2 Years of going indie - status update

Hey friends -

Today marks the 2 years of me becoming a full time indie hacker.

Just wanted to share a status update with everyone.

2 years ago I quit the corporate rat race to work for myself. With no background in business, marketing or sales.

Just 24 months of savings, some raw ideas. And the goal to achieve freedom.

This is what happened -

When I quit I had 1 consulting gig. It was basically a bit less than half my salary for half my time

It was good, it gave me the time and space to actually think. For the first time in my career I wasn't in hurry to get somewhere.

I could pursue my curiosities and play around. Which I did.

I started freelancing and taking on more clients.

I started a ghostwriting agency.

I made friends on Twitter.

It was the best of times, but soon to be the worst of times.

I was so naive, it took me a while to realize that freelancing and consulting are not very different from a job.

You have more freedom, sure, but no leverage. If something happens to me, and I can't work, then my income will be 0.

That's not ideal.

Plus I had fallen into a few bad clients with my ghostwriting work. Folks who wanted me to cross ethical boundaries.

Something which I wasn't comfortable doing.

I realized this wasn't the path I wanted to take. So I shut down freelancing, and fired all my clients.

I decided to build products.

They have pure leverage.

But I had no clue how to do marketing and sales.

Sure I had a few followers here on Twitter, but that didn't mean I was a marketing expert.

I decided to learn this shit by brute force.

June last year, I took on this crazy challenge to ship 25 products in 25 weeks.

The idea was simple -

Go from idea to pre-launch to revenue in less than 7 days.

AND only build the product, IF people actually pay money for it. And repeat this for 25 weeks straight.

It was as crazy as it sounds.

Some projects did well, most of them failed. And I got burnt out.

But it was the most enriching experience of my life.

I learned a lot which I could apply to my other projects. (My Lessons)

Then in January this year, I joined my friend Kamban
as the co-founder of Elephas. (More Details)

I had been consulting him from the outside for a while. But when the project reached critical mass, it made sense for us to join forces.

Today, Elephas is doing quite well. We're profitable and growing.

And we are hiring, I'm pretty nervous about having employees 😅

Always wanted to do this solo. But I realize that this is the only way we can grow to the next level.

So I'm learning to embrace it.

I also started a community and a mastermind program last year. It is one of the most fulfilling projects of my life.

I get to hang out with cool makers from around the world. Help them closely with their projects.

And be a cheerleader in their journey. I love the feeling ❤️

Overall - I'd say things are going well. I'm grateful to the friends I've made here on Twitter.

I've benefited a lot from the communities I'm a part of.

Be it Indie Hackers, the "Build In Public" community on Twitter, Daniel Vassallo's Small Bets, and Kevon Cheung's Public Lab.

This journey can get very lonely very quickly, that's why I value the communities I'm a part of so much.

The people I meet here help me stay calm under pressure, and tell me that I'm not alone on this path.

I'm sharing all this because I hope this reaches and helps someone 2 steps behind me.

If you're considering quitting your corporate career to go solo, feel free to reach out.

I'd be happy to help in any way I can

Cheers 🙏

I wrote a more "Life Update" style post on my blog for friends outside Twitter.