From 9-5 to a SaaS Product!
On a warm June evening in 2022, I met an old friend at a rooftop cafe alongside the Yamuna River, away from the chaotic hustle of the city. We spent the evening talking about what's next for me after recently leaving my job. I wanted to build something of my own instead of going back to a 9-5.
We spent hours brainstorming product ideas, but nothing felt right. Later that night at home, I had a simple thought: what if I create an all-in-one browser extension for developers and designers? I didn't do any market research or write a business plan, I just opened VS Code and started coding. That's how SuperDev Pro started.
Why I Built SuperDev Pro
In 2022, like many developers, I was frustrated by the limitations of existing browser extensions. Every extension did something useful, but came with its own limitations: limited features, basic UI and UX, unreliable or imprecise, lacks customization, lacks documentation, lacks customer support, and rarely updated. CSS Pro seemed promising, but its premium recurring price left me dissatisfied. So, I thought, why not create something better myself?
It wasn't easy. I was new to building browser extensions and spent countless hours digging through MDN, Chrome API docs, and Stack Overflow just to figure out how things worked. Chrome APIs were also changing at the time, which made it even trickier. Slowly but surely, I started putting the pieces together.
For the first seven months, I kept SuperDev Pro completely free. Honestly, it was a tough time, no income and a lot of people asking if this would ever take off. I had my doubts too, but I couldn't get rid of the feeling that I was onto something.
SuperDev Pro Goes Viral
After three months of intense work, 14-hour days, seven days a week, I finally launched SuperDev Pro on the Chrome Web Store in October 2022. A month later, I put it on ProductHunt. I didn't even have a proper website yet, but the response was amazing: 200+ upvotes, 45+ comments, and over 300 installs in the first week.
Things got even crazier in December when a tweet ↗ about SuperDev Pro went viral in Japan, pulling in 96k views, and started gaining traction in Korea too. Suddenly, thousands of people were downloading the extension.
SuperDev Pro Goes Paid
February 1, 2023, was a huge day for me. That's when I launched the paid version of SuperDev Pro. To my surprise, users started upgrading right away. I also launched on a few more platforms and built a proper website, which quadrupled our conversion rate. For the first time, it felt like this could replace a traditional 9-to-5 job.
SuperDev Pro Gets Featured
By July 2024, SuperDev Pro was featured on the Chrome Web Store. What started as a personal tool had grown into something much bigger, a powerful solution for developers and designers worldwide. Today, over 6,000 professionals use it, with paid users in 45+ countries. It's got a consistent 4.7-star rating, and every time I think about how far it's come, it feels unreal.
Recognition and Growth
Not too long ago, I was invited to speak at Google Developer Student Clubs at Jamia Hamdard University. Standing there, sharing my journey, felt incredible. Just two years ago, I was the one looking for guidance.
As SuperDev Pro continued to grow, it started catching the attention of venture funds like NexusVP, Insight Partners, SWC Global and many others. Staying bootstrapped so far has been a conscious choice, but these moments of external interest have been encouraging markers along the way.
Building SuperDev Pro has taught me so much beyond just coding. I've learned how to solve real problems, design tools that people actually want to use, and figure out how to market something effectively. I've also learned to keep pushing forward, even when nothing seems to be going right.
