Indie Hackers

I hopped on the Run With It podcast with Chris and Eathan to share 3 business ideas for indie hackers to run with in 2021. Two are brand new, and one was inspired by my recent episode on bundling with Tyler King. Subscribe to Run With It: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run-with-it-business-ideas-from-successful-entrepreneurs/id1477133536

Jordan O'Connor (@jdnoc) is one of the more impressive solo founders I've had on the podcast. Saddled with student loan debt and eager to take care of his growing family, Jordan embarked on a years-long journey to learn as much as he could and help everyone in his path. In this episode, we talk about how he developed the skills to build a $38,000/month SaaS business all on his own, and the importance of understanding that not only *can* your business help people, but it *has* to in order to succeed.Closet Tools, Jordan's SaaS for selling more on Poshmark: https://closet.toolsFollow Jordan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jdnoc

Tyler King (@TylerMKing) and I discuss how indie hackers can take advantage of the current cycle of bundling and unbundling. What is bundling, anyway? Why does it present an opportunity for new business ideas? How can fledgling founders take part in what seems like a game for big companies? And who's already doing a good job of this?Startup To Last, Tyler's podcast about building lasting, profitable SaaS businesses: https://www.startuptolast.com@TylerMKing, follow Tyler on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TylerMKingLess Annoying CRM, Tyler's CRM with 22k paying customers and $3M ARR: https://www.lessannoyingcrm.comIndie Hackers Episode #128, the full story behind Tyler's CRM business: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/128-tyler-king-of-less-annoying-crm

I've been procrastinating sharing my own story on the Indie Hackers podcast for years now. But when Ben and David (the co-hosts of the Acquired podcast) asked if they could interview me, it was impossible to put it off any longer. They're among the best podcast storytellers I know, so before you do anything, search for "Acquired" in your podcast player and subscribe to their excellent show! In this episode, Ben and David walk through my entire startup history, including my early childhood and college years. We talk about the creation of Indie Hackers, how I got it off the ground, and deep dive on the Stripe acquisition. I hope you enjoy it!Follow Courtland on Twitter: https://twitter.com/csallenFmail, Courtland's first startup to check your Gmail in Facebook: https://mashable.com/2007/10/02/fmailSyphir, Courtland's second startup, advanced Gmail filters: https://www.engadget.com/2010-07-16-syphir-gives-you-more-gmail-filtering-options.htmlTaskforce, Courtland's YC startup, convert emails into tasks: https://techcrunch.com/2011/02/16/taskforce-helps-you-organize-your-inbox-and-become-a-taskmasterv1 of Indie Hackers, v1 of Indie Hackers on its launch day in August 2016: https://web.archive.org/web/20160811221549if_/https://indiehackers.com/businessesIndie Hackers launch on HN, Hacker News launch post for Indie Hackers: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12269425Acquired by Stripe, announcement of IH being acquired by Stripe: https://www.indiehackers.com/blog/acquired-by-stripeIndie Hackers acquisition on HN, Hacker News post when IH was acquired by Stripe: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14090063

Dan Pierson's (@DanPierson) first entrepreneurial experience was a walk in the park — he was making $10k/week as a 23-year-old college grad, thinking life was easy. But when his business came to a halt, it set Dan on a 5 year walk through the "entrepreneurial desert" to find a business that could work. In this episode, Dan and I talk persisting through hardship, new ideas for indie hackers to help shape the future of work, and how he made $60k in a week by selling services before products.Unsettled, Dan's business helping shape the future of work: https://beunsettled.coFollow Dan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/danpiersonRead Dan's writing on Medium: https://danpierson.medium.comGather, a virtual space to gather: https://gather.townBranch, a virtual HQ for remote teams: https://branch.ggGrain, transcribe Zoom calls: https://grain.coFirst Base, physical equipment for remote employees: https://www.firstbasehq.com

