From simple theme to $65k/mo ecosystem

Ajay Patel, founder of Clevision

Ajay Patel found a gap at his full-time job and built for it. It started with a simple theme on Envato's ThemeForest, but grew into a whole suite of SaaS products. Today, that suite — Clevision — is bringing in $65k/mo.

Here's Ajay on how he did it. 👇

Getting started

I am Ajay Patel. I have worked in the tech industry for over 15 years, establishing myself as an entrepreneur, programmer, and innovator.

As the cofounder of Clevision, I’ve built products such as ThemeSelection, PixInvent, FlyonUI, and ShadcnStudio. Another product, Framespark, is in progress.

I focus on creating advanced AI tools, SaaS applications, and UI component libraries that enable developers and businesses to accelerate innovation and transform ideas into reality with speed and efficiency.

Clevision came to life in 2018 when my co-founder, Vrushank, and I spotted a market gap while working at a software company. Almost every app or platform needed admin panels, yet few solid solutions simplified their creation. Building those UIs from scratch was repetitive, time-consuming, and slowed development on nearly every project.

We saw an opportunity: Why not build a ready-to-use admin panel ourselves? That idea became Clevision, aiming to simplify development and help teams ship faster.

Starting with admin panels, we eventually grew into a broader ecosystem of Clevision products.

At its core, our motivation has always remained the same — solving real problems developers face, reducing repetitive work, and building tools that make development faster and more enjoyable.

Building an ecosystem

We started by launching our first product on Envato’s ThemeForest, which helped us validate the idea early. Even today, that channel continues to perform strongly, generating around $15–20k per month. Early traction gave us confidence that we had solved a real problem and funded further product development.

Launching ThemeSelection was a major milestone; it moved us beyond marketplaces and allowed us to build direct customer relationships. Our own platform gave us the freedom to improve support, experiment with pricing, and grow more sustainably.

Over time, those learnings shaped how we built and expanded new products. FlyonUI came from demand for better Tailwind UI tooling, Shadcn Studio emerged from simplifying shadcn/ui workflows, and Framespark is the next evolution we’re currently building.

Clevision homepage

Tech stack

Our tech stack varies by product, as each platform addresses different developer needs:

ThemeSelection / Pixinvent:

  • Bootstrap

  • WordPress

  • Easy Digital Downloads

  • PHP

  • MySQL

Shadcn Studio Frontend (Core) Stack

  • React

  • Next.js (our primary ecosystem)

  • Tailwind CSS (shadcn/ui components use)

  • shadcn/ui

  • Supabase

FlyonUI Tech Stack

  • Tailwind CSS (primary base framework)

  • Semantic class system (built upon Tailwind)

  • React

  • Next.js (our primary ecosystem)

  • Supabase

Underlying Stack (Important)

  • DaisyUI (adds semantic component classes on Tailwind)

  • Preline JS (headless JavaScript plugins for interactivity)

Framespark (in progress):

  • Framer — focuses on modern website building and creative development workflows.

Overall, we adopt technologies we believe in and often build products around the tools we use ourselves.

Business model and open-source resources

We use a freemium model, a core pillar of growth. We offer a meaningful free version across our products, allowing customers to evaluate quality before paying. This builds trust; while not every free user converts immediately, many return when ready and eventually become paid customers.

Above all, we have grown by relentlessly focusing on product quality, regular updates, and reliable support. We have never compromised on quality, and this long-term trust drives much of our growth.

Below are some open-source resources that helped us grow our business.

Expanding distribution

We no longer depend solely on SEO and blogs. We have driven our growth through a mix of best UI/UX design, flexible product licensing, top-quality products, SEO, omnichannel strategies, and community-led distribution.

We offer flexible license options for each of our products to fit different customer needs, and this flexibility has improved conversions.

While SEO was a major growth channel, we later focused more on developer- and designer-specific omnichannels. These channels not only bring traffic but also convert potential customers.

We are active on these platforms:

Additionally, we share content on YouTube, driving considerable traffic. Overall, we achieve growth by consistently combining product, content, and distribution.

If I had to start over, I’d invest earlier in distribution and audience-building: content, SEO, community, and partnerships. We focused heavily on product initially, but growth often comes from distribution as much as the product itself. I’d also move faster to build direct customer relationships instead of relying so much on marketplaces early on.

