How to start a Launchpad for Chrome Extensions

The move to Manifest V3 forced many extensions to be rewritten and re-reviewed, and some well-loved ones disappeared, so users search for replacements. Web Store results favor older, high-install extensions, which shuts out newcomers. Users also worry about extensions that read all site data, so a source that notes requested permissions is genuinely helpful. Browsers beyond Chrome, like Edge and Brave, share the extension ecosystem, which widens your audience.

Indie developers who built an extension with a few hundred users and cannot break through in the Chrome Web Store. Also agencies selling subscription extensions to sales or SEO teams.

• $Featured extension listings
• $Affiliate links to paid extension plans
• $Sponsored workflow roundups
• $Paid review service

1. 1

   Pick a workflow audience

   Choose one group, for example SEO professionals, remote recruiters or students, and list only extensions that serve that routine. Workflow lists rank and convert better than a generic category tree.

2. 2

   Capture permissions and privacy data per listing

   Record the requested permissions, whether the code is open source, and the last update date. Show it prominently so visitors can judge safety at a glance.

3. 3

   Test every extension yourself

   Install each one in a clean Chrome profile and note what it does well and what breaks. Screenshots from your own testing differentiate pages from copied Web Store text.

4. 4

   Reach developers through their support channels

   Find authors via their GitHub repos, X accounts and the Chrome Web Store support email. Tell them their extension is reviewed on your site and invite them to add a featured slot.

5. 5

   Publish replacement guides

   When a popular extension breaks or goes paid, write a page like “alternatives to [name] under Manifest V3”. These capture panicked searches within days.

6. 6

   Offer a pre-launch review package

   Charge $99 to $249 for a written audit of a developer’s listing page, screenshots and permission justifications before they submit to the store.

• r/chrome_extensions
• r/SideProject
• Indie Hackers launch threads
• Workflow subreddits like r/sales and r/SEO
• YouTube walkthroughs of extension stacks

Ways to niche down

• Privacy-first extensions with open-source code
• Extensions for accessibility and neurodiverse users
• Extensions that work with one app such as Notion or Gmail

• Chrome Web Store dashboard
• CRXcavator
• Next.js
• Plausible
• Gumroad
• Airtable

Paste these into ChatGPT, Claude or an AI agent. Each one is pre-filled with this idea’s numbers — just replace the [BRACKETS] with your city, budget and skills.

• Cofounder agent kickoffAgentHand the whole launch to an AI agent (Claude, ChatGPT agent mode, Manus…) and get a researched plan + files back.+

  Copy prompt

  You are my AI cofounder. We are starting this business together:
  
  Business idea: Launchpad for Chrome Extensions — A hand-reviewed home for Chrome extensions that the Web Store search buries.
  Summary: A Chrome extension launchpad curates extensions by workflow, such as recruiters’ LinkedIn helpers or tab managers for researchers, and gives their authors a place to be discovered outside the Chrome Web Store’s thin search. It earns from featured listings, sponsored “extensions we use” roundups and affiliate links when extensions have paid plans. Extension developers are an ideal customer because they depend entirely on store ranking and rarely have a marketing budget.
  Typical startup cost: $100–$1.2k. Typical revenue after ~12 months: $700–$5.5k/mo. Time to first revenue: 1–3 months.
  Target customers: Indie developers who built an extension with a few hundred users and cannot break through in the Chrome Web Store. Also agencies selling subscription extensions to sales or SEO teams.
  Revenue models: Featured extension listings; Affiliate links to paid extension plans; Sponsored workflow roundups; Paid review service.
  Common channels: r/chrome_extensions; r/SideProject; Indie Hackers launch threads; Workflow subreddits like r/sales and r/SEO; YouTube walkthroughs of extension stacks.
  
  About me (edit this): I live in [CITY, COUNTRY]. My budget is [BUDGET]. I can spend [HOURS] hours per week. My relevant skills/experience: [SKILLS].
  
