Indie Hackers
302 episodes - English - Latest episode: 10 months ago - ★★★★★ - 492 ratingsCourtland and Channing Allen interview the ambitious indie hackers who are turning their ideas and side projects into profitable online businesses. Explore the latest strategies and tools founders are using to capitalize on new opportunities, escape the 9-to-5 grind, and create their own personal revenue-generating machines. The future is indie!
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Episodes
#283 – Making $8k/mo Targeting $100M/yr with Lukas and Liz Hermann of StageTimer.io
June 15, 2023 19:11 - 49 minutes - 45.6 MBLukas (@_lhermann) and Liz Hermann (@lizmhermann) talk having ambition as an indie hacker, scratching other people's itches, having kids or spouses to help run your empire, making $8k/month from a simple idea, and charting a course to $100M/yr with (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#282 – Media vs Tech, Twitter Monsters, and Making Millions From Content with Steph Smith of a16z
June 03, 2023 17:51 - 1 hour - 58.8 MBSteph Smith (@stephsmithio) talks making millions in content subscriptions, working at a16z, putting the AI genie back in the bottle, thread boys on Twitter, educational vs entertainment podcasts, and media companies that monetize aspiring entrepreneurs with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#281 – Seth Godin on Indie Hacking, Doing Hard Things, and Finding Significance in a Changing World
May 25, 2023 21:47 - 49 minutes - 45.2 MBSeth Godin (@ThisIsSethsBlog) talks indie hacking, finding new business ideas, meaningful jobs vs mechanized jobs, dealing with internet trolls, his secrets to productivity, freelancing vs bootstrapping, writing 9000 blog posts in 20 years, and finding significance in a changing world with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#280 – Replacing Yourself as CEO, Living on a Boat, and Crowdfunding to Survive with Alex MacCaw of Reflect
May 19, 2023 22:04 - 52 minutes - 48.3 MBAlex MacCaw (@maccaw) talks living on a boat, quitting his own 7-figure company, starting over with a lifestyle business, whether free will exists, crowdfunding from your own customers, and gaining a foothold in a crowded market with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#279 – Staying Indie vs Raising VC, Getting an MBA, and Disrupting the App Store with Emma Lawler of Velvet
May 12, 2023 02:17 - 1 hour - 55.8 MBEmma Lawler (@emmaryanlawler) talks whether crypto is dead, VC vs bootstrapping, getting an MBA after a successful exit, why NYC beats SF, trading sleep for work, whether capitalism leads to perverse incentives, and how she plans to disrupt the App Store with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#278 – Growing a Portfolio of AI Products Past $300k After a 7-Figure Exit with Danny Postma
May 05, 2023 11:05 - 53 minutes - 48.9 MBDanny Postma (@dannypostmaa) talks his rivalry with Pieter Levels, selling his AI startup, using SEO as a moat, how to be an AI first-mover, why he’s not allowed to use ChatGPT, and passing $300k in revenue with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#277 – Addictive Products, Embracing A.I., and Crossing $26k/mo with Lane Wagner of Boot.dev
April 27, 2023 18:54 - 58 minutes - 53.5 MBLane Wagner (@wagslane) talks hitting $26k/mo in revenue, why A.I. disruption is a good thing, the ethics of addictive products, surviving after a first year of no traction, why most business writing sucks, and how to grow revenue by making your product smaller with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#276 – SaaS Trends, Crowdfunding a Book, and Life After Success with Rob Walling of TinySeed
April 20, 2023 18:25 - 1 hour - 57.2 MBRob Walling (@robwalling) talks his new playbook on SaaS, why he launched on Kickstarter, the latest startup trends, how to have a winning mindset, and whether we should build a Kickstarter for Indie Hackers with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#275 – Love, Cohort-Based Courses, and Monetization Frameworks with Wes Kao of Maven
April 13, 2023 20:19 - 58 minutes - 54 MBWes Kao (@wes_kao) talks disrupting traditional education, what it's like to raise $25M, how to stay motivated as a founder, why cohorts are the gold standard of online learning, and how to apply the science of love to product-founder fit with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#274 – Indie Hackers is indie again!
