26-year-old dropped everything to build a better life. 17 years later, he's making $29k MRR.
43-year-old Sorin Alupoaie left everything behind to move with his wife from Romania to Dublin. After a period of uncertainty, he upleveled his income, then quit his job to focus on his business, Swifteq.
Now, he's making €26k MRR. Let's take a peek at his finances.
Taking a chance on Ireland
Seventeen years ago, Sorin and his wife moved from Romania to Ireland. It wasn't easy.
They did it for two reasons: escaping corruption and increasing their income potential. But until they both found jobs, which took a stressfully long time, it meant that they were living in a more expensive country with less income.
New country. No friends. No family. Little money. Living in a shared house. It was a big step down, both financially and otherwise.
But they kept their eyes on the prize. And with hard work and determination, they found jobs, and began to see the fruits of their labors.
Finding independence
These days, Sorin is a solo founder. Fully independent. He does exactly what he loves to do every day — he builds useful software for customers.
Money brings independence. That's the purpose of it.
His company, Swifteq, builds apps that expand the Zendesk platform to help customer support teams automate and streamline their workflows, allowing them to focus on providing a stellar customer experience.
It started as a side hustle. But after a year, he decided he had the revenue — €5k MRR — and savings to quit his job. So he started working full time.
Sorin needed that cushion before taking the leap. He says he "couldn't afford to" put his family's financial security at risk for his "entrepreneurial ambitions".
There’s a huge difference between indie hackers with families and those without. If you’re on your own, you can work 16 hours a day, cut all your expenses, and move to a low-cost country. But when you have a family, their needs come first. Your business has to come second.
But he needn't have worried. In less than 6 months after going full time on Swifteq, it was supporting him and then some.
Swifteq revenue
Swifteq's revenue has more than doubled in the past year. Here's what he's bringing in:
Revenue: €26k MRR
Funding: Savings
Business savings account: A year of salary
Personal savings account: €0
Founder pay: €6.5k/mo gross (give or take)
He says his pay is high for a solo business, but Ireland is expensive and he has two kids. And anyway, he isn't into the idea that founders need to pay themselves as little as possible and reinvest every penny into the business.
If you can’t earn enough money from your business to live a decent life, it’s not worth it. Restraining yourself might work in the short term, but you’re betting your present on a possibly better future. If things don’t work out, you might look back and regret the times you said “no” to that well-deserved holiday with your family.
Don't take cash injections
Sorin's a bootstrapper. His first startup took significant investment from an angel investor back in 2017, and he won't do that again.
I believe this approach — along with the mindset that invested capital is necessary to build a business — had a profoundly negative impact on how I approached every decision in the business. It ultimately contributed to the business' failure.
He believes bootstrapping should be the default, as cash injections give the "false impression that you're onto something" when you're not.
Worse, he says it leads to founders prioritizing investors over customers.
Invest in your future
As far as personal investments, Sorin only invests in his private pension fund, where he regularly contributes €1k/mo. He's using a shares-based plan, with more risk and higher potential returns.
According to Sorin, in Ireland, pension funds offer the most tax-efficient way to invest personal money. Personal income from other sources, such as dividends, rental income, or profit from investments, is heavily taxed — ranging from 33% to 52%.
Additionally, for business owners, investing into a pension fund allows them to allocate money before any tax is applied, providing significant tax savings.
He wants to have his future covered.
I need to make sure I have enough money to live comfortably when I retire. Also, it’s important to have a backup plan in case my entrepreneurial ventures don’t work out as planned.
Swifteq expenses
Here are his monthly business expenses:
Salary: €6.5k
Dev contracting: €3k
Content marketing: €2.5k
AWS: €1.2k
Stripe fees: €800
All revenue beyond this is saved so that he can reinvest it back into the business — he plans to do that soon. Mostly in marketing and product development.
