Turning Downtime into Build Time: Lessons from Creating an AI-Powered Side Project //

Presentation bySol Lee

After being laid off from my previous company, I decided to take the downtime as an opportunity — “Maybe it’s time to build a product that actually solves my own problem.”
That’s how Monthly Grow started.

I tend to be quite spontaneous — diving into whatever catches my curiosity at the moment.
Naturally, routine and long-term planning have never been my strongest suits.
So I wanted to create a tool that would help me plan, track, and reflect on projects in a way that fits me, with minimal friction and some help from AI.

I also wanted a technical challenge.
I implemented features I couldn’t try at work and explored how powerful this new “vibe coding” trend really is.
Designing the structure and data flow from scratch was a first for me — and I ended up rebuilding everything three times.

It was a fun and rewarding process, though I’m not confident enough to call it “production-ready” yet.
Maybe the most productive next step is to release it publicly and learn from real users — even if that means enduring some brutal star ratings.

It’s been a month since I settled in London, and I’m finally getting used to my new life.
Now I’m asking myself: Should I keep developing Monthly Grow? Start a backend-focused practice project? Or try building an AI + vibe coding product with real monetization potential?

If you’re working on something similar or just interested in chatting about side projects and AI tools, I’d love to grab a coffee or hear your thoughts in the comments. ☕

Project Link : https://lnkd.in/e6fuzbWj Devlog: https://lnkd.in/eg_fDqdV

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