  Work autonomously and use web search. Deliver, as separate files or clearly separated sections:
  1. A demand check: 10 real signals that people in my area/market pay for this today (links to competitors, reviews, job posts, forum threads).
  2. The 5 strongest local/online competitors with pricing, positioning and one weakness each.
  3. My offer: a specific niche, 3 packages with prices, and why a customer picks me.
  4. A one-page business plan with a startup budget table under my budget.
  5. A 30-day launch checklist, day by day, with the first paying customer as the goal by day 14.
  6. Copy for a one-page website and 3 outreach messages.
  Ask me at most 3 clarifying questions first, then go. Flag anything that needs a license, permit or insurance where I live.

• Validate demand in 7 daysA skeptical test plan that tries to kill the idea before you spend money.+

  Copy prompt

  Act as a skeptical startup advisor who has seen hundreds of small businesses fail.
  
  Business idea: Launchpad for Chrome Extensions — A hand-reviewed home for Chrome extensions that the Web Store search buries.
  Summary: A Chrome extension launchpad curates extensions by workflow, such as recruiters’ LinkedIn helpers or tab managers for researchers, and gives their authors a place to be discovered outside the Chrome Web Store’s thin search. It earns from featured listings, sponsored “extensions we use” roundups and affiliate links when extensions have paid plans. Extension developers are an ideal customer because they depend entirely on store ranking and rarely have a marketing budget.
  Typical startup cost: $100–$1.2k. Typical revenue after ~12 months: $700–$5.5k/mo. Time to first revenue: 1–3 months.
  Target customers: Indie developers who built an extension with a few hundred users and cannot break through in the Chrome Web Store. Also agencies selling subscription extensions to sales or SEO teams.
  Revenue models: Featured extension listings; Affiliate links to paid extension plans; Sponsored workflow roundups; Paid review service.
  Common channels: r/chrome_extensions; r/SideProject; Indie Hackers launch threads; Workflow subreddits like r/sales and r/SEO; YouTube walkthroughs of extension stacks.
  
  About me (edit this): I live in [CITY, COUNTRY]. My budget is [BUDGET]. I can spend [HOURS] hours per week. My relevant skills/experience: [SKILLS].
  
  1. List the 5 riskiest assumptions behind this idea for someone like me, ranked by how likely they are to be wrong.
  2. For each, design a test I can run in 7 days for under $100, with a clear pass/fail threshold.
  3. Write the exact message I should send to 20 potential customers to test willingness to pay (not just interest).
  4. Tell me what result would make you say "don't do this".

• Pick a niche & ideal customerNarrow the idea into a niche you can own and describe your ideal customer precisely.+

  Copy prompt

  Business idea: Launchpad for Chrome Extensions — A hand-reviewed home for Chrome extensions that the Web Store search buries.
  Summary: A Chrome extension launchpad curates extensions by workflow, such as recruiters’ LinkedIn helpers or tab managers for researchers, and gives their authors a place to be discovered outside the Chrome Web Store’s thin search. It earns from featured listings, sponsored “extensions we use” roundups and affiliate links when extensions have paid plans. Extension developers are an ideal customer because they depend entirely on store ranking and rarely have a marketing budget.
  Typical startup cost: $100–$1.2k. Typical revenue after ~12 months: $700–$5.5k/mo. Time to first revenue: 1–3 months.
  Target customers: Indie developers who built an extension with a few hundred users and cannot break through in the Chrome Web Store. Also agencies selling subscription extensions to sales or SEO teams.
  Revenue models: Featured extension listings; Affiliate links to paid extension plans; Sponsored workflow roundups; Paid review service.
  Common channels: r/chrome_extensions; r/SideProject; Indie Hackers launch threads; Workflow subreddits like r/sales and r/SEO; YouTube walkthroughs of extension stacks.
  
  About me (edit this): I live in [CITY, COUNTRY]. My budget is [BUDGET]. I can spend [HOURS] hours per week. My relevant skills/experience: [SKILLS].
  
  Suggest 7 ways to niche down this business (by customer type, problem, location, price point or delivery model). For each: who exactly the customer is, what they currently do instead, how much they likely pay, and how easy they are to reach. Then recommend the single best niche for me and write an ideal-customer profile (job/life situation, trigger moment, objections, where they hang out online and offline).

