Indie Hackers

I'm finally doing it. I'm doing an episode on cryptocurrencies--specifically, NFTs. I have been a huge skeptic of this space, but a few weeks ago I started looking deeper. I even bought my first NFT. In this episode, I invited two friends, Hiten Shah and Mubashar Iqbal, to talk about what I've realized about this space and what indie hackers can do today to get something out of it. Sign up with Coinbase: https://www.coinbase.com/dashboardFollow Mubs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mubashariqbalFollow Hiten on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hnshah

(Throwback episode!) After spending years pursuing a career in science, Lynne Tye (@lynnetye) shocked her family and colleagues by dropping out of grad school. Thus began a months-long journey of discovery and experimentation that eventually saw her managing 150 people at a high-profile tech startup. But when Lynne realized the fast-paced startup lifestyle was not for her, she quit that, too, and began her search all over again. In this episode, Lynne shares the story behind how she took her career into her own hands, learned to code, and started a business doing what she loves.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/086-lynne-tye-of-key-values

How do you make a ton of money on the internet, and how do you manage it once you've got it? In this crossover episode from the Brains podcast, we have a fun discussion about money with Anthony Pompliano (@APompliano) who's a Bitcoin 9-figure millionaire and Sam Parr (@theSamParr) who sold his startup The Hustle for a reported $27 million. Whether you enjoy this crossover episode or not, tweet me and let me know! I'm @csallen on Twitter.You can subscribe to Brains in your favorite podcast player or via our website: https://www.brainspodcast.com

Today I'm talking to Justin Jackson (@mijustin). He's someone who started out in entrepreneurship by opening a brick and mortar snowboarding shop. I want to find out how he made the unlikely leap into SaaS and how having four kids at a young age changed both his journey and how he thinks about money, legacy, and the future. Follow Justin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mijustinGet your podcast hosted on Transistor: https://transistor.fm/

Today I'm talking to Spencer Fry (@spencerfry), the founder of Podia. His business is super relevant right now because it is basically a one-stop shop to support creators and entrepreneurs. In this episode we discuss the importance of planning, how to iterate on a plan and how to stay persistent.Follow Spencer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/spencerfryCheck out Podia: https://www.podia.com/Ready Spencer's blog: http://www.spencerfry.com/

Today I'm talking to Sonal Chokshi, one of the biggest experts on building a media business that I know. Currently she's the Editor-in-Chief at a16z. In this episode we'll talk about creating content in a world where media moves so quickly.Follow Sonal on Twitter: https://twitter.com/smc90Pitch Future: https://future.a16z.com/pitch-us

In this episode I'm talking with Andrew Warner (@AndrewWarner), the host of the Mixergy where he's interviewed over 2,000 founders in the tech and software space. His new book, Stop Asking Questions, breaks down everything he's learned about having a meaningful conversation and maximizing the value out of one-shot encounters. Learn how to have better conversations: https://www.stopaskingquestions.co/Follow Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndrewWarnerCheck out Mixergy: https://mixergy.com/

Andrew Gazdeki (@agazdecki) has some contrarian viewpoints when it comes to the startup ecosystem today. I invited him here to find out about his beef with TechCrunch and how he is empowering founders with his own company, Microacquire. Follow Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/agazdeckiCheck out Microacquire: https://microacquire.com/

Today I'm talking to an Indie Hacker Marie Martens (@mariemartens) who has gained over 10,000 users in less than a year for her software Tally. The best part of her story is that Tally isn't even a new idea. In fact, incumbents like Google are already in the space. I invited her here to find out how she did it.Follow Marie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariemartensBuild a beautiful form with Tally: https://tally.so/

In this episode I'm talking to AJ from Carrd. I want to find how he grew from $30K MRR to over $1M ARR in just two years and what Kim Kardashian had to do with it. I'll also ask him how he thinks about fundraising as an indie hacker. Follow AJ on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ajlknBuild a simple one-page website with Carrd: https://carrd.co/

In this episode I'm talking to John O'Nolan (@JohnONolan), the founder of Ghost. For the last year, he's been living on a sailboat and growing his company remotely. I want to ask him about what decisions he made early on that put constraints on how and why Ghost grows.Follow John on Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnonolanCheck out Ghost: https://ghost.org/

