Val Sopi
Financial Update: February 2023
<p>In January, I managed to pay myself $500 for the first time — from my Saas making — since...
a year ago
<p>In January, I managed to pay myself $500 for the first time — from my Saas making — since setting sail on <a href="https://valsopi.com/setting-sail">my journey to financial freedom</a>.</p><p>The plan is to keep paying myself at least $500 each month going forward, hoping...
Tony Dinh's...
Help me win the Golden Kitty Awards 2022?
(just a quick announcement...)
a year ago
(just a quick announcement...)
Build In Public...
How I Built This In Public: Noah Bragg
Lessons from building and growing Potion to its acquisition all in public
a year ago
Lessons from building and growing Potion to its acquisition all in public
High Signal
The Ultimate Guide to Social Proof
Social proof is a powerful concept in marketing. It's the idea that as consumers, we are influenced...
6 months ago
Social proof is a powerful concept in marketing. It's the idea that as consumers, we are influenced by what others do, especially people we admire. If you have ever seen a website mention its number of users, a review from a customer, or company logos, you've
mtlynch.io
My Third Year as a Solo Developer
Today is the third anniversary of quitting my job at Google to build my own software business. I...
over a year ago
Today is the third anniversary of quitting my job at Google to build my own software business. I posted updates at the end of my first and second years, so it’s time to share my progress.
The year things clicked into place In my first two years working for myself, I earned less...
mtlynch.io
How Litestream Eliminated My Database Server for $0.03/month
Here’s a riddle. My web app keeps all of its data in a SQL database. I can spontaneously tear it...
over a year ago
Here’s a riddle. My web app keeps all of its data in a SQL database. I can spontaneously tear it down, deploy the code to a different hosting platform, and the app will still serve all the same data. Running my app in production costs $0.03 per month.
How is this possible?
That’s...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 32
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
a year ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $60-80k/month in revenue and employs six other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this one...
High Signal
Making $6k from a baby AI photo generator
Ever wondered, "Is there an AI to see how your baby looks?" Well you're not alone! OurBabyAI is an...
a year ago
Ever wondered, "Is there an AI to see how your baby looks?" Well you're not alone! OurBabyAI is an app that shows how your future baby may look.
Max Rozen
Understanding Integration Testing in React
Moving from Enzyme to React Testing Library is rough. You can't do a lot of things you used to, and...
over a year ago
Moving from Enzyme to React Testing Library is rough. You can't do a lot of things you used to, and there are new best practices. Let's learn them!
Tony Dinh's...
Dec 2022 updates and happy new year!
Hello everyone! It's Tony again with another monthly updates.
a year ago
Hello everyone! It's Tony again with another monthly updates.
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 25
Highlights My blog post about redesigning the TinyPilot website became my second most popular...
over a year ago
Highlights My blog post about redesigning the TinyPilot website became my second most popular article of all time I’m exploring ways to preserve more knowledge on my blog I’ve lowered TinyPilot’s prices in an effort to reduce inventory Goal Grades At the start of each month, I...
mtlynch.io
Import from a URL in Nix
I’m still a Nix beginner, and one thing I couldn’t figure out until recently was how to keep parts...
a year ago
I’m still a Nix beginner, and one thing I couldn’t figure out until recently was how to keep parts of my configuration.nix file under source control.
My goal I’d like for my Nix configuration files to be modular and reusable, so depending on the system or flake, I can pull in...
mtlynch.io
Is It Keto: Month 11
Highlights Two of my blog posts reached the front page of Hacker News. I may have finally discovered...
over a year ago
Highlights Two of my blog posts reached the front page of Hacker News. I may have finally discovered a way to scale my keto site profitably. I’m putting Portfolio Rebalancer on the backburner due to lack of traction. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like...
mtlynch.io
I'm Probably Procrastinating
Highlights A change to Zestful’s website boosted it to the front page of Google results within days....
over a year ago
Highlights A change to Zestful’s website boosted it to the front page of Google results within days. I’m going to try to make a better version of a decades’ old application for managing machine shops. I’m doing lots of coding to avoid talking to customers. Goal Grades At the...
High Signal
10 stoic quotes for entrepreneurs
Stoic quotes can be a great comfort to you, especially if you are an entrepreneur. Building a...
