My failed solo projects and why I paused my indie hacker journey
Title says it all really! After falling in love with the idea of indie hacking and creating a few small projects, I have paused being an indie hacker to focus on other things in my life.
Rather than feeling like I've somehow given up on "the dream", this decision has been a painless and positive one, and I wanted to share why.
You see a lot of amazing success stories about indie hacking, and a few scary failure stories. I'm hoping that this kind of "average guy" story helps round out the picture a little, and helps with the problem of Survivorship bias. It's the kind of perspective I'd have wanted to see if I was me a year ago.
First, a lightning quick rundown of my projects, none of which got more than ten users (hi Mum!).
Zenkettle - a Zettelkasten style note-taking app
I decided to make a note-taking app (how cliché). It was based on the now popular zettelkasten style of note-taking, where you can form a rich network of ideas and connected concepts.
I told myself that it was to learn new programming techniques, but in the back of my head I dreamed about making it big and having tonnes of paying users. I did zero customer validation, zero market analysis, and never even released the app.
I did however learn that I can create something cool on my own, and that I don't hate the process.
BjjGymFinder - find BJJ gyms in your country
When going on holiday I found it very time consuming locating Brazilian Jiu Jitsu gyms. Their websites are often missing pricing, out of date, and not written in English. My aggregator site kept all the basic data (timetable, cost, contact details) in one easy place, and was easy to search by city and country.
This time I wanted to actually ship something. I still had no business model, but at least I was scratching my own itch and keeping the scope small. I started by adding all the gyms in London and Poznań (I was going to Poland at the time).
It barely got traffic (like 20 organic views, and 100 impressions). Not quite enough to slap some ads on and leave the day job... This was maybe because it was built bang in the middle of the covid lockdown, and flights were banned to almost every country. I decided to pull the plug and try something else.
Sell by weight - zero waste store plugin
Getting slightly smarter, I picked a market and a niche! Zero waste stores who were driven online during covid had pretty bad websites. I decided to build a plugin that could solve (what I thought at the time) was a real pain for them.
I was going to create a slider plugin for Shopify stores to let people sell by the gram. One of the best things about zero-waste is that you can cut down your spending by only buying the exact quantities of ingredients. However, most online store builders don't let you do this. Zero waste stores were having to sell in 50g batches.
It took me five hours to build out an MVP (two weeks of real time on a busy schedule). I then contacted store owners, pitching the idea and asking for feedback/payment. I got tonnes of feedback, but nobody was interested.
Turns out, most zero waste stores actually liked having 50 gram increments as it lets them pre-package batches of ingredients for delivery without weighing them on request! So much for reducing waste...
Another valuable lesson about validation, another discontinued project.
Deciding to stop
In my own mind, none of these unsuccessful products were big failures in the grand scheme of things. During each one I learned something new, and got a little closer to creating a solo project that generated income.
So why did I decide to stop? There were two reasons:
- A big new life project that requires huge amounts of time
- I found ways to get what I wanted from indie hacking out of my day job.
Big project: Learning a language
At the same time as I started indie hacking, I started learning Polish very seriously. My wife and her family are Polish, and I wanted to be able to communicate with them in their first language.
The method I found (Comprehensible input) was quite unlike any I'd tried before. It requires that you consume a lot of content in the language (3 hours a day minimum), and let your brain's language learning mechanisms do the bulk of the work. I found huge progress unlike anything I'd experienced dabbling in language learning with Duolingo, and made the decision to keep at it until fluency.
This however meant that my hour before work, lunch break, and hour before bed were now needed to meet my daily immersion time, and I found myself with only 1-2 hours a week to work on side projects. I decided it was best to take a break from indie hacking, at least for three years, maybe more.
Changing my job
I wanted to become an indie hacker to:
- earn more money
- become location independent
- become financially independent (work less)
In order to fulfill those same goals while learning Polish, I was lucky enough to find a remote job with a higher salary. I also learned about the financial independence movement and started saving more aggressively.
My new work has good work life balance. Not quite the 20 hour work week I dreamed of, but no crazy overtime. More importantly for me, it was a salary increase, and has allowed me to travel. I'm writing this article in a coffee shop in Porto!
As the first employee in a self funded SAAS business, I also have had the privilege of helping us grow from 0 customers to over £3000 MRR in the last eight months. Needless to say, I'm taking notes about what works and what does not.