Today I'm talking to James Layfield (@layfield) a founder who put $3M of his own money into his company Clearfind. I want to find out how he pulled that off and how he's outsmarting the what he calls the "rigged-game" of Venture Capital. Check out Clearfind: https://home.clearfind.com/Follow James on Twitter: https://twitter.com/layfield

In this episode I talk to my buddy Julian Shapiro about proven growth tactics for a SaaS he's seen within Demand Curve. I also want to find out what he did to grow his own Twitter audience to over 200k in basically a year. We'll also dig into the details of a side project he and I have been working on. Listen to our new podcast: https://www.brainspodcast.com/Follow Julian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/julianCheck out Demand Curve: https://www.demandcurve.com/Sign up for Julian's newsletter: https://www.getrevue.co

My guest today is Michele Hansen (@mjwhansen) and she is here to challenge the stereotype that developers fear talking to customers and are naturally bad at it. We'll also get into specific principles and tactics from her recent book, "Deploy Empathy: A Practical Guide to Interviewing Customers."Read Deploy Empathy: https://deployempathy.com/Follow Michele on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mjwhansenCheck out her podcast: https://softwaresocial.dev/

In this episode I catch up with Rob Fitzpatrick (@robfitz) about his new book, Write Useful Books. We'll talk about how he approaches book-writing like product development and why the sales graphs for his books look more like a hockey stick instead of shark fin. Follow Rob on Twitter: https://twitter.com/robfitzRead The Mom Test: http://momtestbook.com/Read Write Useful Books: https://writeusefulbooks.com/

In this episode I talk to Indie Hacker Valentin Hinov (@ValCanBuild). He is someone caught the pandemic wave in the best way possible. He came up with an idea that not only helps teams feel more connected but also removed a huge pain for team managers. I'll ask him how he built it and how the model for the product has a built-in growth mechanism. Send a Thankbox: https://www.thankbox.com/Follow Val on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ValCanBuildRead Val's journey: ValCanBuild.tech

In this episode I catch up with Samy Dindane (@SamyDindane), the creator of Twitter growth tool Hypefury. I'll ask him how he found his co-founder from an Indie Hackers post, how he grew Hypefury past $20K MRR, and why indie hackers don't have to solve a completely unique problem to be successful. Hypefury Twitter: https://twitter.com/hypefuryHypefury Podcast: https://hypefury.com/podcast/

Michael Seibel (@mwseibel) and I discuss the secret sauce of what goes on inside Y Combinator and how indie hackers can create it for themselves. And because Michael sees nearly 2,000 startups a year--we'll find out the difference between companies that make it and companies that don't. Follow Michael on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mwseibelRead startup advice on the YC Startup Library: https://www.startupschool.org/Apply for a YC batch: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply

My guests today have a really exciting business model and strategy that I want to dig into. Dan Shipper (@danshipper) and Nathan Baschez (@nbashaw) are the founders of Every, a bundle of business focused newsletters. By structuring Every as a "collective," the writers are happier, the readers are getting better content, and Every is profitable. I want to find out how they get readers, how they get writers, and how "bundling" can be strategic for indie hackers. Subscribe to Every: https://every.to/Follow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nbashawFollow Dan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/danshipper

Sam Parr (@theSamParr) and Shaan Puri (@ShaanVP) have both sold their businesses and are currently hosting one of the best business podcasts out there. In this episode, we talk about what it's like to be in their position now and what kind of businesses they would start if they were doing it all over today.Listen to My First Million: https://thehustle.co/my-first-million-podcast/Follow Sam on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theSamParrFollow Shaan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShaanVP

Kyle Gawley (@kylegawley) was running a high-growth, venture-backed company when he ended up in the hospital partially due to all the pressure he was under. That experience led to some introspection, which I'll ask him about in this episode. We'll also talk about his new company, which he decided to build with a completely different approach to growth. Follow Kyle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kylegawleySave three months by trying Gravity's SaaS boilerplates: https://usegravity.app/

In this episode I talk to Andrey Azimov (@andreyazimov) about moving to Bali with a $3K runway and launching his "Hardcore Year." I'll ask him about the projects he launched to reach $10K MRR.Follow Andrey's journey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreyazimovCheck out his personal site: https://www.andreyazimov.com/Create a website from a spreadsheet: https://www.sheet2site.com/

Today I'm talking to Dan Cederholm (@simplebits) about his somewhat reluctant journey into growing Dribbble. He's a self-described "accidental entrepreneur. So, in this interview, we'll talk about how someone who identifies as a creator and a designer can fill the role of a founder. Follow Dan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/simplebitsCheck out Dribbble: https://dribbble.com/

