Can AI-Powered SaaS Side Projects Still Make Money?

Summary

A developer asks whether small SaaS side projects can still create value and revenue as AI makes software development feel increasingly accessible. They describe four public attempts: ClueKangaroo, a structured homework-help service for middle- and high-school students that uses AI while anonymizing and encrypting personal data; Drawesome, a drawing project with unclear monetization and potentially expensive hosting; Catch Meow, a daily game intended to help the developer's daughters get dogs and cats adopted; and Therapscallion Game, a fantasy game. The post is primarily a request for candid feedback about what may be going wrong and whether it is too late to build a small business. The author says the projects have not generated the hoped-for traction and expresses concern that widespread AI has reduced the value of individual side projects.