Two decades as a solo indie Mac dev

11 snips

Jun 10, 2022

Jesse Grosjean, a seasoned indie Mac developer since 2004, shares insights from his journey creating apps like WriteRoom and TaskPaper. He discusses the evolution of his products and the philosophy of usability driving his designs. Jesse reveals the intricacies of navigating the App Store and his evolving pricing strategies amidst market changes. He compares handwritten vs tool-generated Markdown for improved readability and reflects on the unique challenges faced by solo developers in maintaining a distinct identity in the crowded Mac app landscape.

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ANECDOTE

Solo Dev Life

Jesse Grosjean, a solo indie Mac dev since 2004, prioritizes programming.
He finds visual design appealing but dislikes other business aspects, like marketing.

INSIGHT

Software Philosophy

Jesse Grosjean's apps (TaskPaper, WriteRoom, Bike) share a common philosophy.
They emphasize plain text, focus, simplicity, and distraction-free design.

INSIGHT

Plain Text Power

Fancy interfaces often hinder basic productivity compared to plain text editors.
Core computer magic lies in simple functionalities like editing and copy-pasting.

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This week Jesse Grosjean joins us to talk about his career as a solo indie Mac dev. Since 2004 Jesse has been building Mac apps under the company name Hog Bay Software producing hits such as WriteRoom, Taskpaper, and now Bike. We talk through the evolution of his apps, how he considers new features and improvements, why he chose and continues to choose the Mac platform, his business model and pricing for his apps, and what it takes to build his business around macOS and the driving force of the App Store.

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Featuring:

Jesse Grosjean – Website, GitHub, X
Adam Stacoviak – Website, GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X
Jerod Santo – GitHub, LinkedIn, Mastodon, X

Show Notes:

Editor’s note: Technically Jesse has been doing Hog Bay Software for 18 years (since 2004). We rounded up to 20 years (2 decades) for the title’s sake.

Something missing or broken? PRs welcome!