Chris Bakke (@ChrisJBakke) came on my radar when he posted an AMA on Indie Hackers after selling his $2M ARR SaaS for $50,000,000. Like a lot of people in the Indie Hackers community, I have a lot of questions. In this episode, I'll find out how Chris came up with the idea and why he intentionally chose a tiny market. Follow Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChrisJBakkeCheck out Chris's new startup: https://laskie.com/

Molly Wolchansky is the founder of The Agent Nest (@theagentnest), an application that manages social media posts and marketing materials for real estate agents. In this episode, we'll find out why she chose this niche and how seven years of manual agency work led to a breaking point. Follow Molly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/theagentnestCheck out Molly's App: https://www.theagentnest.com/

Today's guest recently sold his company, FeedbackPanda, but instead of disappearing to an island, I've seen him all over Twitter, all over his blog, all over Indie Hackers helping people. In this episode, I talk to Arvid Kahl (@arvidkahl) about how involuntary reciprocity built his audience and how Indie Hackers can do the same. We'll dig into his new book, The Embedded Entrepreneur, to break down how he co-developed and grew his businesses through audience engagement. Check out The Bootstrapped Founder: https://thebootstrappedfounder.com/Follow Arvid on Twitter: https://twitter.com/arvidkahlArvid's new book: https://embeddedentrepreneur.com

Today I'm talking to two of the top creators on OnlyFans: Savannah Solo and Aella. Each of them is earning 5-figures a month on the platform, which sits at the intersection of the creator economy and porn. (NSFW… depending on where you work.) In this episode we talk about the stigma of making a living from porn, marketing strategies to get huge on social media, and the future of independent creators on the internet.Savannah's NSFW Twitter: https://twitter.com/savannah_soloAella's NSFW Twitter: https://twitter.com/aellagirlAella's safe-for-work Twitter: https://twitter.com/aella_girlCourtland's OnlyFans page: https://onlyfans.com/csallen

Derrick Reimer has been following a playbook that involves taking on big players in a market by drafting on their tailwind. It's gotten him to six-figure revenue with SavvyCal but it wasn't a strategy that always worked. In this episode, we'll talk about how he failed when trying to take on Slack and how he eventually bounced back with SavvyCal. Follow Derrick on Twitter: https://twitter.com/derrickreimerGet your first month free with Promo Code "IndieHackers" at SavvyCal: https://savvycal.com/

Since John Doherty (@dohertyjf) was on the podcast three years ago, he's completely changed the business model of his company. In this interview, we'll talk about the moment his customers told him "his baby was ugly" and what happened next. Follow John on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dohertyjfFind an agency on Credo: https://www.getcredo.com/Get unlimited copyediting on EditorNinja: https://editorninja.com/

Joining me is an indie hacker whose broetry post about how he hit $10K MRR went viral. I invited him here to walk me through how he got to that milestone and what his new challenges are as he grows his company Bannerbear toward the $1M ARR mark. Follow Jon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yongfookCheck out Bannerbear: https://www.bannerbear.com/Subscribe to Jon's newsletter: https://www.bannerbear.com/open

Rob Walling (@robwalling) returns to the show to talk about new and not-so-new trends in SaaS that Indie Hackers should be paying attention to. Listen to Rob's podcast: https://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/Follow Rob on Twitter: https://twitter.com/robwallingCheck out Tiny Seed: https://tinyseed.com/

Nathan Barry (@nathanbarry) has grown ConvertKit from $7M to $27M since I last spoke with him three years ago. He’s done several things in the last few years to grow—including making ConvertKit’s first acquisition and riding the wave of the creator economy. But mostly we’ll discuss how incremental improvements over eight years is responsible for the email marketing tool’s compound growth. Follow Nathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nathanbarryFind and build your audience with ConvertKit: https://convertkit.com/

Today I have Chris Justin (@Chris_Justin) and Eathan Janney from the Run With It podcast. They are coming on the show today to share some business ideas for 2021 for indie hackers. In this episode we discuss flying cars (VTOL), NFTs, people coins, and other trends to get ahead of for the next year. Listen to new ideas on the Run With It podcast: https://www.runwithit.fm/

Over the past two years, I’ve been getting emails from Collin Waldoch. The first was in 2019 when he told me his startup Water Cooler Trivia was making $10K ARR. That was followed a few months later by him telling me he was making $50k, then $100K, and most recently $250K. I want you to hear how simple the product is that he built and why he’s not seeing any churn. Try to beat your co-workers on Water Cooler Trivia: https://www.watercoolertrivia.com/

Joining me is prolific indie hacker and Bitclout enthusiast Mubashar Iqbal (@mubashariqbal) to discuss the pros and cons of the new platform. Is it a scam? Is it not a scam? Are we all living in a real life episode of Black Mirror? We get to the bottom of your burning questions in this episode.

