The slow and steady path to growth - Michael Christofides
Dec 6, 2023
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Michael Christofides, founder of PgMustard, shares his unique approach to the indie lifestyle and the reasons behind his commitment to his product despite slow growth. They discuss the importance of picking a market, their early experiences, and customer acquisition strategies. They also explore the advantages of slow and steady growth, finding contentment in your current state, and working with small indie companies and experienced founders.
Michael Christofidas remains committed to his product despite slow growth, finding fulfillment in his work and valuing autonomy and customer appreciation.
PG Mustard operates in a niche market, providing protection against competition but posing challenges in achieving rapid expansion, aligning with Michael's preference for slow and steady growth.
Deep dives
Michael's Commitment to His Product
Michael Christofidas, the founder of PG Mustard, remains committed to his product despite slow growth. He enjoys working on the product, crafting it at his own pace, and finds fulfillment in his work. He values the autonomy and control he has over his own team and is motivated by the positive feedback and appreciation from his customers.
Niche Market and Slow Growth
PG Mustard operates in a niche market focused on Postgres queries. While this niche provides protection against competition, it also poses challenges in terms of growth. The spread of the market and the nature of the target audience make it harder to achieve rapid expansion. However, Michael prefers slow and steady growth, which aligns with his long-term vision for the business and his passion for serving valuable customers.
Finding Joy in the Indie Lifestyle
Michael's enjoyment of the indie lifestyle stems from his ability to work on his own product, set his own pace, and maintain a healthy work-life balance. While he may not be making as much money as he could at the moment, he finds fulfillment in the process of building and growing his business. He acknowledges the potential for quick money in the indie community, but prefers the satisfaction and contentment that come from creating a product he believes in.
Today I’m joined by Michael Christofides, who is the founder of PgMustard, a product which helps people speed up Postgres queries. Michael started out working for a Devtools company as a product manager and went on to run customer success at London based unicorn, GoCardless. Now, Michael might not be as well known and successful as other popular indie hackers, but he works on his own terms and has been committed to his project for years.
In this episode I want to unpack why Michael stays committed to his product despite slow growth, his unique approach to the indie lifestyle and where he wants to go in future.
Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
02:18 - Michael's early career
03:09 - The PGMustard idea
04:28 - Building for a market rather than scratching your own itch
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