Code and Conquer - The Indie Hacker Podcast

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

  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. Key topics: Building and scaling an MVP agency Finding and managing remote development talent SEO strategies for bootstrapped businesses The German startup ecosystem Building in public and community building Work-life balance as a solo founder --- FeatherFlow: https://feather-flow.com/ BoilerplateHub: https://boilerplatehub.com/ Janu's BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/janu.lol Janu's Twitter: https://x.com/JanuBuilds My own website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icebearlabs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can find this podcast on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://codeandconquer.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find our product here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.repodcasted.com/

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• #032 Scaling Down to Scale Up with Alex Suzuki

  Alex Suzuki shares his fascinating journey from running a successful agency to becoming a solo developer building Strich.io, a specialized barcode scanning SDK. Unlike many startup stories of scaling up, Alex chose to scale down - leaving his agency to focus on what he loves most: building products. In this episode, we dive deep into how Alex competes with venture-backed companies as a solo developer, why he chose to focus exclusively on web-based barcode scanning, and how he manages to serve enterprise clients while maintaining work-life balance. Alex offers candid insights about navigating enterprise sales, handling procurement departments, and finding success in a technical B2B niche. Whether you're interested in building developer tools, serving enterprise clients as a solo founder, or finding your path to sustainable indie hacking, this conversation offers valuable lessons from someone who's chosen the road less traveled. Key topics: Transitioning from agency owner to solo developer Building and selling enterprise B2B products Competing with larger companies in a technical niche Managing work-life balance as a solo founder Navigating enterprise sales and procurement Finding happiness in building products --- Alex Suzuki's Website: ⁠https://alexsuzuki.com/ Alex Suzuki's BlueSky: ⁠https://bsky.app/profile/alexsuzuki.com Strich.io: https://strich.io/ My own website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icebearlabs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can find this podcast on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://codeandconquer.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find our product here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.repodcasted.com/

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• #031 The Art of Not Giving Up with Dmytro Krasun

  In this episode, Dmytro Krasun shares his journey of building Screenshot One, an API business that grew from a single $7/month customer to $10K MRR. Dmytro opens up about the challenges of bootstrapping, the importance of customer support, and why he chose to focus on a seemingly "boring" product. He discusses his approach to handling copycats, the value of positioning your product correctly, and why sometimes passion follows success rather than precedes it. The conversation dives deep into mental health as an indie founder, balancing workload, and the art of perseverance when things get tough. Dmytro shares invaluable insights about focusing on a specific customer profile, the power of authenticity in business, and why choosing the right market size matters. Whether you're a solo developer considering building an API business, a founder struggling with motivation, or simply interested in the realities of bootstrapping a successful SaaS, this episode offers honest perspectives and practical wisdom from someone who's been through it all. Key topics: Growing from first customer to $10K MRR The importance of customer support in product development Handling anxiety and burnout as a founder Product positioning and market selection Why not to give up when things get tough --- Dmytro's Website: https://dmytrokrasun.com/ Dmytro's Twitter: https://x.com/DmytroKrasun ScreenshotOne: https://screenshotone.com/ My own website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icebearlabs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can find this podcast on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://codeandconquer.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find our product here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.repodcasted.com/

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• #30 Selling your startup and buying it back with Steve Ridout

  In this episode, we're talking to Steve Rideout, founder of ReadLang, who turned his own struggle with learning Spanish into a successful language learning product. We dive into his journey of building ReadLang from a simple translation tool to a $10K+ MRR business, including its unexpected detour through Duolingo - where Steve not only sold his company but also helped create Duolingo Stories, before buying ReadLang back at a quarter of the original price. Other topics include how Steve achieves growth purely through word of mouth, his experience with freemium pricing from $10/year to $48/year, and how he's managing to thrive in an increasingly AI-dominated language learning space. We also talk about the challenges of being a solo founder, when to focus on product versus marketing, and the surprising observation that his best revenue months coincide with when he works the least. ___ Steve's Website: https://steveridout.com/ Steve's Twitter: https://x.com/Steve_Ridout Readlang Website: https://readlang.com/ My own website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icebearlabs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can find this podcast on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://codeandconquer.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find our product here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.repodcasted.com/

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• #029 Building for Tech B2B with Lukas Hermann

  In this episode, we're talking to Lukas Hermann, founder of StageTimer - a specialized timer for live events that grew into a successful B2B product. He later expanded with Rundown Studio, bringing comprehensive event planning tools to production teams. We dive deep into product development strategy, exploring how Lukas grew StageTimer to 10k+ MRR by carefully choosing which features to build and which to reject. He shares his experience with one-time payment models and finding the right pricing strategy for event professionals. We also get real about the challenges of running a tech company in Germany, from complex business structures to tax implications, and discuss why Lukas turned down a 500k acquisition offer to pursue his bigger vision. Other topics include building a marketing strategy without aggressive advertising, scaling a B2B product, and Lukas's three-mountain approach to building progressively larger companies. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation about building profitable B2B products outside the usual indie hacker space, and I think you will too. Let's jump right in! ___ Lukas Twitter: https://x.com/_lhermann Stagetimer: https://stagetimer.io/ Rundown Studio: https://rundownstudio.app/ My own website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icebearlabs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can find this podcast on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://codeandconquer.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find our product here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.repodcasted.com/

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