Thanks for being so transparent. As a fellow solo bootstrapper, I think the thing people most often misunderstand is the relative inconsistency (income, "wins", the camaraderie, etc.) so it's nice for you to bare all.
That being said, you do get the consistency of independence and autonomy. As I watch my peers deal with crappy work environments, losing their jobs, and other bullshit, I just keep chugging along: self-directed and happy to not have to answer to anyone.
I've found it tough to talk about being a solo bootstrapper though. People don't seem all that interested in it until you catch them in the right light or perspective. Mostly they just care to know how much money you make (which to me ends up being rather shallow), or they can't relate to the process since it's so divorced from the traditional path. I mostly just keep my head down and keep working, since that's what I enjoy the most.
> I've found it tough to talk about being a solo bootstrapper though. People don't seem all that interested in it [...]
I think you've hit the nail on the head (solo bootstrapper here): People are not interested because A) it's not about them, it's about you, B) it sounds somewhat scary, C) it sounds completely detached from their reality of corporate jobs, and finally D) it's scary because your life might be "better" than theirs.
I don't tell people about my work anymore, and almost nobody ever asks, except for other entrepreneurs/bootstrappers.
I've had a similar journey to yours. Started January 1st 2019, early 30s, had a second kid. Loving every minute of it, though I do wonder when the fun is going to end. Every year I'm surprised the business keeps growing. This year my goal is to diversify to try and ease that gnawing anxiety, but every time I try working on something else I feel guilty about ignoring what's already been working for me. Tempted to just sell so I can have a bigger cushion and less distraction on my next venture, but not sure how the current climate would affect the valuation.
I like these kind of stories. Insight into these situation is inspiring. When I hang up the gloves in my current role I'll probably do something similar.
But, come on ... isn't it just a touch disingenuous to call this a bootstrap situation?
I assume an ex-Google developer jettisoned with a decent safety net. Perhaps I'm wrong. But I have a very different idea of what bootstrapping is.
Anyway, kudos to you ... making your own move is brave and commendable.
I think that "align your business with your passion" is a really important factor that divides the succesful from the not. When I look at Pieter Levels, he doesn't really seem to build ideas to make money. His projects seem to start off as play, and eventually they evolve into something new he can charge for.
Maybe it's just me, but it seems kind of weird to say you earned $8,200 in "profit" when there was no salary. Profit is typically the excess a business earns above its costs. For a solo founder, it can be a little tricky because the more you pay yourself in salary, the less you have in profit (and vice versa). But here, there was no salary. Maybe "earnings" or "income" would be a better term to use? Otherwise someone might (particularly for other years) think that the business earned $PROFIT dollars beyond all other costs, including presumably some sort of salary for all employees/contractors.
>> For a solo founder, it can be a little tricky because the more you pay yourself in salary, the less you have in profit (and vice versa)
This isn't just the relatively small segment of "solo founder" almost all single-person and small amily businesses don't pay salaries like a corporate employee would recognize.
The alignment framework is something I wish I'd thought about earlier. I spent months chasing outreach channels that felt like a grind because I was copying what other people said worked instead of figuring out what fit my own strengths. The moment I stopped doing that and leaned into what I actually know, conversations started happening naturally. Turns out people can tell when you care about the thing you're selling vs when you're just running a playbook.
Also appreciated the honesty about the $50K goal vs $8.2K reality. That gap is familiar.
Looking back, how do you feel about your slate of past projects?
I'm curious as TinyPilot is your most successful project and it looks like the most business-oriented thing you built: as in, its a product aimed at serious businesses. Whereas Zestful is a niche micro-saas and Is It Keto is a niche website. Perhaps I'm characterizing things wrong, but that's my rough perception.
I do give this author praise for actually being transparent.
> In total, I had $8.2k in profit on $16.3k in revenue. That was my total income for the year, which is obviously not enough to support a family, but my wife also works, and we have savings/investments.
Self bootstrapping is not for the weak. At the height of the "indie grind set", you would get all of these "indie developers" raiding your social media feeds with click bait shit like "I bootstrapped my project and earned 100M pre-revenue11!1!!!1"
In reality, a very small minority even make a living self bootstrapping. It’s quite literally the lottery.
Author in this case clearly has fallback (rich/working partners, savings, and ofc probably still has $ from TinyPilot sale).
Unfortunately, for the lot of us. You end up working for shitty Fortune 500 company, work on useless/mindless shit, grind for 8 hrs, collect paycheck, eat, sleep, and repeat.
No unions to have our backs when incompetent management wants to cater to shareholders. No stability. Maybe get laid off for vague reason. Find another shitty job and hope for less shitty management.
> You end up working for shitty Fortune 500 company, work on useless/mindless shit, grind for 8 hrs, collect paycheck, eat, sleep, and repeat.
I used to think like this but what if it isn't the case? Maybe the market is making the right decisions after all? Maybe contributing a tiny amount to a successful business really is worth more to society than contributing a huge amount to a project with barely any customers, and that's why we get paid more working for large companies?
(Not suggesting OP's projects have barely any customers, I am more talking about my own forays into small business.)