The challenges of growth and focus

A major early challenge was building and growing outside marketplaces. Selling on Envato validated our product, but moving to our own platform required us to learn customer acquisition, support, pricing, and distribution from scratch. Building ThemeSelection forced us to think beyond product development and truly understand business.

Another challenge has been staying focused while expanding across multiple products. As we built FlyonUI, Shadcn Studio, and now Framespark, prioritization became critical: deciding what to build, what not to build, and how to allocate time and resources effectively.

Like many bootstrapped businesses, hiring and scaling the right team has been a learning curve. Finding people who align with both product quality and long-term vision took time.

Move quickly and in public

My advice is: build in public, validate fast, and focus on your USP early.

  • Build in public: Share what you’re working on, your progress, and even your struggles. It helps you attract early users, get feedback, build trust, and sometimes even find your first customers before the product is fully ready. Shadcn Studio is the perfect example of it.

  • Validate fast, perfection later: Don’t spend months polishing something without knowing if people want it. Get a simple version in front of users quickly, collect feedback, and iterate based on real demand. Early momentum matters more than perfection. While working on admin templates, we made this mistake and learned why it isn't an ideal choice for businesses.

  • Start with an MVP and define your USP: Build the smallest version that solves one clear problem, and be very clear about what makes your product different. Your unique value doesn’t have to be complex, but it should give people a reason to choose you over alternatives.

In the beginning, the speed of learning is more important than the speed of building. Talk to users, improve constantly, and let feedback shape the product.

What's next?

Our goal is to build a SaaS business that provides both impact and freedom. We want to create products that continue to solve real problems while giving us the flexibility to work on what we enjoy.

Over time, we aim to grow sustainably, stay independent, and build a business that supports both innovation and a balanced lifestyle.

You can find more on my social profiles on X and LinkedIn. And check out Clevision.

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About the Author

Photo of James Fleischmann James Fleischmann

I've been writing with Indie Hackers for the better part of a decade. In that time, I've interviewed hundreds of startup founders about their wins, losses, and lessons. I'm also the cofounder of dbrief (automated expert interviews) and LoomFlows (customer feedback via Loom). I'm the creator of a newsletter called Ancient Beat (archaeo/anthro news). And I built and sold SaaS Watch.

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  5. 1

    Love this story. The part about expanding from a simple product into a full ecosystem is really inspiring. It shows how consistency and understanding your audience can compound over time.

  6. 1

    Really inspiring journey. I like how they focused on solving a real problem first and then expanded into multiple products step by step. Building distribution alongside the product is honestly one of the biggest lessons here.

  7. 1

    From simple theme to $65k/mo ecosystem” is really inspiring 🔥 It shows how consistency, smart strategy, and solving real user problems can turn a small idea into a massive business. Stories like this motivate new creators and tech entrepreneurs to keep building 🚀

  8. 1

    congratulations!

  9. 1

    built PM tools first, then tried to figure out distribution. Ajay flipped that - ThemeForest traffic before direct SaaS. i'd do it in that order if i were starting over.

  10. 1

    built PM tools first, then tried to figure out distribution. Ajay flipped that - ThemeForest traffic before direct SaaS. i'd do it in that order if i were starting over.

  11. 1

    The Envato-as-launchpad framing is underrated. Most people treat marketplaces as the destination and never build the direct relationship layer on top. You used it to validate, fund, and then graduate, that sequencing is what most solo builders miss.

  12. 1

    The part about moving beyond marketplaces and learning distribution, pricing, and customer acquisition from scratch is probably the most underrated transition in product building.

    A lot of builders think product quality alone is enough, but distribution becomes its own skill set once you leave platforms like Envato.

    Also interesting how multiple products emerged naturally from solving adjacent developer workflow problems instead of forcing random ideas. That ecosystem approach feels very durable long term.

    Really valuable insights here, especially the point about “speed of learning > speed of building.”

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  16. 1

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  18. 1

    The ecosystem approach is the strongest part for me. Instead of building random products, each new product seems connected to the same developer audience.

    How do you decide when an idea fits the ecosystem and when it is a distraction?

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  20. 1

    The "Envato as launchpad, not a crutch" framing is the most underrated takeaway in here. A lot of solo devs (myself included) confuse early traction in a marketplace with "we have a business" — when really what we have is borrowed distribution that can be revoked overnight.

