The goals of project Ice Bear Labs

Today I had some time thinking about where my project "Ice Bear Labs" is right now and what I want to do with it in the future. As with any big project there is short term goals, long term goals and then some dreams that are so far of the distance that it’s not really worth discussing yet, but you know I still got some ideas. I’ll divide this post in a few sections to reflect that.

Six months

As I’m working on my first product that I want to bring to market and sell, I think it would be an awesome achievement to have something of a beta working at the end of this year. For some this might seem like a small goal for the time frame, but I still have to keep working full-time while doing this on the side. So if I manage to have something other people can use and find value in by then, I will be very happy with that.

2 years

As Ice Bear Labs as of now is mostly an idea in my head and not a real company yet, I think something achievable until 2022 would be to actually create a real, existing, formal company. Going through that whole process will take some time and money and I want to be ready before pulling the trigger on that. Having that set up would be a massive achievment for me, as this idea is already years old and would finally become „real“ in that sense.

I also want to set a monetary goal even though that’s not my main focus for now. I’d be really happy to have 10 paying customers or a MRR of $100+ by 2022. For me personally, earning my monthly salary and not being dependent on the money I make with my own products, having active users enjoying the product would be the biggest accomplishment. I’m hopeful that I can get that done.

5 years (The Distant Future)

This is a time frame where it starts to get really muddy. This idea is still mostly in my head. I can imagine this company going nowhere. Maybe I get bored. Maybe I get into a relationship and simply have other things to concentrate on. This company is not a challenge that decides about my happiness in life. It's something I'm passionate about and work actively for. It's not my livelihood or all of my existence and it shouldn't have to be.

But I can also imagine a company that does well, has about three or four small products out that people use and enjoy and maybe 4-5 employees. A lot of people might strive for the Silicon Valley life, 1000 employees in 18 months, millions in revenue and funding.

Honestly, I just want to write code for a living, have fun and have enough money to keep doing it. Maybe a little extra. If that is the outcome of this adventure in five years, I’d be really happy with it.

Back to reality: What to do right now? Seeing as I can’t really be outside anyway, I will try to make 2020 a productive year for my product ideas, my creative ideas and some fun. I’ll be doing coding art projects, work on my first product and see where it goes. Maybe user beta in the Winter. We will see.