Yesterday I hit "Go Live" on YouTube and announced something that terrifies me.

The 10K MRR Challenge.

The idea is simple: build a portfolio of mobile apps, grow it to $10K monthly recurring revenue, and document the entire journey live. The good, the bad, and the shitty parts.

Here's the thing - this didn't come from some random burst of motivation.

It came from necessity.

Let me give you some real numbers. In 2024, YouTube paid me over $100K from AdSense alone. There were times when a single day brought in $1,000+.

2025? Less than $10K total. We're talking $300-400 a month now.

That's a 10x drop.

Unfortunately, I had to say goodbye to team members.

I'm back to working solo. And honestly? It was the wake-up call I needed.

For four years, my own apps were always the last priority. There was always something more urgent - a tutorial to record, a bootcamp to run, students to help. My portfolio lived in the gaps between "real work."

Not anymore.

Where I'm starting

Right now I have 14 apps in the portfolio. Current MRR: $242.

Some apps are doing well - the AI girlfriend app I built live on stream a year ago is pushing most of the downloads. Others are experiments that barely move.

The goal is to take that $242 and turn it into $10,000.

Is that possible? We'll see.

What's different this time

I'm streaming Monday to Friday. No pressure, no fancy production - just me coding, building, learning, and probably breaking things.

This is pure building in public.

But here's what I realized during the first stream: I'm going back to being the student.

I can code apps. That's not the hard part.

The hard part is everything else - marketing, distribution, monetization, analytics, ASO optimization. That's where I have to grow.

And I want to learn from you too. If you're further ahead in this game, drop me a reply. I'm all ears.

The stakes

If I don't hit 10K MRR, I will have to go work at a factory or smth.

Well, that's maybe a bit exaggerated, but it adds pressure. And pressure creates action.

I'll be sharing updates here, on X, and obviously on the live streams.

If you want to follow the journey:

• ​Subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the notification bell
• ​Follow me on X for daily updates
• ​Join today's stream​

We'll see where this goes.

Cheers, Vadim

PS. I had eye surgery last week. No more glasses. My eyes are still recovering but I said fuck it - no time to waste. 2026 is the year. Let's go.

PPS. If you're building your own apps or thinking about it, reply and tell me what you're working on. I genuinely want to know.