Notion Boost is a browser extension I built to improve my Notion experience. What started as a simple tweak to solve my own issues has now made over $9K, all while staying open-source.

Why I Built It

Back in 2018, I was searching for an alternative to Evernote. That's when I found Notion. Over time, my notes grew into a personal knowledge base, but navigating within long pages was a hassle. I wished there was a sticky page outline that would stay visible as I scrolled.

I realized I could build this as a Chrome extension. After many sleepless nights, I finally made it work - page headings stay visible on the right side.

From Personal Tool to Product

At first, I was just happy that it solved my own problem. But then I thought, "Why not share this with other Notion users?" I posted about it on Reddit's Notion community, and people loved it!

Over time, users suggested more features, and it grew to include 20+ customizations. The power of listening to your users!

Monetization Experiment

The founder of extensionpay.com reached out about integrating payments. I decided not to charge for existing features, but made some new ones premium with a one-time payment.

I set the price to $5, skeptical if anyone would pay. Within 24 hours, multiple people bought it! Over time, I experimented with increasing the price ($5 → $9 → $14 → $24 → $38 → $49 → $69), and people still kept buying.

Revenue Breakdown (October 2024) - Stripe: ~$8,600 - Patreon: ~$740 - Ko-fi: ~$100 - Total: $9,440

The project even led to a job opportunity when a YC-backed company's founder discovered it and hired me.