Due to saving more, I'm also still on my path towards financial independence. When I do start working on solo projects again I'll do it knowing that a big chunk of money required for my ideal lifestyle has already been saved away.
When all is said and done
I feel that I'm still on the same journey, but I've slowed down due to shifting priorities. I could maybe buckle down and grind, but I have decided that's not for me. I like my life now, and I want to use my time to take advantage of different opportunities that contribute towards my overall happiness (which is what this should be all about in the end).
I have time for my hobbies, I'm valued at work, and I'm growing my income. At the same time I'm I'm building skills and a safety net that'll make my journey easier if/when I choose to go back into indie hacking more seriously. I'm also over two thousand hours into learning Polish, and I'd not trade the conversations I've had with my new grandfather and grandmother for the world.
This is not a success story, or a failure story really. I just hope it's been useful to hear a somewhat un-inspiring story about someone who fell in love with the idea of indie hacking, but chose to put it down for now to focus on other things. 🙂
In survivorship terms, I'm one of those planes that did not make it back. I've not been shot down though, I just disappeared into the sunset.
Happy hacking, and wishing you all the best, regardless of where your journey takes you!
Hey Daniel, great post man, thanks for sharing!
In many ways you are a rich man. You have tons of experiencing launching multiple apps. Regardless of the outcome, that will be a real asset for the rest of your life. Add to that your current full time gig, working for a bootstrapped company which is clearly doing very well. I am guessing the team is not too massive so you still have ample exposure to the founder(s). This is paid learning as I see it. Who knows, when you are ready to start a new thing, you might be able to get some great input from them, maybe they can even help you out in other ways...
Finally, on the personal front, learning a new language is always a smart move. I don't know what your mother tongue is but I can imagine it's not very similar to Polish, so a hell of a job.
Highly impressed by your story and all you have done and are doing. Feel free to drop me a line when you are ready to start something new. Would love to have a chat.
Cheers,
Reginald
Thanks so much for the kind words! Really does mean a lot you took the time to write this out. I still do get plenty of time with the founders, and it's good to be reminded of how valuable that can be.
I'll definitely get in touch when I get back into indie hacking.
Until then, all the best :)
Daniel
Daniel, thanks for sharing your story, it's truly inspirational, and I'm glad that, in one way or another, things have worked out for you.
From what I've seen, you've been trying to fulfill numerous roles, besides the development one, and that's something to be applauded for!
Good luck with your current plans and thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Misha!
This is an inspirational story, Daniel! Not everyone has the courage to follow what's valuable for them, especially if it doesn't look like a widely recognizable success path.
Good luck with learning Polish! Let me know if you'd want to have a call to practise the language. 😄
Thanks so much Lukasz (or is it Łukasz 🤔), I actually sometimes still get FOMO seeing people working on businesses, but I try to take a step back and look at what makes me feel happy and fulfilled, and just go down my own path.
Thanks for the offer! You know what, I'll mull it over and maybe will get in touch in a while. My Polish family actually live in Andrychów, next time I'm visiting them in Poland (next year probably), I might send you a message and see if you're free for a coffee. Would be great to meet an indie hacker in person (and in Polish!)
You got me there 👉 my name is Łukasz.
Oh, wow! That's really close to where I live. It would be great to meet in person. Definitely please let me know when you are around.
Powodzenia i do zobaczenia!
Hey Daniel!
I see you gained a lot of experience throughout your startup journey, which is awesome. Hope you have good results learning Polish and are satisfied with the work you have now 🙌🏻
Are you going to create something new someday? I believe your ideas can work out!
More power to you man. Good luck with everything with your journey.
Thanks Brian!
Being able to get into a startup this early (Bootstrapped as well!) is incredibly valuable and everything about your situation just sounds ideal to any aspiring founder - wish you all the best! Can totally understand the motivation to focus on learning right now...
I keep trying to remind myself it's not a race! Thanks for the well wishes, and right back at you :)
Thanks for sharing this Daniel! I'm also the one who decided to take a break from my full-time job to learn something I found interesting and to pursue my indie hacker journey. It's a tough decision but I believe that in the end, even if I failed, I still get some valuable experience.
Have a good luck on your next journey, maybe you find some product idea about learning the Polish language 😁.
All the best on your journey, and for sure you'll get an amazing experience out of it one way or the other. :)
Polish language product... let me sit on that one for a while, maybe I can figure something good out in the next couple of years!
