About
A solo dev from Mauritius built Habit Pixel — a habit tracker with pixel art. From zero to $1k MRR in 8 months. Proof that niche, focused products can win.
Screenshots
Build Timeline
Launched on App Store and Google Play — solo, from Mauritius
May 10, 2025. Both stores, same day. Self-taught developer, first consumer mobile app, zero marketing budget. Announced on X and Reddit. The first week was slow. That was expected. Kept going anyway.
The core insight: habit trackers feel like chores because they look like chores
Every other tracker I tried was a spreadsheet with a friendlier font. I wanted something you'd actually want to open. The pixel art canvas changes the psychology — your streak becomes a visual artwork you don't want to break. Completion feels like creation.
Month 3: added streaks, social sharing, custom pixel themes
The retention data was clear — users who hit a 7-day streak had 4x the 30-day retention of users who didn't. Doubled down on streak mechanics, added shareable pixel art exports, let users pick custom colour palettes for their canvases.
$1k MRR — 8 months in, still solo, still bootstrapped
January 2026. $1,000 in monthly recurring revenue. Not life-changing numbers yet, but real, recurring, growing. Built entirely alone from Mauritius with no funding, no team, no connections in the industry. The next milestone is $5k MRR.
Slow starts are normal — the compounding happens later
The first two months were discouraging. Downloads trickled in, reviews were sparse, revenue was near zero. Month 5 was when word-of-mouth started compounding. Patience and weekly iteration — not a viral moment — is what got to $1k MRR.