I started to read your blog since the time you encountered a disastrous event with tinypilot hardware (something like a floor or fire). I really appreciate your recording and sharing of your experience and growth. Good luck to your book and look forward to your news.
Great article as usual, got a flashback to reading your first post on here 8 years ago. At the time I was starting my career in tech by building small projects for fun and launching them on Product Hunt. Great to see you’re still going at it!
Curious to know how you think AI/vibecoding will affect the solopreneur path.
On the one hand, it could make it accessible to many more people, who previously couldn't have built a business alone because they lacked coding skills.
On the other hand, it could make it harder to get customers because they can also code their own customized tools, making it less necessary to buy software and some services.
There's probably a third and fourth hand, which haven't yet sprung to mind.
Excellent series, I've been reading for a few years now!
Q for OP: looking back at your 8 posts, I don't see you ever reflecting on loneliness (or lack thereof) as part of your founder journey. Yet both founder friends and anecdotes always emphasize this as a big weight.
Is it a significant factor for you, compared to your past life at FAANG? Do you you ever think about spending your time differently to optimize for more social fulfillment (vs. fulfillment from building or becoming profitable)?
> When I tell friends and family I’m working on a book, they innocently ask, “Oh, so you’re still on paternity leave?” -- No! I’m writing a book. It’s a real job!
"Real job", yes and no. Writing a book is an enormous amount of work, and people probably understand that. But, in most cases, it doesn't bring any real money, and that's what's confusing to strangers. "How do you make a living then?" is what they mean, I think.
1000 true fans
and Seth Godin's approach to marketing - that you should focus on the smallest group of people in your market and amaze them
These concepts helped me a lot with marketing to consumers and SMBs
Also, follow @mtlynch's content - even though he says he's not an expert, I feel that atleast regarding marketing to devs and builders - he is one of the best out there
Thanks for sharing, I remember reading about tinypilot back when I was interested in starting my own thing!
I had an idea for a hardware business for years and it was nice to dream, but thinking about it more and reading this story makes it pretty clear that it is way way waaay easier to continue my career at big tech, for better or worse (sad cry emoji)!
It doesn't prove the model won't work for anyone. It just shows that for this one person, it hasn't worked out awesome. I think there are some folks who end up doing quite well as solopreneurs, but they tend not to talk about it on the internet, lest their niche become more visible, which could erode their margins.
What does a "pure" indie solo hacker do? What does sustainable mean to you?
Not to assume your definitions but in my experience I often get the impression that "pure" means one just gets to code and not worry about anything else.
"indie" means one gets to pick what to code, how to code, when to code, why to code, etc.
"solo" means not having to deal with anyone one doesn't want to deal with.
"hacker" means standards, processes, tests, commits to main, etc. are only necessary when and if one wants them to be.
"sustainable" means at an equivalent or more income and less or similar costs as a job where someone else handles the marketing, sales, legal, design, anything one doesn't want/like to do as well as absorbing most of the downside risks of market shifts, loss of customers, competitor moves, etc. Additionally, one can go on vacation whenever they want and the income keeps coming.
All of this for as long as one wants the situation to last.
Sounds great to many I'm sure as it basically describes being a wealthy gentleman inventor/scientist/artist in 1880s England.
Most activities are hobbies until someone other than the participant is paying for it. Most everyone has a status of amateur until they get paid then convert to professional.
There are a lot of nuances in above statements and hobby and amateur are not reflective of lack of quality or expertise. There are I'm sure many hobbyists building wood chairs of finer quality than anyone can buy anywhere. It's up to them if they want to get paid for it.
May sound harsh to the person wanting their hobbies to be paid for unconditionally but if you're the one doing the paying it's reasonable to expect something out of the deal.
Is a massively inflated ego a requirement for bootstrapping?
The conversation here is centred on how others simply “do not understand how awesome I am for bootstrapping”. All veiled under a very transparent layer of self-aggrandising faux-humility.
What is the deal with that? Compensating for something?
38 comments
[ 4.0 ms ] story [ 66.0 ms ] threadHappy to answer any questions or take feedback about this post.
That being said, you do get the consistency of independence and autonomy. As I watch my peers deal with crappy work environments, losing their jobs, and other bullshit, I just keep chugging along: self-directed and happy to not have to answer to anyone.
I've found it tough to talk about being a solo bootstrapper though. People don't seem all that interested in it until you catch them in the right light or perspective. Mostly they just care to know how much money you make (which to me ends up being rather shallow), or they can't relate to the process since it's so divorced from the traditional path. I mostly just keep my head down and keep working, since that's what I enjoy the most.
I think you've hit the nail on the head (solo bootstrapper here): People are not interested because A) it's not about them, it's about you, B) it sounds somewhat scary, C) it sounds completely detached from their reality of corporate jobs, and finally D) it's scary because your life might be "better" than theirs.
I don't tell people about my work anymore, and almost nobody ever asks, except for other entrepreneurs/bootstrappers.
Most people can't relate when they talk about a terrible boss or some ridiculous drama at work..and you don't have any of that.
