Are side projects distractions or hidden opportunities?
All work and no play makes anyone a dull boy.
In the world of startups and marketing, there's a persistent narrative about focus. You hear it everywhere: "Pick one thing and do it well." "Narrow your niche." "Stick to your lane."
But what if this conventional wisdom is actually holding your brand back?
A bootstrapped founder running a 7-figure ARR SaaS business recently had a VC cancel a meeting because they run "multiple projects" alongside their main business. The VC concluded that this showed a "lack of focus" - without even having the conversation.
This got me thinking about the role of experimentation in building remarkable brands.
Some of the most innovative companies in the world deliberately create space for side projects and experimentation. Google's "20% time" famously led to Gmail, AdSense, and Google News. 3M's "15% culture" produced Post-it Notes. Slack started as an internal tool for a game development company.
Side projects aren't distractions - they're innovation engines.
For marketers and founders, personal side projects offer multiple benefits:
They're low-risk laboratories for testing new ideas.
They keep your creative muscles fresh.
They often lead to unexpected connections and insights.
They can become unexpected growth channels for your main business.
They prevent burnout by allowing you to pursue varied interests.
The bootstrapped founder in our story has built two successful products and also works on personal side projects. Rather than seeing this as unfocused, we could view it as a portfolio approach to innovation.
As one commenter noted, sometimes it's actually your responsibility as a founder to "move in the most profitable direction" - which might mean pursuing multiple products or markets simultaneously.
Another pointed out that this one-track mindset seems increasingly outdated. Many successful companies leverage core technology across different markets and applications. That's not lack of focus - it's strategic expansion.
The reality is that marketing itself is constantly evolving. What worked yesterday may not work tomorrow. Platforms change their algorithms. Customer preferences shift. New technologies emerge.
In this environment, the ability to experiment quickly and learn from diverse projects is a competitive advantage, not a liability.
Think about it from a practical perspective. Side projects allow you to:
Test messaging with different audiences
Experiment with new platforms without risking your main brand
Develop new skills that eventually benefit your core business
Build relationships in adjacent communities
Discover unexpected market opportunities
The key is intentionality. Random dabbling isn't the same as strategic experimentation. Effective side projects have clear learning objectives and time boundaries. They're designed to yield specific insights that can be applied elsewhere.
This is especially relevant for marketing teams. The best marketers are constantly testing new approaches, channels, and messages. They maintain a portfolio of experiments running alongside their core campaigns.
Sometimes these experiments fail spectacularly. That's fine - the cost of failure is low, and the lessons are valuable. But occasionally, they succeed beyond all expectations and become new growth engines.
This approach also has personal benefits. Marketing can be an intense profession with high pressure to deliver results. Side projects provide a creative outlet and a chance to work on something purely because it interests you.
I can personally attest to this. Anytime I come across some Linkedin influencer that shows me a new tool that creates massive leverage, I get energized playing with it and working it into my team’s workflow.
So rather than seeing side projects as distractions, we should recognize them as essential components of a healthy innovation ecosystem.