10 months ago
Stoic quotes can be a great comfort to you, especially if you are an entrepreneur. Building a business is hard work so it's important to build resilience. That's where stoicism comes in! Stoicism is not about being an emotion-less robot but more about not letting your
Max Rozen
Guidelines for choosing React Libraries
There are a *lot* of React libraries out there. So how do you pick which one to use in your app?...
over a year ago
There are a *lot* of React libraries out there. So how do you pick which one to use in your app? This article provides guidelines for choosing.
mtlynch.io
Back Up Encrypted ZFS Data without Unlocking It
I recently built my first home TrueNAS server. I use it to store the bulk of my personal and work...
over a year ago
I recently built my first home TrueNAS server. I use it to store the bulk of my personal and work data, so I’ve been learning how to make the most of TrueNAS and its filesystem, ZFS.
Today, I want to tell you about backing up encrypted data.
My homelab TrueNAS server
One of the...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 28
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
over a year ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $60-80k/month in revenue and employs six other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this one...
Val Sopi
A change in how I share my open finances and a new self–imposed public challenge
<p>
A bit over a year ago, I wrote <a href="https://valsopi.com/setting-sail">a post</a> in...
a year ago
<p>
A bit over a year ago, I wrote <a href="https://valsopi.com/setting-sail">a post</a> in which I talked about embarking on a journey to financial freedom. Specifically speaking — I took out a personal loan so I could focus on solely building products.
</p><p>
With that...
mtlynch.io
Join My Six-Week Blogging Course
I’m teaching a small-group, live course about attracting readers to your blog through Hacker News....
6 months ago
I’m teaching a small-group, live course about attracting readers to your blog through Hacker News. Sign up by Monday (June 24th) to reserve your slot.
Why take a class with me? My blog receives 300k-500k unique readers per year. After Google, Hacker News is the primary way that...
Val Sopi
AI will make humans better
<p><i>Context: Read <a...
a year ago
<p><i>Context: Read <a href="https://www.theredhandfiles.com/chatgpt-making-things-faster-and-easier/" target="_blank">Nick Cave's letter</a> first.</i></p>
<p><i></i>—</p>
<p>ChatGPT (or similar) are just tools!</p>
<p>Nothing more.</p>
<p>They're akin to when tools...
Max Rozen
Keeping up with React Libraries
React libraries are hard to keep track of. This article attempts to put the ones worth talking about...
over a year ago
React libraries are hard to keep track of. This article attempts to put the ones worth talking about on one page.
Build In Public...
How Twitter helped me with the 1st ever BUILD IN PUBLIC NFT 💎
Happy Friday everyone, Below is the story of: how I found an artist to collaborate and mint my 1st...
over a year ago
Happy Friday everyone, Below is the story of: how I found an artist to collaborate and mint my 1st ever NFT project on the theme of “build in public” how it all came together on Twitter DMs how we plan to auction/sell it to a thoughtful buyer how we intend to donate all the...
Dominik Sobe's...
Feedback, acquisition offer and the journey to product-market fit
over a year ago
Val Sopi
Going steady
<p>blogstatic has been going well. Better than any other app I've ever ran. Not sure what it is....
over a year ago
<p>blogstatic has been going well. Better than any other app I've ever ran. Not sure what it is. Could be that my experience over the years has caused for me to cover all the usual pitfalls, so everything looks good to the new client: from the marketing website all the way to the...
mtlynch.io
How to Do Code Reviews Like a Human (Part Two)
This is the second half of my article about how to communicate well and avoid pitfalls in code...
over a year ago
This is the second half of my article about how to communicate well and avoid pitfalls in code reviews. Here, I focus on techniques to bring your code review to a successful close while avoiding ugly conflict.
I laid the groundwork in Part One, so I recommend starting there. If...
Dominik Sobe's...
The Six Best Practices for launching on Product Hunt in 2021
over a year ago
Dominik Sobe's...
My Indiehacker Journey: Part One.
over a year ago
Val Sopi
The Benefits of NOT Being Online
<p>Hey, you probably know me as the founder of <a href="https://claritask.com/">Claritask</a> or as...
over a year ago
<p>Hey, you probably know me as the founder of <a href="https://claritask.com/">Claritask</a> or as a Podcaster where I nakedly talk about my <a href="https://bootstrapping-saas.transistor.fm/">Bootstrapping Saas</a> journey.</p>
<p>Since early this summer I took a sabbatical...
