When Chris Savage (@csavage) and his co-founder started their business, they were convinced that they'd be able to sell it within six months. They never would've guessed that 13 years later, not only would they still working on Wistia, but the business would be $17M in debt. In this episode we talk about pivoting from a bad idea to a good one, prioritizing long-term thinking from the very beginning, and how Wistia turned $500k in losses into $6M in profit in a single year. Transcript, speaker in...
Aug 19, 2019•1 hr 4 min
In the early days of his business HostiFi, it seemed liked the deck was stacked against founder Reilly Chase (@_rchase_). From encountering frustrating roadblocks while he learned to code, to getting banned from forums where his customers hunt out, everything he tried was an uphill struggle. Today, however, just one year after launching, he's pushed through and reached the milestone of $100,000 in ARR as a one-person startup. Reilly came on the podcast to talk about keeping expectations low in t...
Aug 16, 2019•33 min
Sam Parr (@TheSamParr) describes himself as a midwestern small business owner who discovered the Internet, and his journey from running a hot dog stand to building a media empire seems to prove that. His current business, The Hustle, generates 8 figures in annual revenue from newsletter advertising alone, a feat Sam attributes to great copywriting, relentless experimentation, and the massively underrated power of email. In this episode we talk about how founders can build profitable businesses b...
Aug 12, 2019•54 min
Joe Howard (@josephhhoward) is the founder of WP Buffs, a productized service business in the WordPress space that he bootstrapped from $0 to over $70,000/month in revenue. We had a quick chat about how Joe launched his business and found a paying customer in just a few days, how to make more money by raising your prices, and why it's important to keep things simple as a founder. Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/107-quick-chat-with-joe-howard...
Aug 09, 2019•32 min
As the community manager for Product Hunt, Ben Tossell (@bentossell) saw over 80,000 new product launches and met hundreds of inspirational makers. So when learned that he could use a new breed of tools to make his own products without learning to code, it felt like unlocking a new superpower. Many dozens of apps and Ben created Makerpad, where he creates tutorials and collect resources to help others like him become no-code makers. In this episode we talk about how Ben grew Makerpad to over $10...
Aug 05, 2019•51 min
Jason Fried (@jasonfried) doesn't intend to be controversial or to change people's minds, but he seems to end up doing both of these regardless. Since launching Basecamp in 2004, he's grown the business to tens of millions of dollars in annual *profit*, and gathered a collection of strong and often counterintuitive beliefs along the way. In this episode we discuss how to take advantage of building an independent company, when to focus on a product and when to let it go, how to learn from the pas...
Jul 29, 2019•1 hr 10 min
Dianna Allen (@diannamallen) is the creator of Budget Meal Planner. In just two months, she's gone from having an idea to getting thousands of signups, articles on Lifehacker, and three #1 milestone posts on Indie Hackers. In this episode Dianna shares the story behind how she came up with her idea, validated it, and got her first users, and we break down what's made it so successful so far. Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/104-quick-chat-with-diann...
Jul 26, 2019•28 min
Rather than pursue a traditional career, Hiten Shah (@hnshah) decided to follow the choose-your-own-adventure life of being a founder. Since then he's launched more than 30 products, including five multimillion dollar products and a few spectacular failures as well. In this episode we talk about embracing and reflecting on failure, making better business decisions through research, the importance of sharing and teaching what you've learned, and how to make sure you're working on what matters. Tr...
Jul 23, 2019•1 hr 9 min
Pat Walls (@thepatwalls) joined the podcast to talk about quitting his job and going full-time on his bootstrapped business (Starter Story), how he launched a second business (Pigeon) and found his first 10 paying customers in under a month, and his strategies for juggling multiple projects at the same time. Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/102-quick-chat-with-pat-walls
Jul 19, 2019•36 min
Eric Zhang dropped out of school to pursue his startup, got accepted to Y Combinator, and found traction in the open source community. But when he found himself no longer excited to show up to the office, he realized something crucial was missing with his business: a workable business model. In this episode Eric and I discuss his decision to quit his startup and how he ended up helping grow a bootstrapped business to over $100MM in revenue in an industry rife with well-funded competitors. Transc...