• Competitor researchAgentMap who you’re up against and where the gap is.+

  Copy prompt

  Use web search. Business idea: Launchpad for Chrome Extensions — A hand-reviewed home for Chrome extensions that the Web Store search buries.
  Summary: A Chrome extension launchpad curates extensions by workflow, such as recruiters’ LinkedIn helpers or tab managers for researchers, and gives their authors a place to be discovered outside the Chrome Web Store’s thin search. It earns from featured listings, sponsored “extensions we use” roundups and affiliate links when extensions have paid plans. Extension developers are an ideal customer because they depend entirely on store ranking and rarely have a marketing budget.
  Typical startup cost: $100–$1.2k. Typical revenue after ~12 months: $700–$5.5k/mo. Time to first revenue: 1–3 months.
  Target customers: Indie developers who built an extension with a few hundred users and cannot break through in the Chrome Web Store. Also agencies selling subscription extensions to sales or SEO teams.
  Revenue models: Featured extension listings; Affiliate links to paid extension plans; Sponsored workflow roundups; Paid review service.
  Common channels: r/chrome_extensions; r/SideProject; Indie Hackers launch threads; Workflow subreddits like r/sales and r/SEO; YouTube walkthroughs of extension stacks.
  
  About me (edit this): I live in [CITY, COUNTRY]. My budget is [BUDGET]. I can spend [HOURS] hours per week. My relevant skills/experience: [SKILLS].
  
  Find 10 businesses offering this in or near [CITY] (or online, if it’s an online business). Build a table: name, website, offer, price, reviews/rating, positioning, weakness from customer reviews. Then summarize the 3 biggest gaps a new entrant could exploit and how I should position against the market leader.

• Offer & pricingPackages and prices you can put on a website today.+

  Copy prompt

  Business idea: Launchpad for Chrome Extensions — A hand-reviewed home for Chrome extensions that the Web Store search buries.
  Summary: A Chrome extension launchpad curates extensions by workflow, such as recruiters’ LinkedIn helpers or tab managers for researchers, and gives their authors a place to be discovered outside the Chrome Web Store’s thin search. It earns from featured listings, sponsored “extensions we use” roundups and affiliate links when extensions have paid plans. Extension developers are an ideal customer because they depend entirely on store ranking and rarely have a marketing budget.
  Typical startup cost: $100–$1.2k. Typical revenue after ~12 months: $700–$5.5k/mo. Time to first revenue: 1–3 months.
  Target customers: Indie developers who built an extension with a few hundred users and cannot break through in the Chrome Web Store. Also agencies selling subscription extensions to sales or SEO teams.
  Revenue models: Featured extension listings; Affiliate links to paid extension plans; Sponsored workflow roundups; Paid review service.
  Common channels: r/chrome_extensions; r/SideProject; Indie Hackers launch threads; Workflow subreddits like r/sales and r/SEO; YouTube walkthroughs of extension stacks.
  
  About me (edit this): I live in [CITY, COUNTRY]. My budget is [BUDGET]. I can spend [HOURS] hours per week. My relevant skills/experience: [SKILLS].
  
  Design my offer. Give me: (1) three packages (good/better/best) with what’s included and a price for each, (2) the math behind the prices — my costs, time per job/order, target margin, (3) one recurring or subscription option to build predictable revenue, (4) an introductory offer for my first 10 customers that doesn’t devalue the service, and (5) how I should answer "that’s too expensive".

• One-page business planA lender-ready one-pager with budget and first-year numbers.+