Chris Oliver (@excid3) is a solo founder who recently passed $1M in revenue from his suite of projects targeted at Rails developers. He's had a wild journey, from being so broke he had to get a job, to getting to the point where he was literally living the 4-hour workweek while making a full-time salary. In this episode, Chris and I discuss the tradeoffs of different indie hacker business models, the right path for building and selling to an audience, and how to use combinations to come up with unique ideas.GoRails, Chris' Ruby on Rails screencasting business: https://gorails.comJumpstart, Chris' pre-built features for Rails apps: https://jumpstartrails.comHatchBox, Chris' SaaS to build, deploy, and manage Rails apps: https://www.hatchbox.ioFollow Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/excid3

Mubashar Iqbal (@mubashariqbal) is the most prolific indie hacker I know. He's got nearly 100 side projects under his belt, and more than a few of them are serving the burgeoning podcast space. In this episode, Mubs and I discuss opportunities for indie hackers to serve the podcasting market, what Mubs is working on in the space, and whether or not Spotify is building the Death Star.Pod Hunt, Product Hunt for podcasts: https://podhunt.appPodcast Ping, uptime monitoring built for podcasters: https://podcastping.comPodcast Hosting Review, reviews of popular podcast hosting platforms: https://podcasthosting.review"I Worked On…", a list of all the projects Mubs has worked on: https://iworkedon.com/@mubashariqbalFollow Mubs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mubashariqbal

David Hsu (@dvdhsu) was able to grow Retool to almost a million dollars a year in revenue before making a single hire. Rather than stopping there and resting on their accomplishments, Retool set an even more ambitious goal: to literally change the way developers write code. In this episode, David and I discuss the benefits and the perils of deciding to "go big," the keys to finding product-market fit and word-of-mouth growth, and opportunities that founders can take advantage of in the low-code space.Retool, David's low-code SaaS for building internal tools very quickly: https://retool.comFollow David on Twitter, even though he has yet to ever tweet: https://twitter.com/dvdhsu

At some point, Tara Reed (@TaraReed_) decided that she didn't want to build a funded, scale-at-all-costs, move-fast-and-break-things type of business. The trouble was, by the time she realized this, she was already headed down that path with investors, employees, and high expectations. In this episode, I talk to Tara about quitting one business to pursue a new idea, bootstrapping her way to $5M in annual revenue, and what she's learned about the future of no-code from teaching others to build no-code businesses.Apps Without Code, Tara's business for teaching people to build businesses and apps without code: https://www.appswithoutcode.comFollow Tara on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TaraReed_Idea to Income in 60 Days, Tara's free webinar: https://www.appswithoutcodetraining.com/ewwebinar-1/?utm_campaign=indie-hackers

Traf (@traf) is a designer and a serial indie hacker. Just over a month ago, he made over $100,000 in a week. No, not by selling a course or a book to some email list he spent months growing. He did it by whipping up some icons and putting them online. It barely took him two hours. In this episode, Traf and I discuss how to get lucky by both spotting and capitalizing on opportunities, the importance of no-code tools and a clear schedule to help you execute quickly when the time is right, and the power of permissionless marketing for reaching audiences much bigger than your own.James' app for publishing your Notion docs to the web: https://super.soFollow James on Twitter: https://twitter.com/trafThe iOS 14 icons James Created: https://icons.tr.af"Six Figures in 6 Days", James' popular blog post: https://tr.af/6The Boring Token, James' digital currency: https://boringtoken.com

Rob Walling (@robwalling) and I discuss the state of SaaS in October 2020. What are the newest trends? Who's getting ahead right now, what kinds of companies are they starting, and what channels are they taking advantage of? Is SaaS too competitive, and if not, how do you pick the right niche when it all seems so saturated? Are info products, paid newsletters, and communities a better path for indie hackers than SaaS? And do you really need to listen to this constant advice to build an audience?