High Signal
Selling a website after learning to code with AI
Andrew Davison is a British founder who built and sold an app by learning to code with ChatGPT. He...
a year ago
Andrew Davison is a British founder who built and sold an app by learning to code with ChatGPT. He had a problem with exporting multiple tables from Airtable databases so he built a tool to help him automate the process. Andrew used new tools like ChatGPT and Replit to a)
mtlynch.io
Building a Homelab VM Server (2020 Edition)
For the past five years, I’ve done all of my software development in virtual machines (VMs). Each of...
over a year ago
For the past five years, I’ve done all of my software development in virtual machines (VMs). Each of my projects gets a dedicated VM, sparing me the headache of dependency conflicts and TCP port collisions.
Three years ago, I took things to the next level by building my own...
Scott DeLong
Weeks 40-43: A $5k Month and Billion Dollar Idea
The second to the last update is focused and short. I have just one goal: convert subscribers into...
a year ago
The second to the last update is focused and short. I have just one goal: convert subscribers into paying customers.
The post Weeks 40-43: A $5k Month and Billion Dollar Idea appeared first on Scott DeLong.
mtlynch.io
The Perils of Outsourcing Your MVP
A few months ago, I had a brilliant idea for a website. Then, I had an even brillianter idea: build...
over a year ago
A few months ago, I had a brilliant idea for a website. Then, I had an even brillianter idea: build the website, but outsource all the work.
Every great website starts with an MVP: the minimum viable product. It demonstrates the idea in its simplest form to test whether anyone is...
mtlynch.io
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
I had a mixed reaction to this book. Some of Ibram X. Kendi’s ideas felt novel and compelling. It...
over a year ago
I had a mixed reaction to this book. Some of Ibram X. Kendi’s ideas felt novel and compelling. It broadened my perspective in thinking about race. And there’s a lot of historical discussion of race and slavery that covered details I don’t remember from school. At the same time, I...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 26
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer, and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
over a year ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer, and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $60-80k/month in revenue and employs six other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this one...
Build In Public...
I just announced an AI accelerator program
Full story on my latest role at Paddle, the new AI program, and what it means for you
8 months ago
Full story on my latest role at Paddle, the new AI program, and what it means for you
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 12
Highlights I’m struggling to get unstuck in two areas that have stalled for months: hardware...
over a year ago
Highlights I’m struggling to get unstuck in two areas that have stalled for months: hardware development and hiring. I’m partnering with a distributor in Germany to begin selling TinyPilot within the EU. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to...
High Signal
Building a mentor marketplace to 20,000 users
Mentorcruise is an impressive mentor marketplace which has grown to 20,000 users.
a year ago
Mentorcruise is an impressive mentor marketplace which has grown to 20,000 users.
Grow With Less
7 Dangerous Meta Description Mistakes That Are Ruining Your CTR
I have some bad news.
Writing great content, building quality backlinks and having catchy blog post...
over a year ago
I have some bad news.
Writing great content, building quality backlinks and having catchy blog post titles is not enough.
You could have all this and still get very little traffic.
Why?
Because you need people to choose your article over competing articles in the search...
Val Sopi
Year 2300
<p><i>From all that is currently happening to us, I want to believe that we’re at the dawn of a new...
5 months ago
<p><i>From all that is currently happening to us, I want to believe that we’re at the dawn of a new era </i>✊</p><hr><p>I am predicting year 2300 to be the one when we’re living the progressive dreams of today.<br></p><p>By then we have reached a new...
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 10
On re-rearchitecting.
a year ago
mtlynch.io
Staying Motivated by Sending Status Updates to Nobody
At my last job, status meetings with my manager were outstandingly efficient. He never ran me...
over a year ago
At my last job, status meetings with my manager were outstandingly efficient. He never ran me through the typical drill of listing list off everything I did since our last meeting. Instead, we jumped right to the meaty topics of career growth, team development, and challenging...
Val Sopi
On the first page of Hacker News with Subsection
<p><i><a href="https://subsection.io/" target="_blank">Subsection</a> is an app that helps create...
over a year ago
<p><i><a href="https://subsection.io/" target="_blank">Subsection</a> is an app that helps create support docs, such as user guides, knowledge bases, documentation, and changelogs. </i></p><p><i>Below I describe the launch of Subsection of <a...
mtlynch.io
Zestful: Month 4
Prior to February 2019, I published all my retrospectives on Indie Hackers:
Zestful Month 4:...
over a year ago
Prior to February 2019, I published all my retrospectives on Indie Hackers:
Zestful Month 4: Shipping Too Late
Tony Dinh's...
$500K milestone – my reflections after 1 year of building Typing Mind
Also in this issue: one-off purchase vs. subscription, selling Xnapper, and other updates from me in...