Jul 12, 2019•1 hr 6 min
After leaving his post as employee #2 at Pinterest, a teenage Sahil Lavingia (@shl) raised millions in funding from high-profile Silicon Valley to build a unicorn startup that could change the world — Gumroad. Today he lives in tiny Provo, Utah, spends much of his time learning to write and oil paint, and runs Gumroad as an indie business with the goal of making himself happier. In this episode we talk about what happened in between, and the lessons Sahil learned that can help every indie hacker...
Jul 05, 2019•2 hr 4 min
Although Aline Lerner (@alinelernerllc) graduated from MIT and worked as a software engineer for years, some of her most impactful learnings came from the time she spent working as a cook and moonlighting as a recruiter. Putting all of her experiences together, she realized that hiring in tech could be so much better, and so she started Interviewing.io, a company that has since grown to millions in revenue. In this episode we talk about finding the activation energy to get started, juggling the ...
Jun 28, 2019•1 hr 13 min
Although Adam Wathan (@adamwathan) dropped out of college (twice!), he's one of the most voracious learners to ever appear on the podcast, and he's built a wildly successful business for himself by teaching others what he's learned. We cover Adam's journey from college dropout to software engineer, the lessons he learned from his first "failed" business, how he creates free content to build an audience, and the techniques he's used repeatedly to drive millions of dollars worth of demand for his ...
Jun 21, 2019•2 hr 34 min
Despite being an introvert, Rosie Sherry (@rosiesherry) knew that she needed to build a community that software testers deserve: the Ministry of Testing. In this episode, we discuss how Rosie created a community so tight-knit that people have its logo tattoo'd on their bodies, how she grew it to $1.2M in revenue without relying on ads, and how she did it all while raising and homeschooling 5 kids. Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/097-rosie-sherry-of...
Jun 14, 2019•1 hr 7 min
When Ben Orenstein (@r00k) decided he wanted to start a company, the biggest risk in his mind was a hurdle he'd already cleared: not deciding to start in the first place. In this episode we talk about the early days: how Ben met his two co-founders, came up with an idea, sold over $8000 in pre-sales, and grew revenue to ramen profitability, all before launching their product. Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/096-ben-orenstein-of-tuple...
Jun 07, 2019•1 hr 2 min
Through his consultancy, thoughtbot, Chad Pytel (@cpytel) might be the only first-time founder who's turned hundreds of ideas into actual SaaS products that people love. In this episode, Chad shares his thoughts on the advantages (and disadvantages) of consulting vs building scalable SaaS products, how he grew thoughtbot from nothing into a 100-person consultancy on track to generate $20MM in revenue this year, and the lessons he's learned from 15 years as a first-time founder. Transcript, speak...
May 31, 2019•1 hr 1 min
If it isn't fun, Allie LeFevere (@AllieLeFevere) doesn't want anything to do with it. It just so happens that, in a world full of undifferentiated products and fear-based marketing, fun and humor are the missing ingredients that founders need to set their brands apart. In this episode, Allie shares the fundamentals behind solid brand marketing that every early-stage founder should know, how to sell more (and have a good time doing it) by using fun to connect with your customers, and the things s...
May 24, 2019•1 hr 22 min
Danielle Baskin (@djbaskin) gets really excited about new ideas. So excited, in fact, that she can't resist bringing them to life by making them into products. Then turning those products into businesses. Then never shutting those businesses down. In this episode, Danielle shares the lessons she's learned starting 23 businesses since 2007 and continuing to run all of them in parallel, indefinitely. Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/093-danielle-baski...
May 17, 2019•1 hr 12 min
Derek Andersen (@DerekjAndersen) and David Spinks (@DavidSpinks) have a lot in common. Each of them felt alone in what they were striving for, brought together like-minded people, and ended up growing communities and building businesses around them. After a string of startup failures and hardships, Derek turned a small support group of entrepreneurs into the global community for founders that is Startup Grind. David turned a small group of community builders into CMX, the premier community for c...
May 03, 2019•1 hr 6 min
Mark Fershteyn (@markfersh) always knew he wanted to start a business, but there was just one problem: He didn't know what that business would be. Of course, this wasn't enough to stop a determined founder in his tracks. And so, fueled by raw optimism and a refusal to lose, Mark embarked on a years-long journey to build a promising business, discovering and overcoming dozens obstacles in the process. In this episode, Mark shares the story behind his business, Recapped: recovering from failures a...
