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Ben Tossell of Makerpad. He made about $200k in the past year from a site that teaches others how to build interactive sites and apps without writing code. Lyn

Ben Tossell of Makerpad. He made about $200k in the past year from a site that teaches others how to build interactive sites and apps without writing code. Lynne Tye of Key Values. She made about $400k in 2019 from a site that connects software engineers with companies that that share their intangible values, e.g. diverse team, good for parents, fast or slow-paced, etc. Robert James Gabriel of Helperbird. He struggled a lot with dyslexia growing up, and even had a teacher tell him he should give up and drop out of school. Luckily another teacher encouraged him to learn to code, and he's been quite prolific since. Helperbird is a browser extension that helps others with learning disabilities browse the web easier. Robert recently brought on a co-founder, but he'd grown the app to a "comfortable five figures a month" in revenue. Plenty more on https://www.IndieHackers.com https://www.IndieHackers.com sharing their stories via interviews and on the podcast, and also posting about hitting revenue goals and other milestones here: https://www.indiehackers.com/milestones https://www.indiehackers.com/milestones

gnicholas 7y ago
+1 on Robert of Helperbird. He's done a great job scaling that company up, although as you note he does have a cofounder now. Also a really helpful guy — I reached out to him and he was down for a chat about accessibility and assistive technology.
batt4good 7y ago
I'm still blown away that Key Values (as cool an idea as it is) manages to pull that kind of revenue. One thing I'd be curious to see is if the site actually can maintain revenue past year one?
- dannyw 7y ago
  Recruiting really, really pays.
  - batt4good 7y ago
    So surely Key Values takes a share of recruiting fees, not just a fee to list on their platform? Idk, it seems like this site wouldn't help cut down on candidates that are completely not qualified to work at a given company, which to me seems like a much more daunting hiring challenge for small companies / startups.
    - Pete-Codes 7y ago
      Their whole business model is not taking a cut AFAIK. If you listen to the indie hackers podcast that will help explain why :) Imagine if you run a company and have to pay $30k to a recruiter to find someone. And then imagine paying a fraction of that to post all your jobs on Key Values.
- st1ck 7y ago
  Idea is really nice, but with such unpolished execution, I'm surprised there is so much revenue. RE the execution: - filters work unintuitively: selecting more filters often increases number of matches - some filters are very fuzzy, and don't even have detailed description: "Creative + Innovative", "Committed to Personal Growth" or "Bonded by Love for Product" - you can't negate the filters: e.g. you can select "EQ > IQ", but you can't choose "IQ > EQ", or any value which goes against progressive viewpoint.
nosettones 7y ago
I found out about Lynne and Key Values last year. At the time, I was feeling particularly unsure about my path. I sent Lynne a brief email on a total whim after reading the story behind how she came to create Key Values, and feeling inspired. Lynne actually took the time to respond and offer me advice in an email, and that made a strong impression on me. Wish her continued success in 2020 and many years to come !
- Pete-Codes 7y ago
  I quit my job around the same time as I discovered that podcast. I was walking around in a daze listening to this episode pondering what I had done and it made me feel ok.

gnicholas 7y ago

+1 on Robert of Helperbird. He's done a great job scaling that company up, although as you note he does have a cofounder now. Also a really helpful guy — I reached out to him and he was down for a chat about accessibility and assistive technology.

batt4good 7y ago

I'm still blown away that Key Values (as cool an idea as it is) manages to pull that kind of revenue. One thing I'd be curious to see is if the site actually can maintain revenue past year one?

dannyw 7y ago
Recruiting really, really pays.
- batt4good 7y ago
  So surely Key Values takes a share of recruiting fees, not just a fee to list on their platform? Idk, it seems like this site wouldn't help cut down on candidates that are completely not qualified to work at a given company, which to me seems like a much more daunting hiring challenge for small companies / startups.
  - Pete-Codes 7y ago
    Their whole business model is not taking a cut AFAIK. If you listen to the indie hackers podcast that will help explain why :) Imagine if you run a company and have to pay $30k to a recruiter to find someone. And then imagine paying a fraction of that to post all your jobs on Key Values.
st1ck 7y ago
Idea is really nice, but with such unpolished execution, I'm surprised there is so much revenue. RE the execution: - filters work unintuitively: selecting more filters often increases number of matches - some filters are very fuzzy, and don't even have detailed description: "Creative + Innovative", "Committed to Personal Growth" or "Bonded by Love for Product" - you can't negate the filters: e.g. you can select "EQ > IQ", but you can't choose "IQ > EQ", or any value which goes against progressive viewpoint.

nosettones 7y ago

I found out about Lynne and Key Values last year. At the time, I was feeling particularly unsure about my path. I sent Lynne a brief email on a total whim after reading the story behind how she came to create Key Values, and feeling inspired. Lynne actually took the time to respond and offer me advice in an email, and that made a strong impression on me. Wish her continued success in 2020 and many years to come !

Pete-Codes 7y ago
I quit my job around the same time as I discovered that podcast. I was walking around in a daze listening to this episode pondering what I had done and it made me feel ok.