10 months ago
Also in this issue: one-off purchase vs. subscription, selling Xnapper, and other updates from me in Feb 2024
Grow With Less
9 Inspiring Examples of Successful Blogs (And How They Got There)
Looking at blog income reports from popular blogs, you could think that the only way to make money...
over a year ago
Looking at blog income reports from popular blogs, you could think that the only way to make money blogging is to blog about blogging.
Luckily, you would be mistaken.
The reality is that there are successful blogs in all kinds of niches. You simply hear more about the make money...
Tony Dinh's...
Another 6-figure exit, and the future
I sold Xnapper, here is a quick update about the acquisition details
9 months ago
I sold Xnapper, here is a quick update about the acquisition details
High Signal
$200k from selling Google Sheets tutorials
Andrew Kamphey is a creator who has made $200k from teaching people how to use Google Sheets over...
a year ago
Andrew Kamphey is a creator who has made $200k from teaching people how to use Google Sheets over the past three years. Think 'Miss Excel' but he's a beardy guy who doesn't dance in his videos. In this interview Andrew shares his marketing wins,
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 15
Highlights TinyPilot had its highest-revenue month ever. One of TinyPilot’s competitors raised $800k...
over a year ago
Highlights TinyPilot had its highest-revenue month ever. One of TinyPilot’s competitors raised $800k almost overnight. I’m working with a design firm to improve TinyPilot’s brand and website. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 41
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
a year ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $80-100k/month in revenue and employs six other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this one...
Val Sopi
Runway extended by an Angel
<p>
About a month ago, on September 1st, I made a big leap: I stopped my consulting work...
over a year ago
<p>
About a month ago, on September 1st, I made a big leap: I stopped my consulting work for the 3rd time to chase my SaaS dreams.</p>
<p>
Up to September, I supported my SaaS making with consulting and contract work. Which wasn't an ideal setup for making...
Max Rozen
Lessons from my third year running a SaaS
I've run this business for three years now, and I'm only just now starting to *get it*.
10 months ago
I've run this business for three years now, and I'm only just now starting to *get it*.
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 24
Highlights TinyPilot reached an all-time high of $74k in revenue. I’m trying to figure out the best...
over a year ago
Highlights TinyPilot reached an all-time high of $74k in revenue. I’m trying to figure out the best approach to software licensing. I’m still searching for a web framework I can love. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I did...
mtlynch.io
What I Learned About Upwork from a Bumbling Scammer
For years, I’ve hired freelancers through a site called Upwork. The site attracts many different...
over a year ago
For years, I’ve hired freelancers through a site called Upwork. The site attracts many different professionals, so I’ve used it to find everything from cartoonists to software developers to copy editors. Some were great, some were disastrous, but none of them had ever tried to...
Build In Public...
How I Built This In Public: Marie Martens
Lessons from building Tally.so from 0 to $40k MRR all in public
a year ago
Lessons from building Tally.so from 0 to $40k MRR all in public
Build In Public...
Build In Public - Community Edition (Oct 2021)
Hey everyone 👋 Let’s open this newsletter with a powerful quote ⬇️ Luck surface area. Aka...
over a year ago
Hey everyone 👋 Let’s open this newsletter with a powerful quote ⬇️ Luck surface area. Aka serendipity. Aka helping relevant and like-minded people find you through your content. That’s what building in public is all about. With that said, get ready for October’s community...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 14
Highlights A redesign of TinyPilot’s website seems to have increased sales. TinyPilot now has a...
over a year ago
Highlights A redesign of TinyPilot’s website seems to have increased sales. TinyPilot now has a European distributor. After three years, I’ve earned back my investment in Zestful (and I might sell it). I’m still ruthlessly delegating every task I can. Goal Grades At the start of...
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 5
In which I doubled my conversion rate without trying too hard.
a year ago
In which I doubled my conversion rate without trying too hard.
Max Rozen
A Guide to Commonly Used React Component Libraries
There are a *lot* of React Component libraries to choose from. This guide attempts to put them all...
over a year ago
There are a *lot* of React Component libraries to choose from. This guide attempts to put them all on one page.
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 11
On building table-stakes features, and breaking through a plateau.
a year ago
On building table-stakes features, and breaking through a plateau.
Grow With Less
Don't Trust Keyword Difficulty Scores (Do This Instead)
Keyword difficulty or SEO difficulty is the likelihood of ranking for a keyword. And the way most...
over a year ago
Keyword difficulty or SEO difficulty is the likelihood of ranking for a keyword. And the way most bloggers estimate it is dangerous.