Apr 26, 2019•1 hr 1 min
Natalie Nagele (@natalienagele) is not a fan of following "the rules" when it comes to building her company. In the 18 years since she and her husband Chris started Wildbit, not only have they grown it into a profitable operation that employees over 30 people, but they've done it their way: with remote a team, 32-hour work weeks, numerous product launches, and an obsessive focus on the happiness of their customers and employees. In this episode, Natalie and I dive deep into what's she's learned ...
Apr 19, 2019•1 hr 9 min
Matt Verlaque (@MattVerlaque) is no stranger to hard work. But when he decided to leave his job as a fireman to build a tech business, he embarked on a path of learning and uncertainty very different than the world he'd known. In this interview, Matt tells the story behind how met his cofounder Jake, came up with a business idea, learned how to code, overcame a stagnant business model that wasn't working, and built a profitable business that generates over $65,000/month in revenue as a first-tim...
Apr 12, 2019•1 hr 3 min
Not only has Jason Cohen (@asmartbear) bootstrapped a software company from $0 to over $1M in revenue, but he's done it four times! The stories behind Jason's successes are plastered all over the Internet for anyone to find, so I decided to take a different approach: I skipped Jason's backstory and instead proceeded to squeeze him like a sponge to extract every ounce of advice I possibly could in the hour we had together. The result is a wide-ranging discussion about the best path for reaching y...
Mar 31, 2019•1 hr 9 min
The anonymous "AJ" (@ajlkn) is one of the most prolific and multi-talented creators I've ever had on the podcast. His rare combination of developer expertise, design skills, and product sensibilities have allowed him to release a string of popular products that have racked up millions of users and downloads over the years. Maddeningly, AJ also has a knack for the business side of things, having grown his latest project Carrd to $30,000/mo in revenue as a solo founder and developer. In this episo...
Mar 29, 2019•1 hr 15 min
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 hand...
Mar 22, 2019•2 hr 41 min
Twenty pages into reading his first business book, Peldi Guilizzonni (@peldi) closed it for good and told himself, "This is not for me. I'm never going to start a business. It's insane." Not long after that, he rolled up his sleeves and got started building Balsamiq Mockups, which would go on to employee dozens of people, serve thousands of customers, and generate over $6M per year in revenue. Over ten years later, it's still going strong. Learn about the path Peldi took to get where he is today...
Mar 14, 2019•46 min
"Whenever you work for a big company and they don't help you work on your ambitions, you start doing something on the side. That's what always happens." In this episode, Tim Soulo (@timsoulo) details the winding path he took to quit his job, build his own profitable online businesses, and eventually become the Product Advisor and Chief Marketing Officer of Ahrefs, which generates over $1M in revenue per employee. Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/084...
Mar 08, 2019•1 hr 3 min
"It doesn't necessarily feel that real at times." Dominic Wells (@human_proof) didn't initially set out to create a million-dollar business. However, he was so determined to find a way out of his job teaching English that he would write blog posts on his iPad in between classes. In this episode we dive into Dominic's winding path into building and scaling a profitable Internet business, why affiliate marketing is a great way to break into entrepreneurship for engineers and non-technical founders...
Mar 01, 2019•1 hr 7 min
At first, Rob Walling (@robwalling) didn't know what he wanted to create — he just knew that he was tired of working for other people. After he spent his savings to buy an online business, however, he found himself in a do-or-die situation. In this episode Rob tells the story behind how he dove into the deep end of what would become almost twenty years of building online businesses, culminating in the 8-figure sale of his email marketing company Drip. We also discuss Rob's latest project, TinySe...
Feb 22, 2019•1 hr 7 min
Ajay Goel (@PartTimeSnob) loves to code. He also loves to grow profitable Internet businesses. In 2003, Ajay transitioned from making websites for clients to building his own email marketing application, Jangomail, which he eventually grew to over $5M in annual revenue and sold to a private equity firm. He then retired to a life of luxury, conversation, and relaxation, and lived happily ever after… or did he? In this episode, we dive into the pitfalls of bootstrapping vs fundraising, the strateg...
Feb 11, 2019•1 hr 5 min
