becoming a solopreneur.
  • Software engineer who built Super Power Chat GPT, a browser extension that adds extra features to ChatGPT.
  • Launched the extension ~1.5 years ago, remains the sole developer working on it.
• Pivotal moments and turning points
  • Learned to build browser extensions and launched his first extension 2-3 days after ChatGPT’s release.
  • Kept all extension features free for the first 9 months to grow the user base.
  • Launched a newsletter for extension users 3-4 months after the extension’s release, secured his first sponsor within 1-2 weeks.
  • Added paid premium features to the extension after 9-10 months, kept all existing features free.
  • Experimented with high and low pricing for premium features before settling on a mid-range price point.
• Business growth, current status, or exit details
  • Generates ~$20-30k in monthly recurring revenue (MRR).
  • Has ~260-270k total downloads and ~150k weekly active users.
  • Grew entirely via organic channels, spent $0 on paid marketing.

Products and Offerings

• Core product(s) and what each one does
  • Super Power Chat GPT: A browser extension that adds extra features to ChatGPT.
• Supporting tools, side projects, or experiments mentioned
  • Newsletter targeted at the extension’s user base, used for early monetization via sponsorships.

Metrics and Financials

• Revenue figures, user counts, and financial milestones
  • ~$20-30k monthly recurring revenue (MRR).
  • ~260-270k total extension downloads.
  • ~150k weekly active users.
  • First newsletter sponsor paid a few hundred dollars within 1-2 weeks of launching the newsletter.
• Software costs and resource efficiency
  • Newsletter writing time reduced from 6-7 hours per day initially to ~2 hours per day.

Strategy and Growth

• Overall vision and positioning
  • Build tools for existing large platforms with established user bases to reduce competition and validation time.
  • Focus on the AI niche, targeting platforms with active marketplaces or large pre-existing user bases.
• Primary growth engine or method
  • 100% organic growth driven by word of mouth, community engagement, and unpaid media mentions (e.g., “top 10 ChatGPT extensions” lists).
  • No paid ads or sponsored content.
• Key tactics, channels, or strategic steps
  • Target platforms via two approaches: (1) Large platforms with massive user bases (ChatGPT, Gmail, Roblox, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter) to tap into existing audiences, or (2) Smaller platforms with dedicated marketplaces (Zoom, Salesforce) with less builder competition.
  • Validate ideas quickly by building simple, minimal extensions and launching fast to test user demand.
  • Source product ideas by: (1) Solving personal pain points, (2) Listening to user requests in communities (subreddits, Discord channels, Slack groups, Facebook groups), (3) Talking to users to learn niche use cases (e.g., lawyers, doctors using ChatGPT).
  • Grow the user base by keeping core features free, then monetize via new premium features added later.
  • Use newsletters as an early monetization channel before core product monetization, leveraging sponsorship platforms to secure brand deals.

Tech Stack and Infrastructure

• Tools, platforms, and technical approaches referenced
  • Code editor: VS Code, used for all development work.
  • Extension tech: Pure JavaScript (no frameworks), HTML, CSS.
  • Backend: AWS for all backend infrastructure.
  • Newsletter tools: Beehive (includes “Boost” feature for in-newsletter monetization links), Passionfruit (sponsor outreach platform).
• Notable technical decisions, trade-offs, or architecture choices
  • Chose pure JavaScript over frameworks for the extension to keep development simple.
  • Timed the first extension launch 2-3 days after ChatGPT’s release to capitalize on early platform momentum.
  • Built and launched a minimal first version with only 2 features to validate demand quickly.

Lessons and Advice

• Direct advice given to other founders
  • Validate projects as fast as possible: build a minimal first version, launch quickly, and gauge user interest before investing more time.
  • Focus on your personal strengths (S’s strength was building products and sharing free versions to get initial users).
  • Build for existing platforms with large user bases or smaller marketplaces with less competition to reduce validation time and competition.
  • Source ideas by spending time in user communities, listening to requests, or solving your own pain points.
  • Talk to users to uncover niche use cases and new product opportunities in underserved industries (e.g., healthcare, legal).
  • Don’t stress platform risk (e.g., OpenAI disabling the extension): pivot to building for other major platforms if needed.
• Hard-won insights and key takeaways
  • Monetizing the user base via a newsletter before charging for the core product can generate early revenue, but consider monetizing the core product earlier than 9 months.
  • Great products drive organic marketing: users will share the product and write unpaid reviews if it solves real problems.
  • Timing matters: launching early in a new platform’s lifecycle (e.g., right after ChatGPT’s release) drives outsized growth.
  • Keeping core features free helps scale the user base faster, with monetization coming from new premium features.