April 06, 2023 22:11 - 1 hour - 55.1 MBIndie Hackers is no longer a part of Stripe! Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen) talk about their history at Stripe, the process of spinning out the company, and future ideas for how to generate revenue now that they're indie hackers themselves starting at $0.
#273 – The Threat of A.I., Building in Public vs Transparency, and Code vs No-Code with KP
March 29, 2023 20:53 - 1 hour - 59.1 MBKP (@thisiskp_) talks about why building in public beats mere transparency, whether AI will be the end of no-code, why he's made more money from organizing community than anything else, and how he went from a 9-to-5 job to being a founder with multiple exits with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#272 – Escape Rooms, Side Project Marketing, and Getting to Ramen Profitable with Marc Lou of Habits Garden
March 22, 2023 21:45 - 52 minutes - 47.9 MBMarc Lou (@marc_louvion) talks living in Bali with a private chef, monetizing habit trackers, first date ideas, growing on Twitter, and building over 10 products in a year to finally reach ramen profitability with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#271 – Gamification, Digital Nomading, and Growing Sales to $41k/mo with Stas Kulesh of Karma
March 15, 2023 15:08 - 49 minutes - 45.7 MBStas Kulesh (@stas_kulesh) talks about building internal tools as a great hack, why it takes 10 years to understand a new country, the challenging secret of enterprise sales, and slowly growing a SaaS business to $40k/month with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#270 – Exiting for Millions in Under a Year with Shaan Puri and Ben Levy of The Milk Road
March 01, 2023 19:48 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBShaan Puri (@ShaanVP) and Ben Levy (@benmlevy) talk making it big as a content creator, choosing the right business idea, creative ways to monetize, big boy vs small boy stuff, making friends as an adult, growing a newsletter brand, and exiting for millions in under a year with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#269 – Bouncing Back from Failure to Bootstrap Past $2M/Year with Josh Ho of Referral Rock
February 22, 2023 13:00 - 1 hour - 55.9 MBJosh Ho (@jlogic) talks raising kids, automating word-of-mouth growth, bouncing back from a previous failed business, and bootstrapping beyond $2M in annual revenue with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#268 – Trading Stocks, Quitting Amazon, and Making $20k/Month with Yahia Bakour of Stock Alarm
February 15, 2023 13:00 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBYahia Bakour (@mynameisyahia) talks trading stocks, quitting a $250k/year job at Amazon to become an indie hacker, how to join an existing project as a late cofounder, marketing via SEO, being a night owl vs an early bird, and bootstrapping his revenue to $20k/month with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#267 – The Path to $3M in 3 Years as a Solopreneur with Justin Welsh
February 08, 2023 17:40 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBJustin Welsh (@thejustinwelsh) talks setting a high bar for yourself, releasing products without knowing how to code, growing on social media (esp. LinkedIn), selling courses, dealing with burnout, and growing his solopreneur empire to $3M in 3 years with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#266 – Lessons Learned Building a $37k/mo Business in 2.5 Years with Mat De Sousa of WideBundle
January 25, 2023 16:00 - 38 minutes - 34.9 MBMat De Sousa (@DsMatie) talks having million-dollar ambitions as a child, learning from numerous failed startups, why Shopify apps are great for indie hackers, the proper way to find a business idea, and growing from $0 to $37k/mo in 2.5 years with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#265 – From Full-Time Job to $30k/Month with Damon Chen of Testimonial
November 23, 2022 22:27 - 40 minutes - 37.4 MBDamon Chen (@damengchen) talks failed side projects, validating your idea, charging higher prices than is comfortable, what makes for a good website testimonial, and growing a bootstrapped startup to $30k/mo with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#264 – Growing a 2-Person Business to $80k/Month with Eric Turner of Japan Dev
October 31, 2022 21:41 - 56 minutes - 51.3 MBEric Turner (@_etdev) talks living in Japan as a foreigner and visiting Japan as a tourist, finding inspiration to start as an indie hacker, picking a lucrative market, and shares some tips growing a job board with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#263 – Starting a Profitable Business After a Life-Changing Exit with Laura Roeder of Paperbell
October 19, 2022 20:37 - 57 minutes - 52.4 MBLaura Roeder (@lkr) talks life coaching, starting multiple successful businesses (and selling one for millions), early growth via SEO, and designing a company to align with your lifestyle with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#262 – Bootstrapping to $100,000/mo in a Crowded Market with Marko Saric of Plausible