BONUS EPISODE from the Run With It podcast: Restaurants have been hit hard during COVID-19. Listen to us brainstorm ways Lindsay and Alessandro can leverage their wine club and community to support their workforce and recover lost income.Subscribe here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/run-with-it-business-ideas-from-successful-entrepreneurs/id1477133536

When Daniel Vassallo (@dvassallo) quit his job to become an indie hacker, he was making over $500,000 per year. It could have been a disastrous choice. Instead, less than two years later, he's built a suite of products that most founders would envy. In this episode we discuss how Daniel minimizes risk by running multiple projects simultaneously, how he turns time into a friend instead of an enemy by lowering his costs, and how a lifestyle-first business mindset can make you both richer and happier.The Good Parts of AWS, Daniel's eBook: https://dvassallo.gumroad.com/#MsVlGEveryone Can Build a Twitter Audience, Daniel's video course: https://dvassallo.gumroad.com/#PBkrOUserbase, Daniel's platform for building end-to-end encrypted web apps: https://userbase.comFollow Daniel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dvassallo

After raising money from VCs, Aleem Mawani (@aloo) chose a path that most VCs would consider a failure: to turn his company, Streak, into a large, profitable, and lasting software business. To do so, he'd have to pivot away from a failing idea, start charging customers who'd always been free, and bet everything on a risky platform controlled by another company. But today he's never been happier. In this episode, Aleem and I discuss when to work harder vs when to call it quits, how to pick the right community to surround yourself with, and how he chose a SaaS idea that scaled to millions in revenue.Streak, Aleem's CRM for Gmail: https://www.streak.comFollow Aleem on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aloo

BONUS EPISODE from the Indie Bites podcast: "I first met Sabba at a pub in London when Veed was just an early beta product making $0. Fast forward a few years, Veed is now making over $100,000 a month and growing rapidly. It's well-executed product in a growing market, but that hasn't stopped Sabba and the team firing on all cylinders to grow the business. I talk with Sabba for 15 minutes about how they came up with the idea, how they've managed to grow so quickly and advice for indie hackers that are looking to go full-time on their business."Subscribe here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/indie-bites/id1530577069

When Przemek Chojecki (@prz_chojecki) had had enough of startup failure, he decided to interview successful founders to see what he could learn from them. But instead of doing it by hand, he built his own "A.I. journalist" to do it for him, and interviewed 1000 founders in under three months. That's just one of the many ways he's found to use cutting-edge A.I. to be more productive as a founder. The best part? Normal indie hackers can do this, too. In this episode, Przemek and I discuss the explosion of accessible A.I. tech, how indie hackers can use it to accomplish more with fewer people, and how Przemek himself is using it to earn thousands of dollars per month.Contentize, Przemek's platform to turn raw data into marketing content via AI: https://contentyze.comPetaCrunch, Przemek's AI-powered media company: https://petacrunch.comfollow Przemek on Twitter: https://twitter.com/prz_chojecki

What if you spent years growing your business to millions in revenue, then lost it all overnight? It's every founder's worst nightmare, but for Aline Lerner (@alinelernerLLC) it was reality. When COVID-19 hit and companies stopped hiring, Aline's business Interviewing.io suddenly lost its main source of revenue. She found herself "staring into the abyss" and looking bankruptcy in this face. In episode, Aline and I discuss what it's like to almost die as a company, how to be scrappy when the situation calls for it, and the brilliant new business model that brought her company back from the brink against all odds.Aline's website: https://interviewing.ioListeners can get $30 off their first practice interview on Interviewing.io by using code IIO2020.Follow Aline on Twitter: @alinelernerLLC

When Dru Riley (@DruRly) quit his job, he was more than ready for his mini retirement. Little did he know that it would take him over three years to make his first dollar as an indie hacker. In this episode, Dru and I discuss the difficulty of finding an idea with product-market-founder fit, the latest trends in new markets for indie hackers, and how he was able to grow his newsletter Trends.vc from nothing to $20,000/mo in under a year.