They use SEO tools like Ahrefs, Keysearch, or SEMrush and rely on their keyword difficulty scores to tell how easy ranking for a keyword should...
mtlynch.io
Go Programming Blueprints by Mat Ryer
I’m a fan of Mat Ryer’s work, and his blog posts have had a significant impact on the way I program...
a year ago
I’m a fan of Mat Ryer’s work, and his blog posts have had a significant impact on the way I program in Go. I found the book hit or miss. Some chapters were fascinating and taught me valuable Go lessons, while others felt boring and got too bogged down in the minutiae of...
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 16
On content marketing, starting a YouTube channel, and improving status pages
a year ago
On content marketing, starting a YouTube channel, and improving status pages
mtlynch.io
I Sold TinyPilot, My First Successful Business
My first two years as a bootstrapped founder went poorly. I could barely find any paying customers,...
6 months ago
My first two years as a bootstrapped founder went poorly. I could barely find any paying customers, and all of my businesses lost money. I began questioning my decision to quit my cushy Google job.
In mid-2020, yet another of my businesses had flopped, and it was only kind of...
High Signal
Making $200k/year at 25 from online startups
Ch Daniel is a 25 year old founder who is making $200,000 in annual revenue from a variety of...
a year ago
Ch Daniel is a 25 year old founder who is making $200,000 in annual revenue from a variety of websites.
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 9
On cleaning up the shop.
a year ago
mtlynch.io
My Sixth Year as a Bootstrapped Founder
Six years ago, I quit my job as a developer at Google to create my own bootstrapped software...
10 months ago
Six years ago, I quit my job as a developer at Google to create my own bootstrapped software company.
For the first few years, all of my businesses flopped. The best of them earned a few hundred dollars per month in revenue, but none were profitable.
Halfway through my third...
High Signal
Making $6k MRR from a Notion website builder
Noah Bragg is the founder of Potion, a website builder based on Notion. It lets you simply publish a...
a year ago
Noah Bragg is the founder of Potion, a website builder based on Notion. It lets you simply publish a website straight from Notion without any coding skills! Noah has done a great job growing Potion to $6k MRR. I interviewed him about how he created Potion, his best marketing...
Max Rozen
Getting your own good enough laptop for under $500
I recently bought a cheap, used Thinkpad T480, replaced a bunch of parts. Some folks were asking how...
a year ago
I recently bought a cheap, used Thinkpad T480, replaced a bunch of parts. Some folks were asking how they could do the same thing, so I figured I'd write about it
Max Rozen
How to style react-select with styled-components or emotion
Styling react-select can be annoying. Here's a quick guide on how to do it with popular CSS-in-JS...
over a year ago
Styling react-select can be annoying. Here's a quick guide on how to do it with popular CSS-in-JS libraries.
Scott DeLong
Weeks 26-30: We’re On A Collision Course
It's almost poetic that the Internet is shifting at exactly the time I'm doing a challenge to prove...
a year ago
It's almost poetic that the Internet is shifting at exactly the time I'm doing a challenge to prove what works - and how to overcome change.
The post Weeks 26-30: We’re On A Collision Course appeared first on Scott DeLong.
Dominik Sobe's...
Five videos that shaped my life so far
over a year ago
High Signal
Sailing the world while building startups
James and his partner Danielle have an enviable working set-up - they live and work on a sailing...
10 months ago
James and his partner Danielle have an enviable working set-up - they live and work on a sailing boat!
Tony Dinh's...
Apr 2023: I sold Black Magic
And other updates in April 2023
a year ago
And other updates in April 2023
Grow With Less
A Quick and Easy Win for the New Year (and an Important Check)
2020 is finally over (thank God.)
Which means it’s time for some New Year cleaning.
You may have...
over a year ago
2020 is finally over (thank God.)
Which means it’s time for some New Year cleaning.
You may have articles or copyright notices that reference previous years.
Now is the perfect time to update these and make sure they say “2021” and not “2020” or even “2019.”
To find pages...
mtlynch.io
My Eight-Year Quest to Digitize 45 Videotapes (Part Two)
In part one, I described my arduous journey to capture my old home movies in digital format and...
over a year ago
In part one, I described my arduous journey to capture my old home movies in digital format and divide them into individual scenes. After processing all the clips, I wanted the experience of exploring them to be as simple as looking up clips on YouTube. Because these videos are...
mtlynch.io
Building a Homelab VM Server
Note: This article describes a VM build in 2017.