Austin Rief (@Austin_Rief) started the newsletter Morning Brew in college when he didn’t care if he made money or mistakes. That freedom in the early days resulted in an authenticity that he credits for their growth. In this episode, I talk to Austin about how he’s using Twitter to grow, what types of customers become brand ambassadors, and so much more. • Follow Austin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Austin_Rief • Get smarter by subscribing to Morning Brew: https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/subscribe

Today I’m catching up with Ben Orenstein (@r00k) after nearly two years. Since then his company Tuple has grown 3x and is hitting millions on annual revenue. In this episode, I talk to Ben about the factors behind his insane growth, what it’s like being single as a startup founder, and why he’s hiring a coach for nearly every aspect of his life. • Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/r00k • Ask Ben out on a date: http://dating.benorenstein.com • Pair remotely with Tuple: https://tuple.app/

Today I’m talking to some of the best online course creators that I know. So many indie hackers got started and became successful because they found ways to teach others online. So I invited Andrew Barry (@Bazzaruto), who runs the On Deck Course Creators Fellowship, Marie Poulin (@mariepoulin), who runs an online course called Notion Mastery, and Ali Abdaal (@AliAbdaal), who runs Part Time YouTuber Academy. In this episode, we’ll talk about how to get started, overcome imposter syndrome, and how everyone has something to teach. • Build a Transformative Online Course: https://www.beondeck.com/course-creators • Master Your Life and Business Workflows with Notion: https://notionmastery.com/ • Learn How To Grow Your YouTube Channel: https://academy.aliabdaal.com/

One of the best ways to build a successful business as an indie hacker is to teach people a valuable skill. So in this episode, I sat down to talk to you two of the best educators that I know. Darrell Silver (@darrellsilver) is the founder of Thinkful (an online learning service that's helped thousands of students get high paying jobs in tech) and Quincy Larson (@ossia), the founder of freeCodeCamp.We’ll get into some of the best ways for indie hackers to get started as educators and the economics behind an education business. • Learn to code on freeCodeCamp: https://www.freecodecamp.org/ • Follow Quincy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ossia • Check out Thinkful: https://www.thinkful.com/ • Follow Darrell on Twitter: https://twitter.com/darrellsilver

Nadav Keyson and his brother built a podcast recording tool on the bleeding edge of technology. By being hyper-focused and product-driven they were able to score clients like Hillary Clinton and the NFL as first customers. In this episode, I’ll talk to Nadav about how he reached out to big names, turned them into customers, and built a product with innate virality. • Check out Riverside: https://www.riverside.fm • Follow Nadav on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nadavkeyson

In just two years, Ben Tossell (@bentossell) grew Makerpad to over 10,000 users, $400,000 ARR and got bought by Zapier in a deal that became Zapier’s first acquisition. In this episode, I’m going to put Ben’s poker face to the test as I dig into the details of the deal and what it’s like for a founder to go through that process for the first time. Learn about no-code: https://www.makerpad.co/Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@bentossell

David Perell (@david_perell) is someone whose own friends told him he wasn’t a good writer. By his own account, he was “horrible” at it. In this episode, we talk about why he decided to get really, really good at writing instead of just giving up and what specific techniques made it possible. Learn how to write online: https://writeofpassage.school/Follow David on Twitter: https://twitter.com/@david_perellListen to David’s podcast: https://perell.com/podcast/

Sabba Keynejad (@sab8a) is the founder of one of the fastest growing companies that I've ever featured on the show. In this episode we get into exactly how he used YouTube, side project marketing, Reddit and even getting banned from Qoura to grow Veed.io.Edit videos using Veed: https://www.veed.io/Follow Sabba on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sab8a

