In the world of software development, the traditional path often involves a multi-year marathon: building a single, massive product, raising venture capital, and hoping for a massive exit. However, a new generation of "solopreneurs" is flipping the script by focusing on a "One App a Month" playbook. This strategy focuses on building a portfolio of Micro-SaaS products that solve specific, niche problems, collectively generating significant monthly recurring revenue (MRR).
Step 1: Rapid Ideation with ChatGPT
The biggest hurdle for most developers is "builder's block." Using ChatGPT or Claude, you can scan community forums like Indie Hackers to identify common pain points. By feeding AI descriptions of "unsolved problems" found in subreddits or niche industries, you can generate 10-20 product ideas in minutes that are ripe for automation.
Step 2: Building the Minimum Viable Product (MVP)
To launch one app per month, you cannot afford to get bogged down in complex infrastructure. Many successful founders use "no-code" or "low-code" stacks to move faster. Tools like Carrd are perfect for landing pages, while Bubble or Framer allow for more complex logic. For payment processing, Stripe remains the gold standard for getting a checkout page live in hours rather than days.
Step 3: Distribution and Growth
Once the app is live, the focus shifts to distribution. Launching on Product Hunt is the traditional first step, but sustainable growth often comes from social platforms like TikTok and LinkedIn. For many B2B Micro-SaaS apps, creator-led marketing is the fastest way to gain traction. Modern platforms like Stormy AI streamline creator sourcing and outreach, allowing you to find influencers who can demo your software to a pre-built audience without a massive ad budget.
Tracking your success is equally vital. By integrating Google Analytics or PostHog, you can quickly see which of your monthly "bets" are gaining traction and which should be sunsetted.
Step 4: Scale or Sell
Not every app will be a hit. The goal is to find the 20% of your portfolio that generates 80% of the revenue. For the apps that don't scale but still have a user base, you can look for an exit on marketplaces like Acquire.com. This provides a cash injection to fund your next month's build. To keep the portfolio running smoothly, automation tools like Zapier or Make can handle the heavy lifting of customer support notifications and data syncing, keeping your overhead low as you scale toward that $50K/month goal.