Latest / The Indie Hacker Podcast with Fexingo: Solo Developers, SaaS Side Projects, and Independent Tech / How a Solo Developer Built a SaaS in Public for 100K Followers
Transcript
- Lucas: There's this solo developer I've been following for about a year. He decided to build a SaaS product completely in public — sharing revenue numbers, user counts, even his pricing experiments, all on Twitter, from day one. Luna: I've seen a few people do that. Does he actually pull it off? Lucas: Yeah, pretty remarkably. He started with zero audience. Eighteen months later, he has over 100,000 followers on Twitter, and his SaaS — a simple project management tool for freelancers — hit about $80,000 in annual recurring revenue. And he spent exactly zero dollars on marketing. Luna: Zero? So the entire growth engine was him just tweeting his progress. Lucas: Exactly. But it's not just tweeting. He had a specific playbook. Every Monday he'd post a screenshot of his MRR — monthly recurring revenue — even when it was just $200. He'd break down where new signups came from, what features users were requesting, and when he messed something up, he'd post a postmortem within hours. Luna: That takes a certain kind of confidence. Most founders would be terrified to show a bad month. Lucas: Right, and that's precisely why it works. The honesty builds trust. His audience felt like they were part of the journey — they'd suggest features, share the tool with friends, and defend him in comment threads. It turned customers into evangelists. Luna: So the product itself matters, but the narrative around it became a moat. Lucas: Exactly. And he kept it focused. He didn't try to build a platform or a community app — it's a simple tool. The story is what differentiated him from a hundred other project management tools. Luna: I'm curious about the downside. If you're sharing everything, doesn't that invite copycats? And what about the mental health aspect of being that exposed? Lucas: Both are real. He's talked about the anxiety of hitting publish on a bad revenue number. And yes, competitors can see your playbook. But his argument is that execution matters more than the idea — and by the time someone copies you, you've already moved ahead. Luna: That's a fair point. So for a solo developer thinking about building in public, what's the first step? Lucas: Start smaller than you think. Pick one metric and share it weekly. Don't try to be a content creator — just be transparent about your specific journey. The audience will find you if you're consistent and honest. Luna: And if today was actually useful to you, the way these stay ad-free is listener support — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, that's what keeps us going. No sponsors, no interruptions. Just real conversations. Luna: Exactly. So back to building in public — I've noticed that not every niche works well for this approach. Consumer apps and developer tools seem to thrive, but what about something like a SaaS for accountants? Lucas: Great question. The key is whether your audience hangs out in public forums. Accountants are less likely to be on Twitter debating features. For those niches, building in public might mean a private community or a transparent changelog rather than a Twitter thread. Luna: So adapt the strategy to the audience, not the other way around. Lucas: Right. And one more tactic from this developer: he live-streamed his coding sessions on Twitch. Not for the money — he made maybe $50 from donations — but because viewers would spot bugs or suggest UX improvements in real time. It was like having a free QA team. Luna: That's genius. You're getting user research and testing while you build. Lucas: Exactly. And those viewers became his first paying customers. They felt invested because they'd helped shape the product. Luna: What about the long game? Can you sustain that level of transparency for years? Lucas: Some people burn out. This particular developer has scaled back a bit — he now posts monthly instead of weekly. But he says the audience stays engaged because they trust the pattern. It's about rhythm, not volume. Luna: So building in public isn't a sprint. It's more like a recurring habit. Lucas: Exactly. And if you're thinking about trying it, pick one channel. Don't try to be on Twitter, Twitch, and a blog all at once. Start with the place where your potential users already hang out. Luna: I think that's the most practical takeaway. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Yeah, good conversation. See you next time.