"Build an audience first" might be the most common advice given to indie hackers. But how do you build an audience at the highest levels? In other words, how do you build an actual media company? To find out, I needed to talk to a pro. Alex Wilhelm (@alex) the Senior Editor at TechCrunch. He's also built two news organizations from the ground up — Mattermark and Crunchbase News — the latter of which published thousands of articles and broke over a million monthly pageviews. These are numbers that could easily turn a mediocre indie hacker business into a successful one. In this episode, Alex and I discuss the strategies and principles that differentiate successful media companies from half-hearted content marketing efforts, and drive millions of pageviews in the process.

Nathan Latka (@NathanLatka) believes we've entered a new world where the most scarce thing any founder can compete for is not funding, but people's attention. So after selling his first business in 2015, Nathan made a surprising pivot from SaaS and started… a podcast. Then he wrote a book. And launched a magazine. In his eyes, nobody should be building SaaS products until they've built a media brand. In this episode, Nathan and I discuss how he's built up an audience, his tactics for earning millions of dollars in sponsorship revenue, and how he's capitalizing on the attention he's earned with his new product Founderpath.

When Vincent Woo (@fulligin) first started CoderPad, he was certain his idea was a good one. But he still needed to put in the work to prove it. Seven years later, after growing CoderPad and selling it for tens of millions of dollars, it's clear he was right. In this episode, Vincent and I sit down to discuss why bootstrapping is easier than taking the VC path, how it feels to grow and sell such a successful SaaS business, and what exactly he's doing with all that money and free time.

Just because you built it doesn't mean people will come. And just because you got press for it doesn't mean the people who came will stay. As the founder of PR startup JustReachOut.io, Dmitry Dragilev (@dragilev) knows these lessons well. With his website, Dmitry helps early stage founders not only get PR wins, but capitalize on the gains for the long term. In this episode, Dmitry shares his knowledge of the most important things to do (and avoid) in your quest for press as a startup founder.

Jonathan Little (@JonathanLittle) got his start by making millions at the poker table, and then found a way to turn his favorite card game into an online coaching empire that brings in millions of dollars per year. His "secret" is a combination of consistency and love: Jonathan has authored countless books, YouTube videos, quizzes, webinars, podcast episodes, and more, and part of why he's able to work so hard is because he genuinely loves poker. In this episode, Jonathan and I talk about intentionally develop skills with a specific future in mind, how to find purpose in your career, and ways to parlay success from one career into another.

If you want to build a successful business, you have to be ready to work 24/7/365 to have a shot at success… or do you? Both Natalie Nagele and DHH bootstrapped their internet businesses to millions in revenue, yet they took different paths to get there, with DHH only putting in a small number of hours vs Natalie who ate, slept, and breathed her job as a founder in the early days. In this episode we discuss whether or not DHH's approach is truly repeatable for others trying to get their businesses off the ground, the limits to human productivity and happiness, and the role that society and hustle culture in shaping how we feel about our work as founders.

When Sam Eaton hears a new idea, it's all he can do to contain his excitement and dive right into the code. So when his sister told him she wanted to start a cookie delivery business, there was never any question that he'd apply his indie hacker skills to help out however he could. And to great effect — today they're selling hundreds of thousand of dollars worth of cookies every month. In this episode, Sam and I discuss the advantages of target your local community as a niche, ways to leverage scarcity and social proof to increase sales, and how software engineers can best apply their skills to selling products in the real world.

Greg Isenberg (@gregisenberg) has spent years practicing the art and and studying the science behind building hit viral products. Today he's using his skills to build a communities design firm called Late Checkout, based on his theory that the best products come from unbundling parts of much larger communities and social networks. In this episode, Greg and I discuss the work that goes into building viral products, how to use niches to gain an advantage as an indie hacker, and why the massive growth of large platforms like Twitter and Reddit has created a short window of time for great business ideas.

