Indie Hackers

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 running a tech business for almost two decades, including why she thinks you should learn from others' experiences but not their advice.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/090-natalie-nagele-of-wildbit

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-time founder.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/089-matt-verlaque-of-uplaunch

Interview with Jason Cohen about bootstrapping software companies, reaching $10k/month revenue, lies founders tell themselves, and why you may not follow advice. Emphasis on navigating founder challenges, building profitable self-funded business models, validating ideas, and breaking from conventional wisdom in entrepreneurship.

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 episode we dive into exactly how he works his magic, analyze the most important decisions he's made with his businesses, and discuss the role that luck plays in any founder's journey.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/087-aj-of-carrd

Lynne Tye, former grad school student turned tech startup manager, shares her journey of quitting grad school and managing a high-profile tech startup before realizing it wasn't for her. She discusses learning to code, starting a business, and the challenges of finding work she loves. The episode touches on financials, career transitions, soul-searching, company values, pricing decisions, imitating successful people, building genuine friendships, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

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, why he's a legend among bootstrappers, and how he's building a business that's meant to last.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/085-peldi-guilizzoni-of-balsamiq

"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-tim-soulo-of-ahrefs

"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 alike, and why the best advice is to just get started.Transcript, speaker information, and more: https://www.indiehackers.com/podcast/083-dominic-wells-of-human-proof-designs

Entrepreneur Rob Walling, founder of Drip, shares his journey of building online businesses and the lessons learned. He also discusses his latest project, TinySeed, an accelerator for bootstrapped startups. Topics include starting small, learning from others' mistakes, and the value of utilizing your network for startup success.

Ajay Goel, successful entrepreneur who built and sold Jangomail, talks about the pitfalls of bootstrapping, the strategic decisions that differentiate big wins from huge wins, and his new business GMass. They discuss the limitations of sending emails through Gmail accounts, the success of GMass, and the challenges of building a lasting impact. Other topics include their hiring philosophy, balancing independence and impact, handling customer support, and reflecting on challenges of Gmail-dependent business.