    The line that hit hardest: "if I had to start over, I'd invest earlier in distribution and audience-building." It's almost the opposite of the default founder instinct — build the perfect thing first, then "do marketing" later.

    One question for Ajay: when you decided to expand from ThemeSelection into FlyonUI / ShadcnStudio, was that a "we have spare capacity, let's explore" move, or was it driven by signals in the existing customer base (people asking for it, or churning to alternatives)? Lots of us are sitting on the second-product temptation right now, and the rule of thumb isn't obvious from outside.

  21. 1

    Interesting journey. I liked the point about starting simple and understanding the real user problem over time.

    While building Vitmora, I’m realizing expense tracking is less about finance itself and more about reducing friction and making people stay consistent. Most users quit when logging starts feeling like work after a few days.

  22. 1

    Really impressive journey. What stood out most to me was how you validated demand early instead of overbuilding first.

    Starting with ThemeForest to gain traction and fund future growth was a smart move, and it’s interesting to see how each product evolved naturally from real user demand and workflow problems.

    Also loved the focus on building direct customer relationships through your own platform instead of relying only on marketplaces.

    Excited to see where Framespark goes next 🚀

  23. 1

    The interesting part isn’t just the $65k/mo it’s how each product feeds the next one. Ecosystem thinking creates a much stronger moat than a single SaaS product.

  24. 1

    The ecosystem approach here is spot on - stacking complementary products gives you distribution leverage that single-product founders rarely get. Really solid execution on the licensing model too.

  25. 1

    The ecosystem approach here is spot on - stacking complementary products gives you distribution leverage that single-product fouThe ecosystem approach here is spot on - stacking complementary products gives you distribution leverage that single-product founders rarely get. Really solid execution on the licensing model too.nders rarely get. Really solid execution on the licensing model too.

  26. 1

    Incredible example of starting with one niche product and turning it into a full ecosystem. The biggest takeaway: product quality and consistent distribution compound over time. Launching on ThemeForest validated demand, but building direct customer relationships is what unlocked real scale. Very inspiring journey from a simple admin template to $65k/month.

  27. 1

    Love stories like this. Starting from a small theme and slowly building an ecosystem around it feels way more sustainable than chasing random startup ideas. Also a good reminder that distribution + consistency beats trying to build something “revolutionary” from day one.

  28. 1

    The ecosystem approach here is smart - each product feeds the next and the licensing/distribution complexity actually becomes a moat (hard to copy when you have multi-channel presence across Envato, direct subscriptions, and multiple products with overlapping customer bases).

    One thing I'm curious about: at 5k/mo across multiple products with a co-founder and marketplace deals - how do you handle the licensing layer? Multiple products with different license tiers (extended, regular, SaaS), plus Envato terms layered on top, plus co-founder IP agreements, can get surprisingly tangled as you scale. Did you standardize early or has it been deal-by-deal?

    I'm running research on how multi-product founders handle the legal/licensing infrastructure at scale. Would love 20 minutes with Ajay or Vrushank if you're open - pure research, no pitch. Happy to share what I learn across the ecosystem builder community.

  29. 1

    "If I had to start over, I'd invest earlier in distribution and audience-building" — this line does more work than the whole revenue number.

    Building at NEXUS as a solo founder, the hardest discipline is resisting the urge to keep refining the product when what's actually blocking growth is distribution. Ajay learned it at scale. Most of us learn it the hard way at zero.

    The freemium → trust → conversion loop you described is clean. What I find interesting is that Envato ($15–20k/mo still) didn't cannibalize ThemeSelection — it funded it. Most builders treat marketplaces as a crutch. You treated it as a launchpad with a clear exit timeline.

    One question: at what MRR did you feel confident enough to stop relying on Envato as primary revenue? That transition point is where a lot of bootstrapped businesses stall.

  30. 1

    Love seeing founders turn one solved pain point into an entire ecosystem. The consistency across products and long-term focus on developers really stands out.

  31. 1

    Building AI therapy notes tool roast my idea

    I'm building TherapyNoteAI — an AI

    tool that generates SOAP/DAP therapy

    notes from session summaries.

    Target: Solo therapists in USA

    Price: $19/month

    Competition: Mentalyc ($79),

    AutoNotes ($25)

    My angle: Cheaper + simpler

    Questions:

    * Is $19/month too low?

    * How do I reach therapists online?

    * Any red flags you see?

    Currently validating before building

  32. 1

    This comment was deleted 2 days ago