Blog
Notes on building, pricing and growing small software businesses. Numbers are as makers reported them.
- 01
The Indie SaaS Glossary
Plain definitions of the terms you will run into when reading maker posts and browsing this catalog, from MRR and churn to Show HN, dogfooding and the boring stack.
- 02
How to Price Your SaaS
A practical way for solo makers to pick a first price, structure plans, handle free tiers and trials, and raise prices later without drama.
- 03
What MRR Really Means
Monthly recurring revenue is the number every maker quotes, but it is easy to calculate wrong and easy to misread. What goes into it, what does not, and how to read other people's MRR claims.
- 04
Build in Public Without Burning Out
Sharing your progress openly can build an audience over time, but it can also eat your week and your nerves. How to do it at a pace you can keep for months.
- 05
Choosing a Boring Stack
Why many solo makers pick mature, unexciting technology for their products, what a boring stack usually looks like, and when it is worth reaching for something newer.
- 06
Launching on Product Hunt and Show HN
Two of the most common launch venues for indie products work very differently. What each rewards, how to prepare, how to behave on the day, and what to realistically expect afterward.
- 07
Getting Your First Paying Customer
The first person who pays you is worth more than a hundred signups. Why it matters, where that customer usually comes from, how to ask for money without awkwardness, and what to do once they pay.
- 08
From Side Project to SaaS
How makers turn an evening project into a small subscription business: picking the right project to grow, fitting the work around a job, the unglamorous pieces a real product needs, and when to reconsider.
- 09
Validate Before You Build
Cheap ways to test whether a product idea is worth your evenings before you write much code: talking to potential users, reading the signals correctly, landing page tests and pre-sales.
- 10
Reducing Churn for Small SaaS
Practical ways a solo maker can keep more customers: measuring churn sensibly at small numbers, finding out why people leave, fixing onboarding, handling failed payments, and designing cancellation well.