How Ben Boz Turned Tech Lockdown Into a $15K MRR Side Project
TL;DR: Ben Boz struggled with multiple failed side projects before finding success with Tech Lockdown, a platform helping adults block websites and apps. During the 2020 work-from-home shift, he experienced internet addiction personally and created his own blocking system. He distilled his solution into a YouTube video and Reddit post in 2020, which unexpectedly generated massive interest—people messaging, emailing, and asking for consulting. Instead of monetizing immediately, he spent a year building his audience through free content. A year later in 2021, he launched the paid product. By 2023 when he was laid off at $3K MRR, he decided to go full-time on Tech Lockdown rather than accept another job offer. His core growth strategy was writing exceptionally detailed, helpful content and giving it away for free—like his 'Convert iPhone to Dumb Phone' guide that was read hundreds of thousands of times. On Reddit, he developed a subtle promotion strategy: putting all valuable content directly in the Reddit post while casually referencing his full guide or video. This drove more engagement, helped posts reach the front page, and attracted readers who wanted to explore the topic further. He differentiated from faceless corporate competitors by being authentic—showing his face, using 'I' instead of 'we,' and owning that he was just one person building something useful. The business has grown 5x since he went full-time, now generating $15K MRR from 1,300 customers, with a 20,000-person email list and 2 million organic visitors in the last 2 years.
Key Insights
- Build audience for a year with free content before monetizing to validate demand and create launch momentum
- Authenticity differentiates against corporate competitors—use 'I' not 'we,' show your face, own being a solo builder
- On Reddit, put valuable content in the post itself and softly reference additional resources to maximize engagement and avoid spam label
- Don't go full-time until you solve the customer acquisition problem—prove your distribution channel works while employed
- Wake up 5:30-8:30am for deep work (coding), use evenings for less intensive tasks (marketing) to maximize limited time as a side project builder
Actionable Takeaways
- Create free content solving your target audience's problem for 6-12 months before asking them to pay—build trust and validate demand first
- Choose one distribution channel that energizes you (not drains you) and commit to it consistently—you need sustainable acquisition while working full-time
- Ship your MVP without a logo or polish—Ben didn't have a logo until he had a few hundred paying customers
- Build a simple version you can launch quickly and iterate—complex projects that take 2+ years to ship usually fail before launch
- Track whether you have a scalable acquisition strategy before quitting your job—customer acquisition cost must be low enough to support full-time work
Principles Validated (35)
Capture emails aggressively when you have traffic but no audience, then nurture with consistent weekly touchpoints
Ben Bozzay (Tech Lockdown)
Use content marketing and SEO to build organic acquisition channels
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Use content marketing and SEO to build organic acquisition channels
Ben Bozzay (Tech Lockdown)
Focus experiments on 1-2 acquisition channels at once rather than spreading effort across many channels
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Build content for customer questions not thought leadership - tactical QA content ranks better and converts more
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Build content for customer questions not thought leadership - tactical QA content ranks better and converts more
Ben Bozzay (Tech Lockdown)
Create content TO your audience that solves their problems, not content ABOUT yourself that showcases your growth
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Contribute value in communities before ever mentioning your product to avoid spam label
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Create educational content with minimal CTAs to build organic waitlist
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Share authentic business stories with proof to build community traction
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Give valuable content in platform posts, soft-link to full resources to maximize engagement and avoid spam label
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Write educational guides that solve your target users' problems to build organic traffic before launching a product
Ben Bozzay (Tech Lockdown)
Build products you personally need to ensure problem understanding
Ben Bozzay (Tech Lockdown)
Full commitment beats half-commitment
Ben Bozzay (Tech Lockdown)
Ship early and iterate beats perfecting before launch
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Solve customer acquisition before going full-time—prove your distribution channel works while employed
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Choose distribution channels that energize you, not drain you—sustainability beats optimal channel choice
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Time-box work by energy levels—deep work in high-energy windows, light work in low-energy windows
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Business fundamentals matter more than technical sophistication initially
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Build minimal single-feature products rather than complex multi-feature apps
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Extract one feature from incumbent tools and make it dramatically better
Ben Bozzay (Tech Lockdown)
Ship one key feature to early users and iterate in tight feedback loops
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Add deliberate friction as a feature when your users want to be restricted from their own behavior
Ben Bozzay (Tech Lockdown)
Start as done-for-you service, then automate the proven process into software
Ben Bozzay (Tech Lockdown)
Build for your own acute pain point
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Build audience with free content for 6-12 months before monetizing to validate demand and create launch base
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)
Publish content to validate audience demand before building complex infrastructure
Ben Bozzay (Tech Lockdown)
Build something you personally need and use daily before monetizing
Ben Boz (Tech Lockdown)