Thomas Sanlis: How 30 Failures Led to Building Uneed, a $10K/Month Startup
Who is Thomas Sanlis?
Thomas Sanlis is the founder of Uneed, a fast-growing launch platform for tech products. But his path to success was anything but smooth—before Uneed, Thomas built and abandoned more than 30 projects over several years. Each failure taught him critical lessons about persistence, timing, and marketing, which ultimately paved the way for his breakthrough.
Net Worth
While Thomas has not disclosed his net worth publicly, Uneed’s revenue numbers speak volumes. The platform currently earns $8,000–$10,000 per month, has over 40,000 users, and more than 2,000 paying customers. These figures place Thomas in the ranks of successful indie hackers generating a sustainable online business.
From Where?
Thomas grew up in France and has always been passionate about coding and building products. He spent years creating side projects—ranging from bookmark managers to marketplace platforms—many of which never saw traction. Despite discouragement, Thomas treated every failure as part of his entrepreneurial education.
The Struggles Behind the Success
Thomas’s story is one of resilience.
- He spent years launching projects that earned little to no money—some barely reaching $200/month.
- He often lost momentum, abandoning projects when traction slowed.
- At times, he admitted he didn’t fully understand the markets he was trying to build for, leading to early shutdowns.
- His biggest frustration came from the “build it and they will come” mindset, which he later realized was completely wrong—without marketing, no one would ever find his products.
Instead of quitting, Thomas kept iterating. He analyzed why his projects failed and discovered key lessons: the importance of timing, momentum, clarity of purpose, and consistent marketing.
Building Uneed
Uneed began as a simple directory for front-end tools. It gained some traffic but never took off. At one point, it was only making $200 a month. Thomas then made a bold decision: pivot Uneed into a launch platform where developers and indie hackers could showcase their products.
At first, this pivot seemed like a failure—revenues dropped. But Thomas stuck with it, and within months, momentum picked up. The timing was perfect: many indie hackers were frustrated with Product Hunt’s focus on bigger players. Uneed emerged as the fresh alternative, and traction exploded.
Today, Uneed generates consistent revenue, redirects 10,000+ clicks every month to listed websites, and has become a trusted place for indie founders to launch their projects.
Business Numbers at a Glance
- Monthly Revenue: $8,000–$10,000
- Users: 40,000+
- Paying Customers: 2,000+
- Traffic: ~30,000 unique visitors per month
- Impact: 10,000 product clicks generated monthly
Tech Stack
Thomas built Uneed using:
- NextJS (frontend + backend)
- Supabase (database)
- Hetzner VPS (hosting)
- Self-hosted analytics & automation tools
- Polar as Merchant of Record for sales
This lean stack reflects Thomas’s indie hacker mindset—minimizing costs while keeping full control over his product.
Lessons Learned
Thomas openly shares advice for other entrepreneurs:
- Don’t give up too early – traction takes time.
- Clarity is everything – if people don’t understand your product immediately, they won’t stick around.
- Momentum matters – keep posting, keep sharing; visibility compounds.
- Marketing > features – no matter how great your product is, nobody will find it without marketing.
- Sustainability first – treat entrepreneurship like a marathon, not a sprint.
Final Thoughts
Thomas Sanlis’s story is a refreshing reminder that success rarely comes overnight. After 30 failures, he finally built something that worked—not because of luck, but because he stayed in the game long enough to learn what really matters. Uneed is not just a launch platform—it’s proof that persistence, timing, and focus can turn repeated failures into lasting success.