From tourism to transit, the travel industry has taken a bigger hit than any other during the coronavirus pandemic. Despite this, Scott Keyes (@smkeyes), the founder of Scott's Cheap Flights, has managed to stay optimistic. In this episode, Scott and I discuss the frightening state of the travel industry and the economy as a whole, why a curated product is superior to a comprehensive one, and the keys to building a 7-figure paid newsletter that's capable of weathering even the darkest of storms.

Rob Walling (@robwalling) spent years bootstrapping successful SaaS businesses, and today he's helping others do the same as the founder of TinySeed, the first accelerator for bootstrappers. In this episode, Rob and I discuss common misconceptions around fundraising, how to succeed as a founder from an investor's point of view, and why now is the best time to be an indie hacker.

We've heard a lot about what it's like to build a company from scratch, but what's life like after you've made it? In this episode, Steli Efti (@Steli) returns to the show for a casual chat about his experience being the CEO of a profitable and growing SaaS business for years. We talk about the importance of "building the house you want to live in," how to guide a company through its awkward teenage years, and how Steli is planning to get through the pandemic and the looming recession.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/162-steli-efti-of-close

Sam Parr (@theSamParr) returns to the podcast for the second time. You may remember his journey as the midwesterner that went from running a hot dog stand to creating an 8-figure ad-supported newsletter. In this episode, Sam shares how he's now on track to build an 8-figure paid newsletter — Trends.co — and how other indie hackers can do the same. We talk growth strategies for media businesses, advertising vs subscription revenue, and why learning to write persuasively is the most important skill any founder can have.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/161-sam-parr-of-the-hustle

Bram Kanstein (@bramk) has more experience validating, building, and launching online products than almost anyone, and more success than most. One of his earlier creations, Startup Stash, still retains its title as the most-upvoted Product Hunt submission of all time. Today, Bram spends just as much time teaching others as he does making himself. In this episode, Bram and I talk about the importance of being an early adopter, the best strategies for finding new ideas, and why "mindset" is the first thing he teaches in his new course, No-Code MVP.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/160-bram-kanstein-of-no-code-mvp

Tomas Pueyo (@tomaspueyo) is the author of the the mega-viral article "Coronavirus: Why You Must Act Now," which was shared by over 40 million people in a single week after it was published in March. He also happens to be an expert on storytelling, and the VP of Growth at a unicorn startup called Course Hero. In this episode, Tomas and I discuss the universal structure of stories as problem-solving devices, why founders and makers should always think about problems first, and how he applied his storytelling and growth marketing skills to write one of the biggest articles of the year.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/159-tomas-pueyo-of-course-hero

Rand Fishkin (@randfish) has been doing something a lot of founders are afraid to do: He's blogging about the coronavirus pandemic directly from his company website, for all his customers to see. And it's working! Not is he providing useful advice for founders and marketers, but he's also setting an example for how others can do this same. In this episode Rand and I sat down to discuss the changing nature of the online conversation around COVID-19, how founders and businesses can communicate effectively and empathetically in this environment, and the most important things to get right when preparing for the looming recession.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/158-rand-fishkin-of-sparktoro

Baird Hall's (@BairdHall) first attempt at starting up didn't go so well. When all was said and done, he'd burned through his savings without finding a working business model, and he and his co-founder were forced to sell the business for parts. In other words: they were ready for round 2. In this episode, Baird explains why he can't stop bootstrapping businesses, why it's important to work together with a great team, and how listening to users helped him grow Wavve and Zubtitle to over $100,000/month in total recurring revenue.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/157-baird-hall-of-wavve

Amy Hoy (@amyhoy) didn't merely survive the 2008 recession: she built multiple profitable online businesses that grew to support her and, eventually, to generate over $1M in annual recurring revenue. Amy and I sat down for a casual conversation (which we livestreamed to YouTube) about the looming recession, how Amy made it through the last one, and how founders should be thinking about their businesses going forward.