  Copy prompt

  Business idea: Launchpad for Chrome Extensions — A hand-reviewed home for Chrome extensions that the Web Store search buries.
  Summary: A Chrome extension launchpad curates extensions by workflow, such as recruiters’ LinkedIn helpers or tab managers for researchers, and gives their authors a place to be discovered outside the Chrome Web Store’s thin search. It earns from featured listings, sponsored “extensions we use” roundups and affiliate links when extensions have paid plans. Extension developers are an ideal customer because they depend entirely on store ranking and rarely have a marketing budget.
  Typical startup cost: $100–$1.2k. Typical revenue after ~12 months: $700–$5.5k/mo. Time to first revenue: 1–3 months.
  Target customers: Indie developers who built an extension with a few hundred users and cannot break through in the Chrome Web Store. Also agencies selling subscription extensions to sales or SEO teams.
  Revenue models: Featured extension listings; Affiliate links to paid extension plans; Sponsored workflow roundups; Paid review service.
  Common channels: r/chrome_extensions; r/SideProject; Indie Hackers launch threads; Workflow subreddits like r/sales and r/SEO; YouTube walkthroughs of extension stacks.
  
  About me (edit this): I live in [CITY, COUNTRY]. My budget is [BUDGET]. I can spend [HOURS] hours per week. My relevant skills/experience: [SKILLS].
  
  Write a one-page business plan for this business in my situation: problem, solution, target customer, offer and pricing, marketing plan (first 90 days), operations, startup budget as a table (items, low/high cost, must-have vs later), monthly fixed costs, a simple 12-month revenue projection with assumptions stated, break-even month, and the top 3 risks with mitigations. Keep the numbers realistic for a solo founder.

• Website / landing page copyCopy for a one-page site that converts visitors into calls or orders.+

  Copy prompt

  Business idea: Launchpad for Chrome Extensions — A hand-reviewed home for Chrome extensions that the Web Store search buries.
  Summary: A Chrome extension launchpad curates extensions by workflow, such as recruiters’ LinkedIn helpers or tab managers for researchers, and gives their authors a place to be discovered outside the Chrome Web Store’s thin search. It earns from featured listings, sponsored “extensions we use” roundups and affiliate links when extensions have paid plans. Extension developers are an ideal customer because they depend entirely on store ranking and rarely have a marketing budget.
  Typical startup cost: $100–$1.2k. Typical revenue after ~12 months: $700–$5.5k/mo. Time to first revenue: 1–3 months.
  Target customers: Indie developers who built an extension with a few hundred users and cannot break through in the Chrome Web Store. Also agencies selling subscription extensions to sales or SEO teams.
  Revenue models: Featured extension listings; Affiliate links to paid extension plans; Sponsored workflow roundups; Paid review service.
  Common channels: r/chrome_extensions; r/SideProject; Indie Hackers launch threads; Workflow subreddits like r/sales and r/SEO; YouTube walkthroughs of extension stacks.
  
  About me (edit this): I live in [CITY, COUNTRY]. My budget is [BUDGET]. I can spend [HOURS] hours per week. My relevant skills/experience: [SKILLS].
  
  Write the copy for a one-page website: headline (5 options), subheadline, 3 benefit blocks, how-it-works in 3 steps, packages with prices, an FAQ with 6 objections answered, a guarantee, and a call to action. Also give me a page title and meta description optimized for "chrome extension directory" plus my city. Tone: clear, local, trustworthy — no hype.

• Get your first 10 customersOutreach scripts and a daily plan to land paying customers fast.+

  Copy prompt

  Business idea: Launchpad for Chrome Extensions — A hand-reviewed home for Chrome extensions that the Web Store search buries.
  Summary: A Chrome extension launchpad curates extensions by workflow, such as recruiters’ LinkedIn helpers or tab managers for researchers, and gives their authors a place to be discovered outside the Chrome Web Store’s thin search. It earns from featured listings, sponsored “extensions we use” roundups and affiliate links when extensions have paid plans. Extension developers are an ideal customer because they depend entirely on store ranking and rarely have a marketing budget.
  Typical startup cost: $100–$1.2k. Typical revenue after ~12 months: $700–$5.5k/mo. Time to first revenue: 1–3 months.
  Target customers: Indie developers who built an extension with a few hundred users and cannot break through in the Chrome Web Store. Also agencies selling subscription extensions to sales or SEO teams.
  Revenue models: Featured extension listings; Affiliate links to paid extension plans; Sponsored workflow roundups; Paid review service.
  Common channels: r/chrome_extensions; r/SideProject; Indie Hackers launch threads; Workflow subreddits like r/sales and r/SEO; YouTube walkthroughs of extension stacks.
  
