I Made a Million Dollar Product from My Dorm Room (2025)

21 hours ago

The author created the nice!nano, a wireless, Pro Micro-compatible microcontroller board, during freshman year in college, which has since sold over 50,000 units generating over a million dollars in sales.
Initial dissatisfaction with existing wireless DIY keyboard solutions, like the Dissatisfaction65, led to designing the nice!nano over a weekend, focusing on Nordic chips for better latency and battery life.
A successful group buy for the nice!nano sold out 1,000 units in seven hours, though the author found the process stressful due to handling customer funds without physical products.
Collaboration with Pete Johanson led to the development of ZMK, a wireless-first firmware, enhancing the ecosystem for the nice!nano and wireless keyboards.
In 2022, the author co-founded Typeractive, a store specializing in wireless keyboard kits, which grew into one of the largest split keyboard stores.
The nice!nano faced cloning in 2023, with copies using its name and firmware, but original sales remained strong, partly due to Typeractive not stocking clones.
The product's success is attributed to timing, luck, and community support, with acknowledgments to key individuals like Joric, Pierre Constantineau, Pete Johanson, and the author's parents.

Hasty Briefsbeta