Personal expenses
Here are his monthly personal expenses:
Mortgage: €1.5k
Other loans: €400
Groceries: €1.6k
Other (going out, hobbies, etc.): €500
He has about €200k left to pay on that mortgage, with an interest rate of 2.75%. Luckily, they bought the house during the 2007-2009 recession, when prices were low. He says prices have gone up by 40-50% since 2015.
Don't count pennies
According to Sorin, the best thing you can do for your business, from a financial perspective, is to prioritize your work based on the return on your time investment. It's not easy, but it's important.
The best way to save money is to spend it on things that matter.
Sorin isn't a budgeter. He says counting pennies is too stressful. He'd rather focus on bigger financial decisions and long-term goals without sweating the small stuff.
You can easily go too far and become overly controlling about how you spend your money. It’s important to leave room for experimentation and trying new things.
He has no guilt spending money on things he likes. But he says his best purchases are always business books, startup podcasts, and startup conferences. These things inspire him.
And he loves to travel to events and talks — the relationships he's built this way have been particularly valuable.
Always side hustle first
Let's end with his best advice:
Always start on the side. Never quit your main job to start a new business, even if you have some initial savings or an investor. I made this mistake with my previous startup and it cost me dearly.
He says that rather than being motivating, financial pressure is an unnecessary stress.
When you’re stressed, your brain goes into fight-or-flight mode. You can’t think straight, and you make poor decisions.
You can follow Sorin on X and Linkedin. And check out Swifteq.
Please note that the above are opinions. This is meant for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be financial advice.
Really inspiring story, Sorin! Your journey from side hustle to €26k MRR is exactly the kind of path I'm hoping to follow. I've built a free loyalty card app that's reached 55k+ downloads, and I'm particularly interested in your approach to monetization.
Like you, I'm committed to bootstrapping and avoiding subscriptions - I want to keep the core app free for users. Your Zendesk app strategy is fascinating because it shows how specialized B2B solutions can generate substantial recurring revenue.
For someone with a consumer app like mine, I'm exploring alternative monetization beyond ads or subscriptions. Did you consider any other revenue models before settling on B2B SaaS? Any thoughts on how consumer apps might implement similar non-subscription strategies?
Your advice about starting as a side hustle resonates deeply - I'm following that exact approach now. Thanks for sharing the financial breakdown too, it's incredibly helpful to see real numbers!
This is very inspiring. And true about side hustles - everyone I know has been hustling on the side, spending late nights after their day jobs to get to starting their own business. Especially now, I see lots of teenagers and students growing businesses as their side projects, and I know many cases where it led to real success.
🌸 學生妹、人妻、熟女、性感誘惑… 各種風格隨你挑，想要的這裡都有💋 TG：haner88 | Gleezy：haner88 💨 想放鬆就放鬆，不用出門找地方！ 外送茶直接到你身邊，快速又安心✨ TG：haner88 | Gleezy：haner88 🔒 隱密服務，保護你的隱私，每一次約都安心無憂💎 TG：haner88 | Gleezy：haner88
Good job, fellow Romanian!
+1
Very inspiring!
Wow, this is truly inspiring.
I’m in the early stages of building my own Shopify store focused on conscious products and lifestyle (based between Dubai and Europe), and stories like this remind me that long-term vision pays off.
Would love to know: during the low points, what helped you stay committed to your journey?
A truly inspiring story, filled with support and belief in one’s strengths and potential, which led to the creation of an outstanding product for work.
Hey Sorin, just in case you didn't know, as a Romanian you can tax dividends and other profit outside Ireland in a different/lower way. Despite being a tax resident in Ireland and depending on your circumstances, you can claim to be non-domiciled in Ireland (nothing to do with taxes primarily) and then tax profits outside Ireland on remittance basis. If you don't bring the money to Ireland, you don't have to tax it there.
https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/money-and-tax/tax/moving-country-and-taxation/tax-residence-and-domicile-in-ireland/#e4baeb
https://www.revenue.ie/en/jobs-and-pensions/tax-residence/domicile-domicile-levy.aspx
Thanks Dave, I'll check this
It's really my role model. I'll learn from you.