October 12, 2022 21:56 - 1 hour - 58.4 MBMarko Saric (@markosaric) talks living in Brussels, things he learned working in marketing, joining an existing project as a late co-founder, succeeding on Hacker News, surviving against a behemoth competitor, and learnings from bootstrapping an open-source project to over $1.2M in annual revenue with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#261 – Self-Funding, Pivoting to a Better Idea, and Growing Beyond $10M with Kapil Kale of Tremendous
September 29, 2022 03:55 - 59 minutes - 54.6 MBKapil Kale (@kapil) talks AI-generated art, going through YC, buying out his investors to own 100% of the company, pivoting from an okay idea to a great idea, and growing a profitable business to 8-figures in annual revenue with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#260 – Growing Multiple Products to $18K/mo Revenue with Tony Dinh
September 21, 2022 19:20 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBTony Dinh (@tdinh_me) talks growing up in Vietnam, quitting his job working for the man, failed vs successful side projects, growing via Twitter, and managing multiple projects that add up to $18,000 in monthly revenue with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#260 – Growing Multiple Products to $18k/mo Revenue with Tony Dinh
September 21, 2022 19:20 - 1 hour - 61.7 MBTony Dinh (@tdinh_me) talks growing up in Vietnam, quitting his job working for the man, failed vs successful side projects, growing via Twitter, and managing multiple projects that add up to $18,000 in monthly revenue with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#259 – Dating, Hollow Abstractions, and Making Millions of Dollars with Liron Shapira of Relationship Hero
September 15, 2022 00:00 - 52 minutes - 47.7 MBLiron Shapira (@liron) talks relationship and dating advice, building a coaching business, marketing via Facebook groups, and growing his revenue to millions of dollars with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#258 – From $0 to $36K/Month in a Year with Dashiell Bark-Huss of WishTender
September 07, 2022 23:32 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBDashiell Bark-Huss (@DashBarkHuss) talks quitting the fashion industry, living in a van, learning to code, selling to sex workers, lucid dreaming, and growing her first-ever startup to $36k/mo with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#258 – From $0 to $36k/Month in a Year with Dashiell Bark-Huss of WishTender
September 07, 2022 23:32 - 46 minutes - 42.8 MBDashiell Bark-Huss (@DashBarkHuss) talks quitting the fashion industry, living in a van, learning to code, selling to sex workers, lucid dreaming, and growing her first-ever startup to $36k/mo with Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen).
#257 – From Indie Hacker to $200M+ with Patrick Campbell of ProfitWell
June 22, 2022 19:01 - 48 minutes - 44.2 MBWe're talking to Patrick Campbell, an indie founder who just sold his company for $200,000,000. That's an insane nine figure exit for a bootstrapped founder. In this episode, we talk with Patrick about his champagne problems and what indie hackers need to know today to get to where he is more quickly. Follow Patrick on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Patticus Check out ProfitWell: https://www.profitwell.com/
#256 – Debate: Elon Musk, Billionaires, Ethics, and Role Models with Sahil Lavingia and Justin Jackson
June 15, 2022 18:21 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBSahil Lavingia (@shl) and Justin Jackson (@mijustin) join Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen) for a special debate-style episode. It's four dudes talking about Elon Musk. What could go wrong? Follow Sahil on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shl Check out Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/ Follow Justin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mijustin Check out Transistor.fm: https://transistor.fm/
#256 – IH Debate: The Values and Consequences of Elon Musk with Justin Jackson and Sahil Lavingia
June 15, 2022 18:21 - 1 hour - 61.6 MBFollow Sahil on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shl Check out Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/ Follow Justin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mijustin Check out Transistor.fm: https://transistor.fm/
#255 – The Drive to Make Money, Defining Life Principles, and Courtland Wins $10k from Vincent Woo of Coderpad
May 27, 2022 12:00 - 55 minutes - 51.1 MBVincent Woo (@fulligin) sold his company for tens of millions of dollars. He joins the pod to talk to Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen) about advice for fledgling indie hackers trying to make money, the purpose of business, defining principles for one's life, and why he shouldn't have to pay Courtland for a $10,000 bet he lost.