Ever since I came across his blog years ago, Brian Balfour (@bbalfour) has been one of the most influential people for how I think about growing online businesses. Not only is Brian a successful blogger, but he's also served as the VP of Growth at HubSpot and founded four companies. His most recent business, Reforge, generates millions in revenue helping tech professionals boost their skills. In this episode, Brian explains why it's crucial to have a visual model for growth, shares his models for growing Reforge, and discusses why sometimes the best thing you can do is the exact opposite of what everyone else is.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/155-brian-balfour-of-reforge

Customers will lie to you. So will your friends and family. It's one of the most surprising things you discover when you talk to people about what you're building. Rob Fitzpatrick (@robfitz) should know. He spent years making a habit of talking to customers, only to learn the wrong lessons and have his startup flame out anyway. There had to be a better way. In his book, The Mom Test, Rob shares his strategies for talking to customers the right way, gathering accurate feedback, and even finding people to talk to in the first place. And in this episode, Rob and I dive deeper into each of these topics.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/154-rob-fitzpatrick-of-the-mom-test

William Candillon (@wcandillon) didn't plan to become an indie hacker when he first started making coding videos on YouTube. He just wanted to learn more efficiently and hold himself accountable. Three years later, he's built an audience of tens of thousands of viewers, and he's making over $6,000/month teaching what he's learned about React Native. In this episode, Will and I talk about why building in public, sharing transparently, and being vulnerable make it easier to succeed as an indie hacker.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/153-quick-chat-with-william-candillon

Transistor.fm founder Justin Jackson (@mijustin) goes head-to-head with Earnest Capital investor Tyler Tringas (@tylertringas) on the topic of picking the right market. The decisions you make when you're just getting started on a project carry the most weight and might affect your life for years to come. How big of a market should you target? How important of a problem should you solve? What does Justin mean when advises working on a "main dish" instead of a "side dish?" And how do a serial founder's views on this topic differ from an investor's?Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/152-tyler-tringas-and-justin-jackson

Sergio Mattei (@matteing) might be the most energetic founder I've had on the podcast. After discovering the world of online maker communities, he built his own from scratch—Makerlog—and grew it into something special through his passion for sharing and celebrating others' achievements. In this episode, Sergio and I discuss the importance of finding balance in all things as a founder: gathering insights from users vs your personal vision; seeking feedback from the market vs chasing validation from other makers; and getting things done on a consistent basis without letting productivity hacks and hustle culture overshadow the people and things you love outside of your business.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/151-sergio-mattei-of-makerlog

Jen Yip (@lunchbag) is the founder of Lunch Money, a budgeting app that's going head-to-head with big names like Mint and YNAB. The catch? She's a solo founder, doing 100% of the work on her own. In this episode, Jen and I cover the wide breadth of experiences and skills she's gained in order to make this possible, her strategies for working hard enough to catch up with competitors but soft enough to avoid burning herself out, and why she's doing this all as a digital "snowmad" who works overseas during the winter.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/150-jen-yip-of-lunch-money

Greg Rog (@greg_rog) is one of the few indie hackers I know who's actually managed to build a passive income business. His website, LearnUX.io, makes over $10k per month, yet he spends less than a day each month updating the content and answering questions. His secret? A combination of hard work over a sustained period of time, obsessive focus on making a 10x better product, and embracing no-code tools to support automation despite knowing how to code himself. In this episode, Greg walks me through his story, his successes, and his failures, and we discuss why teaching what you know is an underrated path that anyone can embrace.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/149-greg-rog-of-learnux

Nathan Rosidi has bootstrapped his side project, Strata Scratch, to 2500 users and over $1,500 in monthly recurring revenue. In this episode we discuss the lessons he's learned from past failures, how to prioritize what to work on when you're getting ideas from so many different people, and why it's both a blessing and a curse to be able to take things slowly as an indie hacker.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/148-quick-chat-with-nathan-rosidi