I feel that for me I will always be an entrepreneur, no matter if I am working for myself or others... If you feel that you want to pick up another project join us at the WBE Space. We are bootstrappers supporting each other in our own projects and side projects. It really helps to be surrounded by like-minded people.
No, but thank you for the offer :) I'm trying to step away from bootstrapping for now so not sure that's the right thing for me!
Fantastic storytelling, Daniel. It sounds like you've landed exactly where you want to be — so I'd say your indie hacking experience was a success after all.
Wishing you well on the next leg of your journey. Maybe a few years from now I'll be using the successful product you go on to launch after mastering Polish 😉
Thanks Mekkie. Makes me really happy to hear you thought that of my storytelling 😊. I'm also happy you see the bright side like me. It's not quite 10k MRR but I had a blast every step of the way.
People bought SAAS apps two years ago, and I'm hoping they still will two years from now, here's hoping to a great next few years (I'm wishing you the best too!)
Awesome write up @DanielGibbons!
What I love most is that you were intentional! You realized that learning Polish was more important to you in your life. I think sometimes we as entrepreneurs forget there are other things in life than starting a business. Things that can often be much more fulfilling!
Thanks for the kind words!
At the end of the day, we're all people first (I think 👽) and entrepreneurs second. Indie hacking is an amazing tool to have a happy and fulfilling life, but it's not the only one! Starting a business is still on the bucket list though 😅
100% true. Love the thoughts!
Thanks for sharing your story, and best of luck in your next endeavor.
I don't want to talk you out of your decision, but perhaps language learning could be a field for your next idea. I suspect there are some opportunities there, under-served by Duolingo or Anki.
Thanks very much for taking the time to read and comment 🙂
Language learning apps or information is definitely something I've thought about, and may be something I explore in the future. You're totally right that there's room for competition.
Currently, my feeling though is that my honest recommendation to anyone learning a language would involve 2-3 free tools, and I've not bought anything (other than translated books and a Netflix subscription) in my own language journey. As such I find it hard to think of any pain I can solve that I feel would actually improve someones journey.
Maybe I can write up my method at some point and try and help others who are on the same path as me. I'll keep in in my back pocket for now... 😉
Hey Daniel, thanks for sharing your story. It lands exactly as it is, as your journey in indie hacking that is neither a success nor a failure. I believe the experience you gained along is significant and will contribute to your work as an employee in a SaaS, as well as in your indie hacking path should you choose to pursue it again.
The 3 apps you built outline your growth. You began with a project based on “it’s popular now” to your last project where you tried to think of a value proposition to your customers, thinking about market needs, etc.
I believe your next take will be an even more mature version, and I hope a profitable one as well :-)
Thanks for sharing, enjoy your life and good luck.
Thanks so much Boris, really appreciate your comment and thoughts.
When the time is right I for sure will be back, and I'm glad you felt I grew, I certainly felt that way! I think I really internalized some core lessons about building products, and I hope you're right about profitability in the future :)
Thank you for this post @DanielGibbons. We often get consumed so much by getting successful that we forget it is more important to be happy. I have had many failed startups and have been very cautious since then to start anything. Took a break and focused on my full time job and now, slowly getting back to taking a bit of risk to do something with ideas I have put on hold.
Appreciate this post. Its very healthy to have a dose of reality when reading through this group. Despite not being a survivor (this time around), sounds like the experience enriched you.
Do you think any of the products would have succeeded with more product research? How did your current employer know to pull the trigger on their SaaS?
This both reminded me I have a lot of work to do and inspired me to get after it. Thanks so much for sharing 🙏
I'm from Italy but have been living in Krakow, Poland for a few years. Yes, Polish is def a challenge. However, I mastered JavaScript so I'm confident I can get my speaking to a good level too 😄
Scope creep in language learning is a thing so I gave myself a clear goal: having a 1-hour conversation in Polish one-to-one with somebody I don't know.
I'm not particularly interested in reading books or formal conversations or grammar perfection. With that in mind, I can skip a lot of work that wouldn't get me closer to the goal.
For example, I never learned wołacz (vocative) and I don't even try to memorize words or sentences that I don't see myself using or being exposed to in conversations.
I found out that mangas in Polish are excellent learning material: I turn pages which makes me feel good and there's a ton of conversational slang.