Kevin Lee (@kevinleeme) has run the premiere community for product managers online and is now working on something brand new, but it's not what you'd expect. He's working on noodles. Better, healthier, instant noodles. So in this episode, we just get really personal. We talk about our own health and wellness. We even talk about deathbed regrets and how to avoid them by working on the things that actually bring you joy.Shop healthy ramen: https://immieats.com/Follow Kevin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevinleeme

Jay Clouse (@jayclouse) first popped onto my radar when he posted on Indie Hackers that he sold his community to Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income. You typically don't see communities get acquired because they're often built around a single individual and frequently they get worse as they grow instead if better. In this episode, we'll find out how Jay not only grows this thing, but also holds the ship together as it scales.Follow Jay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jayclouseJay's Web Site: https://jayclouse.com/Read about the acquisition here: https://jayclouse.com/unreal-collective-acquired-smart-passive-income/Check out SPI: https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/

So many kids decide to become software engineers because they were captivated by video games at a young age, and they dreamed of crafting that magic themselves someday. More often than not, they end up working at Facebook or Google building web apps and selling ads. But not Dave Geddes. Dave (@geddski) followed his passion, quit his lucrative job, and is making a living creating games that teach people to code. In this episode, Dave and I talk about the moment that led to him leaving his high-paying job, the launch of his first game, and how he's reaching tens of thousands of people.Try Flexbox Zombies for free: https://flexboxzombies.comFollow Dave on Twitter: https://twitter.com/geddskiCheck out all Dave's games: https://mastery.gamesIndie Hackers can use code "Indiehackers" for 30% off Grid Critters: https://gridcritters.com

When Yaro Bagriy (@yarobagriy) set to learn about paid newsletters, he was disappointed by what he found. So in true indie hacker fashion, he decided to create his own learning resource to teach others like him — Newsletter Crew: a podcast, blog, and community all about the paid newsletter ecosystem. In this episode, Yaro and I discuss some of the most inspiring stories from newsletter creators, Yaro's process for coming up with paid newsletter ideas, and why indie hackers building newsletter software may stand to gain more than anyone else.Sign up for Yaro's community for newsletter authors: https://www.newslettercrew.comFollow Yaro on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yarobagriyListen to Yaro's podcast on paid newsletters: https://newslettercrew.com/tag/podcastSubscribe to Yaro's personal newsletter: https://www.yarobagriy.com Check out Yaro's tool for growing your newsletter: https://referralkit.co

When Li Jin (@ljin18) was young, she dreamed of going to school to pursue her passion in the arts. Instead she settled for little old Harvard, because common wisdom said there was no money in the passions. Today, the world has changed. The passion economy is stronger than ever, and Li is its patron saint. People are making millions of dollars on passion economy platforms like Shopify, Etsy, Teachable, TikTok, and Substack. And founders are creating millions of jobs by creating these platforms to empower other people. In this episode, Li and I discuss how she's indie hacking in the passion economy space despite being a venture capitalist; power-law distributions and their role in wealth inequality; and her massive ambition to expand the middle class.Sign up for Li's course on the creator economy: https://www.CreatorEconomyCourse.comEmail Li about raising money for your passion economy startup: [email protected] Li on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ljin18Side Hustle Stack, Li's platform of passion economy platforms: https://www.sidehustlestack.coFollow Side Hustle Stack on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sidehustlestack

When the founders of WhereBy.Us set out to connect people in their city, they weren't sure where to start. Holding events? Press conferences? Opening a bar? Local news? In this episode, Chris Sopher (@cksopher) and Bruce Pinchbeck (@BrucePinchbeck) share the story behind how they created local media brands in cities across the country, and then used their learnings to spin out a SaaS product for newsletters.The New Tropic: https://thenewtropic.comThe Evergrey: https://theevergrey.comLetterhead: https://www.tryletterhead.comFollow Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cksopherFollow Bruce on Twitter: https://twitter.com/brucepinchbeck

Evan Britton (@Evan_Britton) runs a massive website focused on digital celebrities called Famous Birthdays. It gets multiple billions of pageviews a year, has dozens of employees, and he bootstrapped it to profitability without raising a dime from investors. They key to Evan's approach is his laser focus. He says no to almost everything, including the most obvious of opportunities. Instead he prefers to "stay in his lane." He'd rather make one thing great than do a mediocre job at 4 or 5 different things. The story of how Evan made Famous Birthdays great is one of fame, focus, ambition, patience, and just a little bit of luck.Evan's platform for digital celebrities: https://www.famousbirthdays.comFollow Evan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Evan_Britton