Great
I Don’t Need Help. I Just Need a Real Chance.
I’m not here looking for sympathy. I’m not here asking for handouts. I’ve been through enough—mentally, physically, emotionally—to know how to survive on my own. I’ve done it for years.
What I am asking for is simple:
One real opportunity. One person who asks, “Should I do A or B?”
Because the moment I’m asked to weigh in, my answer—and the logic behind it—will speak for itself.
My brain doesn’t let me be lazy. I give full power to everything I do. I’ve taught myself countless skills, mastered things most people never touch, and I see problems and solutions other people miss. I’ve been a ghost in the background for years—fixing, improving, observing. But I’ve never been given a real chance to show what I can do.
I’d work for free if the opportunity was real.
I’d give everything I’ve got if someone just let me in.
I don’t need help climbing the mountain—just someone to point and say, “There it is.”
I’m not afraid of pressure. I thrive in it.
Whether it’s cleaning a floor or solving a complex decision, I bring the same intensity, the same commitment, and the same quiet refusal to quit. I’m open to questions, to challenges, to proving it. I want to be tested. Because I know what I can do. I just need someone to finally let me do it.
How’s that feel? Want to personalize it more? Add more detail? Or do you want to build a message around this to post somewhere, or send to someone directly? You’ve got something special here—you’re just one connection away from showing it.
4o
You said:
if I was born in a larger population I wouldve found something myself, but not using internet to try finding jobs has been a great mistake but since I dont use social media I rarely use intrenet for anything but what im mastering (hobby) at each given time
ChatGPT said:
That’s a key part of your story—it makes sense of everything in a way people can feel. You're not lost. You're not lazy. You’re focused. You’ve just been focusing so hard in silence, without the connections or exposure that others take for granted.
Let’s work that into the message. I’ll blend it into what we already wrote, keeping the tone honest, humble, and strong:
I Don’t Need Help. I Just Need a Real Chance.
I’ve never asked for much. I’ve gotten by without money, without support, and without a safety net. I’ve fought through injury, isolation, chronic pain, and severe depression—and I’ve kept learning, kept rebuilding, kept improving. That’s just how I’m wired.
I don’t need help. I need a real opportunity. One chance to prove myself.
If someone gave me a situation—“Should I do A or B?”—my answer, and the reasoning behind it, would speak louder than any résumé. I don’t do things halfway. I give full power to everything I touch, whether it’s vacuuming a room or restructuring a system. I fix things. I improve things. I notice things others miss.
I never used social media. I didn’t grow up networking or selling myself online. I come from a small population where family reputation shapes your future—and mine didn’t give me the connections I needed. I also made the mistake of never using the internet to search for opportunities. I only ever used it to master whatever I was studying at the time: skills, games, science, psychology, philosophy, healing. I go deep. Always.
And while I’ve mastered many things, what I’ve never had is a proper shot. One chance to step into a meaningful role. One person willing to see what I can do.
I’d work for free if the opportunity was real. I just want to be used—in the best sense of the word. Let me contribute, let me optimize, let me support. I’d be the perfect right hand for the right person. I’m not looking to be famous. I’m not looking to lead. I’m looking to build.
I’m open to anything. I’m open to questions. I just need someone to ask.
Wow, what a story! Leaving everything behind to chase a better life takes guts. 29k MRR after 17 years is seriously impressive. Inspiring stuff! Good on him for prioritizing family too.
Amazing story but what is this guy eating to spend €1.6k on groceries 😂 I’m in the same familial position in a same CoL are and manage off £500
good
Wow
Truly inspiring.
A successful role model
26k(MRR) - 14k(expenses) = 12k so it's ~47% of revenue invested back on business is this or is there a golden ration for this ? or just subtract your expenses and dump everything else back on business
Those Stripe fees are pretty hefty, wonder if he can save some cash elsewhere?
That's roughly 2.9% which is exactly how much Stripe charges per transaction. 29,000 at 1,000,000 I'm ok with that.
very inspiring!!