  About me (edit this): I live in [CITY, COUNTRY]. My budget is [BUDGET]. I can spend [HOURS] hours per week. My relevant skills/experience: [SKILLS].
  
  Give me a plan to land my first 10 paying customers in 30 days with almost no ad budget. Include: the 3 best channels for this business and why, a daily activity quota, and ready-to-send scripts — a cold email, a DM, a message for local Facebook/Nextdoor groups, a referral ask for friends and family, and a follow-up message. Personalize them with [placeholders] I can fill in.

• 30-day launch checklistAgentA day-by-day checklist an agent or you can work through.+

  Copy prompt

  Business idea: Launchpad for Chrome Extensions — A hand-reviewed home for Chrome extensions that the Web Store search buries.
  Summary: A Chrome extension launchpad curates extensions by workflow, such as recruiters’ LinkedIn helpers or tab managers for researchers, and gives their authors a place to be discovered outside the Chrome Web Store’s thin search. It earns from featured listings, sponsored “extensions we use” roundups and affiliate links when extensions have paid plans. Extension developers are an ideal customer because they depend entirely on store ranking and rarely have a marketing budget.
  Typical startup cost: $100–$1.2k. Typical revenue after ~12 months: $700–$5.5k/mo. Time to first revenue: 1–3 months.
  Target customers: Indie developers who built an extension with a few hundred users and cannot break through in the Chrome Web Store. Also agencies selling subscription extensions to sales or SEO teams.
  Revenue models: Featured extension listings; Affiliate links to paid extension plans; Sponsored workflow roundups; Paid review service.
  Common channels: r/chrome_extensions; r/SideProject; Indie Hackers launch threads; Workflow subreddits like r/sales and r/SEO; YouTube walkthroughs of extension stacks.
  
  About me (edit this): I live in [CITY, COUNTRY]. My budget is [BUDGET]. I can spend [HOURS] hours per week. My relevant skills/experience: [SKILLS].
  
  Create a day-by-day 30-day launch checklist for this business, with each task taking under 2 hours. Group into: legal & admin (business registration, EIN or local equivalent, bank account, insurance, permits — mark which ones depend on my location), offer & pricing, online presence (Google Business Profile, simple website, social), sales outreach, and delivery. Put "first paying customer" no later than day 14. Output as a checklist I can paste into Notion or Todoist.

• Name & brandName ideas you can actually register, plus a tagline.+

  Copy prompt

  Business idea: Launchpad for Chrome Extensions — A hand-reviewed home for Chrome extensions that the Web Store search buries.
  Summary: A Chrome extension launchpad curates extensions by workflow, such as recruiters’ LinkedIn helpers or tab managers for researchers, and gives their authors a place to be discovered outside the Chrome Web Store’s thin search. It earns from featured listings, sponsored “extensions we use” roundups and affiliate links when extensions have paid plans. Extension developers are an ideal customer because they depend entirely on store ranking and rarely have a marketing budget.
  Typical startup cost: $100–$1.2k. Typical revenue after ~12 months: $700–$5.5k/mo. Time to first revenue: 1–3 months.
  Target customers: Indie developers who built an extension with a few hundred users and cannot break through in the Chrome Web Store. Also agencies selling subscription extensions to sales or SEO teams.
  Revenue models: Featured extension listings; Affiliate links to paid extension plans; Sponsored workflow roundups; Paid review service.
  Common channels: r/chrome_extensions; r/SideProject; Indie Hackers launch threads; Workflow subreddits like r/sales and r/SEO; YouTube walkthroughs of extension stacks.
  
  About me (edit this): I live in [CITY, COUNTRY]. My budget is [BUDGET]. I can spend [HOURS] hours per week. My relevant skills/experience: [SKILLS].
  
  Generate 30 name ideas for this business in 5 styles (classic, modern, playful, premium, local). For the top 5, give a tagline, the .com I should check, and any obvious trademark or meaning conflicts to watch for. Then tell me how to verify availability in my state/country (business registry, trademark database, domains, social handles).