A while back I stopped waiting for the one big SaaS idea and started building a bunch of small, boring tools that each solve exactly one problem. The theory: a portfolio of tiny sites, each monetized with ads or a subscription, compounding traffic over months instead of betting everything on a launch.
It’s been equal parts fun and humbling. Here’s what’s live so far and what I actually learned shipping them.
The tools
Images & AI
- CompactJPG — a free online image compressor. Files are processed locally in the browser, nothing gets uploaded, and it keeps quality better than I expected.
- ClarifyPix — AI image fixes: upscale a blurry photo, remove a background, clean up an image. You upload a photo for processing (deleted after an hour); no free tier, but a $1.99/week trial.
Calculators (people love a good calculator)
- Camp Power Calc — type in your devices (fridge, lights, phone, rice cooker) and it tells you the total draw, battery size, and solar panel you need so you don’t lose power mid-trip.
- Room Paint Calculator — punch in room size, doors, windows and get liters of paint plus a rough cost.
- Fry Calc — temps, time, and oil for frying / air fryer based on ingredient and portion. Made it after one too many ruined batches.
- Cold Plunge Calculator — dial in water temp, duration, and how much ice to add based on body weight and volume, so cold therapy stays safe.
Collections & money
- Untracked Tools — the hub that lists every small tool I build in one place. No ads, instant load.
- Taxed Abroad — tax guidance for expats and digital nomads: residency, treaties, filing obligations, in plain language.
What I learned
Specific beats clever. “Camp power calculator” gets searched. “Smart outdoor energy platform” does not. I wasted a week on a clever name for the paint tool before renaming it to what people actually type.
Distribution is the real product. Building took days; getting the first 100 visitors took longer. Submitting to directories, writing a few posts, and answering questions in the right places moved the needle more than any feature.
Calculators quietly convert. They’re not flashy, but someone who just calculated their campsite battery need is a warm visitor. AdSense on these pages also performs better than on vague landing pages.
Don’t fake the numbers. Early on I was tempted to post MRR screenshots I didn’t have. Didn’t. The builders who share real, including ugly, numbers are the ones people trust and link to.
Where this is going
The plan is to keep shipping one focused tool at a time, link them together through Untracked Tools, and let SEO + a few good backlinks do the slow work. No growth hacks, just consistent small bets.
If you’re building small tools too, the hub above is the easiest way to see everything in one spot. Happy to compare notes with anyone on the same path.
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