I don't even talk about work anymore with family.
But, come on ... isn't it just a touch disingenuous to call this a bootstrap situation?
I assume an ex-Google developer jettisoned with a decent safety net. Perhaps I'm wrong. But I have a very different idea of what bootstrapping is.
Anyway, kudos to you ... making your own move is brave and commendable.
This isn't just the relatively small segment of "solo founder" almost all single-person and small amily businesses don't pay salaries like a corporate employee would recognize.
Also appreciated the honesty about the $50K goal vs $8.2K reality. That gap is familiar.
I'm curious as TinyPilot is your most successful project and it looks like the most business-oriented thing you built: as in, its a product aimed at serious businesses. Whereas Zestful is a niche micro-saas and Is It Keto is a niche website. Perhaps I'm characterizing things wrong, but that's my rough perception.
> In total, I had $8.2k in profit on $16.3k in revenue. That was my total income for the year, which is obviously not enough to support a family, but my wife also works, and we have savings/investments.
Self bootstrapping is not for the weak. At the height of the "indie grind set", you would get all of these "indie developers" raiding your social media feeds with click bait shit like "I bootstrapped my project and earned 100M pre-revenue11!1!!!1"
In reality, a very small minority even make a living self bootstrapping. It’s quite literally the lottery.
Author in this case clearly has fallback (rich/working partners, savings, and ofc probably still has $ from TinyPilot sale).
Unfortunately, for the lot of us. You end up working for shitty Fortune 500 company, work on useless/mindless shit, grind for 8 hrs, collect paycheck, eat, sleep, and repeat.
No unions to have our backs when incompetent management wants to cater to shareholders. No stability. Maybe get laid off for vague reason. Find another shitty job and hope for less shitty management.
I used to think like this but what if it isn't the case? Maybe the market is making the right decisions after all? Maybe contributing a tiny amount to a successful business really is worth more to society than contributing a huge amount to a project with barely any customers, and that's why we get paid more working for large companies?
(Not suggesting OP's projects have barely any customers, I am more talking about my own forays into small business.)
On the one hand, it could make it accessible to many more people, who previously couldn't have built a business alone because they lacked coding skills.
On the other hand, it could make it harder to get customers because they can also code their own customized tools, making it less necessary to buy software and some services.
There's probably a third and fourth hand, which haven't yet sprung to mind.
Q for OP: looking back at your 8 posts, I don't see you ever reflecting on loneliness (or lack thereof) as part of your founder journey. Yet both founder friends and anecdotes always emphasize this as a big weight.
Is it a significant factor for you, compared to your past life at FAANG? Do you you ever think about spending your time differently to optimize for more social fulfillment (vs. fulfillment from building or becoming profitable)?
"Real job", yes and no. Writing a book is an enormous amount of work, and people probably understand that. But, in most cases, it doesn't bring any real money, and that's what's confusing to strangers. "How do you make a living then?" is what they mean, I think.
Do you have advice on finding first clients? Especially in B2C?
Throwing money on ads seems tempting because it’s such an easy way to reach clients but I’m not sure about “quality” off the clients.
These concepts helped me a lot with marketing to consumers and SMBs
Also, follow @mtlynch's content - even though he says he's not an expert, I feel that atleast regarding marketing to devs and builders - he is one of the best out there
I had an idea for a hardware business for years and it was nice to dream, but thinking about it more and reading this story makes it pretty clear that it is way way waaay easier to continue my career at big tech, for better or worse (sad cry emoji)!
You have to be first and foremost indie entrepreneur and indie salesman and only then you can afford free hacking if you have time left.
Not to assume your definitions but in my experience I often get the impression that "pure" means one just gets to code and not worry about anything else.
"indie" means one gets to pick what to code, how to code, when to code, why to code, etc.
"solo" means not having to deal with anyone one doesn't want to deal with.
"hacker" means standards, processes, tests, commits to main, etc. are only necessary when and if one wants them to be.
"sustainable" means at an equivalent or more income and less or similar costs as a job where someone else handles the marketing, sales, legal, design, anything one doesn't want/like to do as well as absorbing most of the downside risks of market shifts, loss of customers, competitor moves, etc. Additionally, one can go on vacation whenever they want and the income keeps coming.
All of this for as long as one wants the situation to last.
Sounds great to many I'm sure as it basically describes being a wealthy gentleman inventor/scientist/artist in 1880s England.
Most activities are hobbies until someone other than the participant is paying for it. Most everyone has a status of amateur until they get paid then convert to professional.
There are a lot of nuances in above statements and hobby and amateur are not reflective of lack of quality or expertise. There are I'm sure many hobbyists building wood chairs of finer quality than anyone can buy anywhere. It's up to them if they want to get paid for it.
May sound harsh to the person wanting their hobbies to be paid for unconditionally but if you're the one doing the paying it's reasonable to expect something out of the deal.
The conversation here is centred on how others simply “do not understand how awesome I am for bootstrapping”. All veiled under a very transparent layer of self-aggrandising faux-humility.
What is the deal with that? Compensating for something?