#254 – Getting Rich, Designing Your Life Afterwards, and Risk Management with Arvid Kahl and Daniel Vassallo
May 22, 2022 08:47 - 40 minutes - 37 MBDaniel Vassallo (@dvassallo) and Arvid Kahl (@arvidkahl) have both already made it as indie hackers. They join Courtland (@csallen) and Channing (@ChanningAllen) to discuss making money as an indie hacker, designing your life after you reach financial freedom, avoiding risk, mitigating inflation, and whether or not college is worth it. Related episodes: #212 – Actionable Steps for Building the Right Business with Arvid Kahl #177 – Mastering the Lifestyle-First Approach to Indie H...
#253 – Mother’s Day, Unscrupulous Cofounders, and Why You Should Never Retire
May 11, 2022 18:24 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBLong-time listener, first-time guest — Courtland (@csallen) and Channing's (@ChanningAllen) mom, Eva, joins the pod to talk raising twins, buying gifts, selling computer parts, co-founder theft, an Indie Hackers quiz for moms, and why you should never retire.
#252 – A New Co-Host and a New Direction for the Pod
May 04, 2022 12:44 - 26 minutes - 27.1 MBI'm making some changes to the Indie Hackers Podcast. Check out this episode for a sneak peek into what's ahead.
#251 – The Best Ways to Make Money in Tech with Julian Shapiro of Julian.capital
April 27, 2022 19:31 - 57 minutes - 52.4 MBJulian Shapiro is back on the show today. He's been my co-host for our podcast Brains, he's an investor at Julian.capital and a writer at Julian.com. Lately, he's been super into investing. He's managed to take an overly complex thing like investing and reverse-engineer it, breaking it down into its simplest frameworks. Follow Julian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/julian Check out Demand Curve: https://www.demandcurve.com/ Become an investor with Carveout: https://www.withcarve...
#250 – Italy, COVID, Indie Creators, and our A.I. Future with Channing Allen of Indie Hackers
April 23, 2022 00:46 - 24 minutes - 22.1 MBMy twin brother Channing (@ChanningAllen) joins the show for the first time, for a casual chat about our recent trip to Italy, the best and worst parts of getting COVID, the future of media companies and indie creators, and DALL-E 2 and the future of AI.
Throwback: Writing Code to Sell $200,000/Month of Cookies with Sam Eaton of Crave Cookie
April 13, 2022 14:29 - 1 hour - 56.9 MBWhen Sam Eaton hears a new idea, it's all he can do to contain his excitement and dive right into the code. So when his sister told him she wanted to start a cookie delivery business, there was never any question that he'd apply his indie hacker skills to help out however he could. And to great effect — today they're selling hundreds of thousand of dollars worth of cookies every month. In this episode, Sam and I discuss the advantages of target your local community as a niche, ways ...
Throwback: Building a Business Meant to Last with Peldi Guilizzoni of Balsamiq
March 30, 2022 13:38 - 46 minutes - 31.7 MBTwenty 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 wher...
#249 – The Keys to Making $1M/Year as a Solo Founder with Brett Williams of DesignJoy
March 16, 2022 16:56 - 55 minutes - 51 MBToday I'm talking to Indie Hacker Brett Williams (@brettfromdj) who has built a $1M ARR "agency of one." In this episode we talk about how he manages 50 clients as a solo designer and has 10x'd his prices in the process. Check out DesignJoy: DesignJoy.co Follow Brett on Twitter: twitter.com/brettfromdj
#249 – The Keys to $1M/Year as a Solo Founder Brett Williams of DesignJoy
March 16, 2022 16:56 - 55 minutes - 51 MBToday I'm talking to Indie Hacker Brett Williams (@brettfromdj) who has built a $1M ARR "agency of one." In this episode we talk about how he manages 50 clients as a solo designer and has 10x'd his prices in the process. Check out DesignJoy: DesignJoy.co Follow Brett on Twitter: twitter.com/brettfromdj
#249 – Productize Your Service, Streamline Your Process, and Charge Way More with Brett Williams of DesignJoy
March 16, 2022 16:56 - 55 minutes - 51 MBToday I'm talking to Indie Hacker Brett Williams (@brettfromdj) who has built a $1M ARR agency of one. In this episode we talk about how he manages 50 clients as a solo designer and was able to double his prices in the process. Check out DesignJoy: DesignJoy.co Follow Brett on Twitter: twitter.com/brettfromdj
#248 – Crypto Literacy, Daily Habits, and New Business Ideas
March 09, 2022 16:19 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBToday I'm talking to Greg Isenburg of Late Checkout and Dru Riley of Trends.vc. In this episode, we cover a bunch of topics around media and community. I'll ask them where they get their content ideas, how they create product stickiness, how they stay productive and what new business ideas are sitting in their notes app. Follow Greg on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Follow Dru on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DruRly Check out Late Checkout: https://latecheckout.substac...
