Recently I’ve created my first web app using Python’s micro framework Flask.
This app runs not only on Flask Templates.
I’ve also used the Airtable API to create the so called Varta Switcher.
On Product Hunt I got a glorious single upvote for that (by myself😂).
As you may guess, this unexpected success certainly motivated me to create further, similar apps.
Therefore I’ve just created another one.
Although I had actually decided not to build further projects which don’t have a clear business intention.🤑
Well, I think it’s just to much fun to build such websites…
This is my second Python Flask App in the Switcher Series.
Dallas Cowboys Website: Google Trends
My next project was simply an almost exact copy of the former Varta Project.
But this time it was a Dallas Cowboys website – but not an online shop.😉
Maybe this becomes part of the official Dallas Cowboys website at some point.😁
And psst… you’ll also find the football teams’ cheerleaders on there.
However a live stream is not implemented yet.📺
Maybe a feature once they are trending next time.🤔
Flask and Airtable for Dallas Cowboys Online
Like for the Varta App, I’ve just
- identified a trending search on Google Trends
- conducted a quick google image search on the search term
- copied the image links into my Airtable database
Finally I’ve created a Flask web app along with Python’s requests library
- to retreive the image links from the Airtable database
- display the images on the one pager website
The image changes every time the page gets refreshed or someone clicks the appealing See more Cowboys button.🤩
You’ll find a never ending, fun collection of 50 non-unique, random, first google result Dallas Cowboys images.
That’s it…😅
The tech stack didn’t change at all, compared to the previous varta website.
Flask API – Just a Python Example
This is by no means an outstanding web application.
And it’s certainly not an innovative entrepreneurial creation.
However it’s a simple app which I’ve ideated, built, deployed and distributed in less than 5 hours.
Launch Dallas Cowboys Python App
When I say distributed I am simply talking about posting it on Reddit.
This time I didn’t make great efforts.
I think I just posted it
- in one big Dallas Cowboys subreddit
- in a few comments related to the football team
- as a response to some replies on the reddit posts from the Varta App launch.😅🦊
This time there was neither Product Hunt and Indie Hackers nor Twitter involved.
However eventually I almost crossed an impressive amount of 100 visitors!📈🙌
Business: Learn to get ready!
Since all the fun is currently just running on a subdomain of my blog (and for obvious further reasons), this web app will probably not become a profitable business at any time.🤔
However this may be an interesting way to build some quick and somewhat fun side projects in no time.
Eventually this will help me to get comfortable with building and deploying web apps as well as launching.
So that this is just a practice to improve my coding skills step by step, publicly for free.👨💻
That way I am currently just repeating a small habit quickly and often – as recommended by James Clear (author of the great book Atomic Habits).
At the same time I ship more and often:
🍰 Only 4 out of 70+ projects I ever did made money and grew
📉 >95% of everything I ever did failed
📈 My hit rate is only about ~5%
🚀 So…ship more pic.twitter.com/oAn2rdRpFT— @levelsio (@levelsio) November 7, 2021
And I am learning to use API’s which is another tip, which Pieter Levels mentions in his indie maker handbook, on the way to bootstrapping successful businesses without venture capital.
Business will follow
The cowboys app was certainly not the last one I’ve build.
It will even be my last app without a clear entrepreneurial intent.
But this is actually okay, because currently I am able to build some websites for clients here and there.
New WordPress client has just made a deposit💸
Do you use WordPress? pic.twitter.com/W9HMGYSuAf— Sam Hartmann (@SamHartmannCom) June 8, 2022
1 month ago a client accepted my quotation.📃
Afterwards he disappeared.
… just received his prepayment.😅 pic.twitter.com/e3o9IpGvFg— Sam Hartmann (@SamHartmannCom) August 18, 2022
However this is just an occasional practice to build actual businesses once I have the skills, confidence and the solution for a relevant problem.
Therefore stay tuned!
Subscribe to my newsletter, if you want to get notified once I start to launch businesses.
Or simply follow on any relevant social media platform.
Until then you are welcome to learn from other great entrepreneurs on my YouTube channel.🤗