Candle dealer builds $5k MRR software to solve own problem - Dianna Allen & Jeremy Blalock, Inventora

In this episode I’ve got my first ever returning guest with Dianna Allen and first ever double act as we’re joined by her fiance Jeremy Blalock. I spoke to Dianna about a year ago after growing her handmade candle business from $100 to $50k in that year. Since then Dianna is still running TERRA and doubled the revenue in 2021, but has also co-founded Inventora which has just hit $5k MRR. Inventora is inventory tracking system for handmade businesses, solving Dianna’s own problem with TERRA.

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What we covered in this episode:

How TERRA is goingHandmade business vs SaaS business. Which is better?Solving her own problem with TERRA to build InventoraSpreadsheet to SaaSAsking Jeremy (Dianna’s partner) to build the productGrowing without paying for adsLeveraging existing relationshipsChoosing to raise a small funding roundWhy raise money if you’re an indie hacker?Spending $25,000 on a domainTactics for growing to $5k MRRHiring a videographer to make a documentary

Recommendations

Books: The Innovation Stack, The Gardeners AlmanackPodcasts: Acquired, The Product BossIndie Hackers: Elon Musk, Jon Yongfook

Follow Dianna & Jeremy

Dianna's TwitterJeremy's TwitterInventora InstagramTERRA Instagram

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