Code and Conquer - The Indie Hacker Podcast

#033 Building a $15K/Month MVP Agency with Janu Lingeswaran

Feb 7, 2025

Janu Lingeswaran, founder of Featherflow and Boilerplate Hub, shares his entrepreneurial journey from product manager to running a successful MVP agency generating $8-15K monthly. He discusses strategies for sourcing quality developers and managing remote teams. Janu emphasizes effective SEO for bootstrapped businesses and the unique challenges of the German startup ecosystem. He also offers practical advice on work-life balance and navigating the transition to entrepreneurship, advocating for community building among indie hackers. A must-listen for aspiring founders!

01:00:35

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Episode guests

Janu Lingeswaran

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Janu Lingeswaran emphasizes the importance of transitioning from employment to entrepreneurship, citing mental health and work quality as pivotal factors in his decision.

Finding and managing remote development talent is crucial for scaling an MVP agency, which has led to substantial monthly revenue success for Featherflow.

Effective organic marketing strategies, particularly on social media and through SEO, are vital for building a client pipeline in bootstrapped businesses.

Deep dives

Transitioning from Employee to Entrepreneur

The speaker discusses the significant decision to leave a full-time job to focus on running an MVP agency. Mental health and a decline in work quality were key factors prompting this choice, as the speaker recognized the unsustainable nature of balancing a day job and agency work. The transition included open discussions with the former employer, who facilitated a smooth exit by offering a month of paid leave. This supportive environment allowed for a gradual shift towards full commitment to the agency, which aligns more with personal passions.

Intro

2min

IndieHacker Adventures in Gran Canaria

4min

Embracing Freelance Freedom

6min

Navigating Client Acquisition and MVP Development in the Healthcare Sector

3min

Harnessing Authenticity: The Power of Viral Content

2min

Navigating Pricing and Hiring in MVP Development

13min

Building a Boilerplate Hub

18min

Entrepreneurship vs. Employment: Navigating the Landscape

14min

In this episode, Janu Lingeswaran shares his journey of building Featherflow, an MVP agency that helps entrepreneurs build their software products.

After working as a product manager while running his agency on the side, Janu recently took the leap to focus full-time on his business.

We discuss how he built his agency to $8-15K monthly revenue, his strategies for finding quality developers globally, and his approach to managing client projects.

Janu also talks about Boilerplate Hub, his curated directory of SaaS starter kits, and shares insights on effective SEO strategies for bootstrapped businesses.

The conversation covers the challenges of being an entrepreneur in Germany, building a business without venture capital, and finding your community in the indie hacker space.

Janu provides practical advice on transitioning from employment to entrepreneurship and maintaining work-life balance while growing multiple projects.

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