Code and Conquer - The Indie Hacker Podcast

Hosted by Tobias Arweiler

Business EntrepreneurshipInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Feb 2025

Language

About the show

Welcome to the Code and Conquer Podcast, hosted by Tobias Arweiler, indie hacker and founder of Ice Bear Labs. Join us as we dive into the fascinating world of indie hackers, exploring their journeys, challenges, and triumphs. Every episode features a one-on-one conversation with a unique entrepreneur, focusing on their experiences, wisdom, and insights. From $0 MRR to successful startups, learn from these inspiring stories and discover what it takes to turn your dreams into reality. Grab a cup of coffee, relax, and get ready for an hour of captivating conversation. Subscribe now! 😎🚀🎧

Listen to episodes

35 recent

February 7, 2025Episode 331 hr 0 min

#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 agencyFinding and managing remote development talentSEO strategies for bootstrapped businessesThe German startup ecosystemBuilding in public and community buildingWork-life balance as a solo founder---FeatherFlow: https://featherflow.com/BoilerplateHub: https://boilerplatehub.com/Janu's BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/janu.lolJanu's Twitter: https://x.com/JanuBuildsMy own website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icebearlabs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can find this podcast on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://codeandconquer.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Find our product here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.repodcasted.com/

January 24, 2025Episode 321 hr 1 min

#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/

January 10, 2025Episode 311 hr 7 min

#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/

December 13, 2024Episode 301 hr 7 min

#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/

November 29, 2024Episode 291 hr 8 min

#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/

November 15, 2024Episode 2856 min

#028 Quitting the Traditional Path to 30k MRR with Ali Salah

In this episode of the Code and Conquer podcast, Ali Salah discusses his journey of creating Instatus, a service that helps companies communicate outages to their customers. He describes starting with small projects, the importance of financial planning, and the challenges faced along the way. Ali outlines his experience with building Instatus from zero to close to 30k MRR, targeting larger companies, and differentiating his product through pricing and features. He also shares insights on hiring practices, using an SEO agency, marketing strategies, and the benefits of being based in Egypt. Additionally, Ali talks about his funding experience with Comfund and future plans including expanding into monitoring and incident response. ___ Instatus' Twitter: https://x.com/instatus Instatus' Website: https://instatus.com/ ___ My own website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icebearlabs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can find this podcast on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://codeandconquer.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find our product here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.repodcasted.com/

September 25, 2024Episode 2750 min

#027 From 0 to 100k MRR with Marie Martens

In this episode of Code & Conquer, Tobias interviews Marie Martens, co-founder of Tally Forms. They discuss the origin story of Tally, the challenges faced by bootstrapped startups, and the strategies they've implemented to grow their user base without a massive marketing budget. Marie shares valuable insights into their unique pricing model, the importance of customer support, and their vision for the future of Tally. #MarieMartens #TallyForms #IndieHacker #Startups #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #TechPodcast #ProductLedGrowth #OnlineForms #BootstrapStartup #SaaS #ProductDevelopment #FoundersJourney #PodcastInterview #TechCommunity #UserExperience #CustomerSupport #GrowthStrategy #BuildingInPublic ___ Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Episode Setup 00:29 Meet Marie Martens: Founder of Tally Forms 01:16 The Birth of Tally: From Hotspot to Form Builder 03:45 Navigating a Competitive Market 05:31 Growing Tally: From Zero to Thousands of Users 08:04 The Free Tier Strategy 12:20 Customer Support Challenges 16:01 Building a Team and Scaling Up 18:23 Future Vision and Potential Risks 23:40 Achieving Financial Milestones 24:26 Navigating Business Growth 26:19 Profitability and Personal Milestones 27:48 Scaling Challenges and Strategies 32:36 Exploring New Marketing Strategies 34:38 SEO and Content Marketing Insights 36:27 Building in Public and Community Engagement 40:48 Target Audience and Market Focus 44:50 Final Thoughts and Advice for Indie Hackers ___ Marie's Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarieMartens Tally Forms: https://tally.so/ My own website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icebearlabs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can find this podcast on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://codeandconquer.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find our product here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.repodcasted.com/