#248 – Crypto Literacy, Daily Habits, and New Business Ideas with Dru Riley and Greg Isenberg
March 09, 2022 16:19 - 47 minutes - 43.6 MBToday I'm talking to Greg Isenburg of Late Checkout and Dru Riley of Trends.vc. In this episode, we cover a bunch of topics around media and community. I'll ask them where they get their content ideas, how they create product stickiness, how they stay productive and what new business ideas are sitting in their notes app. Follow Greg on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenberg Follow Dru on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DruRly Check out Late Checkout: https://latecheckout.substac...
#247 – Scaling Up a 1-to-1 Service with Ravi Mehta and Victoria Young of Scale Higher
March 02, 2022 15:58 - 48 minutes - 44.4 MBToday I'm talking to Victoria Young (@victoriahyoung) and Ravi Mehta (@ravi_mehta) about their coaching platform Scale Higher. In this episode we talk about the type of person who could benefit from a coach and how they've been inspired by platforms like Noom and TalkSpace to change the way people are able to level up their professional lives. Follow Victoria on Twitter: https://twitter.com/victoriahyoung Follow Ravi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ravi_mehta Find a coach on Sca...
#246 – Doing Content Right with Steph Smith of Trends.co
February 23, 2022 14:03 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBToday I'm talking to Steph Smith (@stephsmithio). She runs Trends.co and recently got my attention when she posted on IH how she grew her podcast from 0 to 15k downloads/month. She took a really unique approach to launching her show, The Sh*t You Don't Learn in School, and I want to find out how she did it. Follow Steph on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio Check out her new book: https://doingcontentright.com (Enter code "INDIE" to get 60% off!) Subscribe to her podcast:...
#245 – Hiring a Team You Actually Like with Ben Orenstein and Derrick Reimer
February 17, 2022 18:25 - 46 minutes - 43.1 MBToday I'm talking to Ben Orenstein of Tuple and Derrick Reimer of SavvyCal. I recently joined them on their podcast The Art of Product and we talked about things like long-term goal setting and hiring a team of people you actually enjoy being around. Follow Derrick on Twitter: https://twitter.com/derrickreimer Follow Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/r00k Listen to The Art of Product: https://artofproductpodcast.com/
#244 – Building Gradually to Grow Suddenly with Shahed Khan of Hyper
February 09, 2022 18:27 - 35 minutes - 32.8 MBToday I'm talking to Shahed Khan, the co-founder of Loom and investor at Hyper. In this episode we talk about his first business failure at 16 and the many iterations Loom went through before catching on fire. Follow Shahed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_shahedk Check out Hyper: https://blog.hyper.com/
#244 – Building gradually to grow suddenly with Shahed Khan of Hyper
February 09, 2022 18:27 - 35 minutes - 32.8 MBToday I'm talking to Shahed Khan, the co-founder of Loom and investor at Hyper. In this episode we talk about his first business failure at 16 and the many iterations Loom went through before catching on fire. Follow Shahed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_shahedk Check out Hyper: https://blog.hyper.com/
#243 – Mental Health and Bootstrapping in 2022 with Rob Walling of TinySeed
February 02, 2022 17:18 - 1 hour - 58.3 MBIn this episode I'm chat with Rob Walling about a wide range of topics including metal health, how to find a business idea and the relevance of bootstrapping today. Follow Rob on Twitter: https://twitter.com/robwalling Apply to TinySeed: https://tinyseed.com/apply Listen to Startups for the Rest of Us: https://www.startupsfortherestofus.com/