Cory Zue (@czue) made over $26,000 in profit from multiple side projects in 2019, including a printable place card business and a Django-powered SaaS template. In this episode Cory explains how his journey began by taking a sabbatical from work, he lays out his plan to reach financial independence by 2023, and he shares some tips for ensuring your indie hacker journey is an enjoyable one the whole way through.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/147-cory-zue-of-place-card-me

Alexandria Procter (@alexprocter101) is the last person you would ever describe as timid. When the bureaucracy at her college in South Africa failed to address a massive student housing crisis, Alex taught took things into her own hands, learned to code, and created a startup to help. In this episode, Alex and I talk about the personality traits and the economic realities that drive people to take risks and solve problems. We attempt to answer the question, "What do founders in the developing world have that founders elsewhere do not, and vice versa?" Alex also shares the incredible story behind how her startup, DigsConnect, has grown to find over 70,000 beds for students in just two years.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/146-alex-procter-of-digsconnect

Jane Portman (@uibreakfast) is no stranger to making money online. Not only has she run a successful consultancy for nearly a decade, but she's also published 4 books and become a leading authority on UX and product design. So when Jane decided to start a SaaS company—Userlist— she was surprised to learn just slow and difficult the process can be. In this episode, Jane and I discuss the variables that makes companies faster or slower to grow, the importance of nailing your customer messaging so people understand what it is that you do, and her tips for how other founders can stick through the tough times to turn their side projects into successful SaaS businesses.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/145-jane-portman-of-userlist

Vlad Magdalin (@callmevlad) might just be the most principled founder I've had on the podcast. "When it came to making hard decisions, I've leaned more on my morality rather than my business sense. That's what I regret the least." Sticking to his heart has paid off. Not only has he built a company that's changing and improving lives by the millions, but he's also grown it to millions in revenue and 155 employees. In this episode Vlad and I talk about the ups and downs of raising money from investors, the impact of building something that empowers your customers to create, and the compounding benefits of focusing on people and relationships over profit and product.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/144-vlad-magdalin-of-webflow

Pete Macleod (@petecodes) didn't have a cushy fallback plan when he set out to become an indie hacker. Eight months ago he was unemployed, and a few months after that he was working a minimum wage job with dangerous clientele. He knew figured his best bet would be to strike out on his own: "I don't really have anything to lose at this point, so I suppose I'll just go for it." Today he runs No CS Degree, a profitable online business that helps aspiring software engineers who don't have the stereotypical credentials. In this episode, Pete and I discuss his remarkable ability to get help from others, his techniques for rapidly learning how to create a successful company, and the reasons it was crucial for him to solve a problem he was passionate about.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/143-pete-codes-of-no-cs-degree

When Dmitry Dragilev (@dragilev) looked at the personal lives of his business heroes, he didn't like what he found. "Horrible family lives. Just horrible personal relationships." He knew he wanted something different, so he made the conscious decision to prioritize his family life and build his business around that. In this episode, Dmitry and I talk about how he was able to bootstrap from $0 to $30,000/month in revenue working just 25 hours a week, as well as how his business JustReachOut.io helps indie hackers do PR with less time, effort, and money.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/142-dmitry-dragilev-of-just-reach-out

When Cesar Kuriyama (@cesarkuriyama) first got started, he had nothing but a dream of freedom, an app idea, and a rapidly declining bank account. When every dev shop in New York City turned him down, things looked dire. But through sheer persistence and a penchant to seize every opportunity in front of him, Cesar managed to create an experience that people loved, give a talk on the TED main stage, launch a successful Kickstarter campaign, bootstrap his app to millions of dollars in revenue, and even get it featured in a Jon Favreau movie. In this episode we break down Cesar's improbable path to success, and in the process discover why you should never give up as a founder.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/141-cesar-kuriyama-of-1-second-everyday