September 2, 2024Episode 261 hr 10 min

#026 Baking productized services with Alex Szczurek

Yeah, freelancing's awesome but have you tried creating a productized service?? That's what we're talking about today with our guest Alex Szczurek, one of two founders of baked.design a design studio you can subscribe to month to month. We're talking about setting up a productized service, how to find your customers and how to scale beyond your own person when the work starts coming in more and more. Other topics include Alex new side project Uncover.lab, a Figma component library, how to hire team members and when to let them go and how build a brand on Socials. We also talk a little about burnout and handling the mental load of having a very successful business that generates a lot of work. I hope you enjoy this one! ___ Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 05:07 Transition from Developer to UX Designer 08:56 Building a Specialized Design Team 15:01 Managing Burnout and Setting Boundaries 24:01 The Evolution of Baked Design and Client Selection 42:17 The Cringe Factor of Talking about MRR 43:28 The Importance of Social Proof in the Services Industry 44:26 The Issue of Trust in Marketing Services 47:04 Managing Churn in a Productized Service 53:39 Branding and Design for a Landing Page 01:16:43 The Role of Aesthetics in Gadgets and Apps 01:19:37 The Impact of Aesthetics on User Satisfaction 01:25:09 The Role of Design in Productivity and User Experience 01:32:58 Visual Appeal and Building a Connection with the Audience 01:35:35 Giving Back to the Community and Providing Valu ___ Alex's Twitter: https://x.com/aliszu Alex's Website: https://www.aliszu.co/ Baked.design: https://baked.design/ uncoverLAB: https://uncoverlab.co/ ___ My own website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icebearlabs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can find this podcast on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://codeandconquer.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find our product here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.repodcasted.com/

August 16, 2024Episode 251 hr 25 min

#025 Quitting the internet with Nathan J. Powell

In this episode we talk to Nathan J. Powell who built an app, sold it to his cofounder and then went offline for three years. Now he's back and he's got some stories to tell. We'll talk about his time with cofounder Michael Koper (another guest of the show) and their app Nusii, a failed startup called FeatureFlex and Nathan's newest product, or rather a productized service called Beyond the Pixel. Since we're both UX (User experience) people we also dive a little into how UX and UI (user interface) design differ and how you can build an ugly app and still make money with it. ___ Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and Nathan's Indie Hacker Journey 03:56 Nusii: Challenges of Growth and Reaching Customers 16:59 Selling Nusii and Taking a Hiatus from the Internet 23:30 Launching FeatureFlux and Lessons Learned 29:01 The Importance of Customer Development Interviews 31:57 Avoiding Confirmation Bias in Product Development 34:52 Finding the Right Market Fit and Category for a Product 38:16 The Importance of Feedback and User Interviews 44:11 The Role of Design in Usability and Customer Experience 01:02:36 Introducing Beyond the Pixel Studio 01:12:08 Starting with Closed Products and Transitioning to Larger Projects 01:14:08 The Value of Quick Wireframing with Balsamiq 01:19:14 Charging Higher Prices for Your Services 01:21:20 The Challenges of Setting Up a Business in Europe 01:29:49 Finding Fun in Building Products ___ Nathan's Twitter: https://x.com/nathanjpowellUX Beyond the Pixel's Website: https://beyondthepixel.studio/ Nusii's website: https://nusii.com/ FeatureFlux website: https://featureflux.com/ ___ My own website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icebearlabs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can find this podcast on: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://codeandconquer.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find our product here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.repodcasted.com/

July 19, 2024Episode 2455 min

#024 Launch, Market, Automate with Thomas Sanlis

In this episode of the Code & Conquer podcast, I sit down with Thomas Sanlis, a seasoned Indie Hacker with over six years of experience. Thomas shares his journey into indie hacking, discussing his successful projects Uneed.best and Vue Developers. He delves into the challenges of maintaining a directory and launching platform, handling competition from giants like Product Hunt, and the importance of automation in his workflow. We talk about the mindset required for indie hacking, balancing passion projects with sustainable income, and the realities of freelancing and teaching. Thomas offers valuable insights into the indie hacking world, touching on themes of patience, resilience, and the quest for a balanced life. Thomas also shares his experience handling DDoS attacks, migrating platforms, and his strategies for marketing and growth. Whether you're an aspiring indie hacker or a seasoned entrepreneur, this conversation is packed with lessons and inspiration. Don't miss it! Chapters 00:00 Introduction and Background 02:49 Pivoting UnitBest: From Tools Directory to Product Hunt Alternative 07:07 Automating Processes on UnitBest for Efficiency 10:47 Vue Developers: A Reverse Job Board for Vue.js Developers 19:32 The Mindset of an Indie Hacker 28:47 The Power of Newsletters: Driving Traffic to UnitBest 31:08 The Idea Behind Vue Developers 33:12 The Value of Automation in Product Development 36:16 Different Approaches to Indie Hacking 53:19 The Benefits and Challenges of Self-Hosting 58:51 Finding a Balance Between Work and Personal Life Thomas's Twitter: https://x.com/T_Zahil Thomas's Website: https://www.thomas-sanlis.com/ Uneed.best: https://www.uneed.best/ Vue Developers: https://www.vue-developers.com/ My own website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://icebearlabs.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can find this podcast on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://codeandconquer.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Find our product here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.repodcasted.com/