But yeah, in the end, to get good at talking the secret is to accept the discomfort and speak a ton. Plus, when I make a mistake and somebody points it out, I commit it to long-term memory right then.
Powodzenia,
Rysiek
Very true, and good luck to you on your journey! I've personally been binging on polish fantasy books, but that's because one of my long term goals is to read Lem's books.
Where do you find Polish translated manga? I've tried a few places online but no luck. Any advice would be appreciated (fan of manga in general!)
Powodzenia!
Wow, that's such an ambitious goal!
I live in Poland so that's as easy as going to the manga shop 😄 You can search for "skanlacje" (scanlations) online. It's piracy and I don't like the idea much, but if the choice is either that or no Polish manga, then I think we can make an exception.
Hey Daniel, totes respect the decision to go on hiatus for a while.
You’ll build it up the urge again at some point I have no doubt!
With the BJJ gym finder; how were you going about the aggregation and keeping the data up to date?
I’ve got a speed bump with my current project in that getting the initial data set is challenging but maintaining it will be even more so in a time effective manner.
Hope learning Polish is going well!
Hey there! Thanks for the kind words and sorry for the late reply. :)
Ah, the aggregation was done manually in a google spreadsheet and exported as a CSV file! If we got a reasonable amount of traffic we'd cross that bridge when we came to it.
We had identified a couple open data sources and also planned on letting users update the data themselves, but never became our biggest issue.
Hope that helps and good luck!
Perfect, no worries!
Another post in the same newsletter related to finances and financial independence! I love it! I'm so glad I came across the movement in 2018. I'm focused on building my ideal lifestyle, and saving plenty. Even in the worst case, in 10 years I could quit and just do whatever. For indie hackers, FI is a great fallback. I recently did a talk where I shared my financial journey in terms of financial design patterns.
I think the emphasis on finding what makes you happy is important... It's easy to go too far down the saving mindset and get into the miserly mindset. 30-40% savings rate is like the perfect balance of still being able to spend on nice things but also 2-3X your time to retirement.
Hey! That's awesome :) For sure getting the balance right is super important, and there are definitely diminishing returns to saving.
Nice choice! From time to time I have similar thoughts to just stop doing anything except 8h work and focus on sport, wellbeing and hobbies. It develops us as persons!
I hope your Polish lessons are going well - I guess it's not the easiest language for English speaking guy. I can add that it might be useful also beyond family-related events. Poland's economy becomes stronger and stronger, our IT market also grows.
Knowing the language might be a huge benefit in the future for you! Lots of companies love to have a single guy outside in UK/US/Anywhere who do the sales or business connections abroad but can communicate well with HQ in Poland.
Powodzenia!
That's a good point about the career opportunities in learning Polish! I never thought about it.
One great thing about Polish too is it's great literature. I've started getting into Reportaż and it makes me glad I went down this path, even just for my own pleasure!
Dziękuję i nawzajem!
I'd say what everyone else want to. Never give up. I think one day will come when you end up being successful. Maybe not this day, maybe not with your next project but in the end you will. This is how it works and you know this too.
For sure, just taking some time to focus on what I think is more important. Living life well comes first ;)
Its great that you are sharing this kind of journey. Im sure most of us have gone through a similar phase. Hope you have not given up for good.
Have you considered writing a book, btw ?
For sure not given up for good! I'll check back in a couple of years and try create something again I'm sure 😎.
I've not considered writing a book, but having so many people being supportive of something I wrote was unexpected and made me very happy all this week. I'll try to cement a semi-regular blogging habit before I go all in on a book!
This is amazing!
Thanks Johnny!
Great story Daniel, really appreciate you sharing. I'm new to this world and am going down a similar path, building something that I want but not doing any market research, etc. I'm doing it for me because I want this tool, but in the back of my head I have visions of making it a successful business. Thanks to people like you sharing the not so perfect stories it helps remind me that it is not that simple and I need to think about those other things if I want to take this seriously.
Thanks again and good luck with your next adventure!
Glad to hear you got something out of reading this. You know, you're probably the exact kind of person I wanted to read this article, and I'm really happy you shared that. :)
All the best, and enjoy the journey!
It happens sometimes don't lose hope
Would not say I lost hope, but definitely taking a break 😅
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Ah, but since I'm just an employee it's not my £3000 MRR 😅. Sorry if that was confusing! Still not bad though, definitely learned a tonne seeing how others can do it.