For the 2020 version, see, “Building a Homelab VM...
over a year ago
Note: This article describes a VM build in 2017.
For the 2020 version, see, “Building a Homelab VM Server (2020 Edition).”
Overview I do the bulk of my home development work in virtual machines (VMs). My main desktop PC is a Windows 10 machine, so I had always run my VMs from...
Tony Dinh's...
Why I run Black Friday deals (things I learned)
I also curated 300+ Black Friday deals for you
a year ago
I also curated 300+ Black Friday deals for you
Max Rozen
Demystifying useEffect's clean-up function
useEffect's clean-up function can be pretty confusing, especially if you're still trying to think in...
over a year ago
useEffect's clean-up function can be pretty confusing, especially if you're still trying to think in lifecycle methods. Let's clarify the clean-up function in this article.
mtlynch.io
My First Year as a Solo Developer
On February 1st, 2018, I quit my job as a software engineer at Google to start my own single-person...
over a year ago
On February 1st, 2018, I quit my job as a software engineer at Google to start my own single-person software company. It’s exactly one year later, so it feels like an apt time to reflect on how that decision affected my finances, lifestyle, and happiness.
How I made and spent...
Tony Dinh's...
Oct 2022 updates: I will write a book!
Also in October: Speak at JOM Launch Asia 2022, and the thing about Elon Musk.
over a year ago
Also in October: Speak at JOM Launch Asia 2022, and the thing about Elon Musk.
High Signal
$100k from building a SaaS boilerplate for Django
Cory Zue has built a living making Django SaaS boilerplates for founders. It means you can get...
a year ago
Cory Zue has built a living making Django SaaS boilerplates for founders. It means you can get started with your SaaS much quicker
mtlynch.io
Notes from PyTexas 2019
Overview This past weekend, PyTexas invited me to speak at their annual conference in Austin,...
over a year ago
Overview This past weekend, PyTexas invited me to speak at their annual conference in Austin, Texas.
It was a fun trip, and I learned a lot. It was also expensive, both financially and in terms of time. I’m taking these notes partly to share what I learned and partly to help me...
mtlynch.io
Paternity Leave: Month 2
Highlights I’m finding it surprisingly difficult not to work. Sleep is getting a little better. I...
2 months ago
Highlights I’m finding it surprisingly difficult not to work. Sleep is getting a little better. I used Nix to create a slick and reusable fuzz testing workflow. Goal grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I did against those...
Max Rozen
Blogging lessons from working for a large blogging company
For a short period, I was employed by a company that drove most of its revenue from blogging. Here's...
over a year ago
For a short period, I was employed by a company that drove most of its revenue from blogging. Here's what I learned while I was there.
Val Sopi
Marching into March
<p>February was yet another month with unexpected expenses on top of my planned budget of -2500....
a year ago
<p>February was yet another month with unexpected expenses on top of my planned budget of -2500. They were again family related.</p><p>The lesson here is that my personal budget is way too tight without much margin for any unexpected expenses, especially with two growing kids and...
mtlynch.io
I'm Still Confused About Base
A year ago, I listented to an interview with Jesse Pollak on an episode of Into the Bytecode.
Jesse...
3 months ago
A year ago, I listented to an interview with Jesse Pollak on an episode of Into the Bytecode.
Jesse works for Coinbase, and he noticed that lots of developers building apps on top of Ethereum were solving the same problems over and over again. He started a project at Coinbase to...
Grow With Less
Stoicism: Can the Ancient Philosophy Make You a Better Business Owner?
I have always considered philosophy to a strange topic full of mysterious sentences and complicated...
over a year ago
I have always considered philosophy to a strange topic full of mysterious sentences and complicated concepts.
So I was pretty surprised when I read Epictetus’ Manual for the first time.
The advice in the book was not only understandable but also surprisingly actionable.
I have...
Max Rozen
Indiehacking: a review of my 3rd year
A review of my third year of trying to start an internet business.
over a year ago
A review of my third year of trying to start an internet business.
Grow With Less
This 20-Minute On-Page SEO Checklist Could Save Your Rankings
What’s the worst thing that could happen to your blog?
For many bloggers, the answer is getting...
over a year ago
What’s the worst thing that could happen to your blog?
For many bloggers, the answer is getting blacklisted by Google and seeing all their organic traffic vanish overnight.
And a common way this happens is when Google realizes your blog is infected before you do and simply...
Tony Dinh's...
July 2023: $6K MRR – getting back on recurring revenue
small updates from me in July 2023
a year ago
small updates from me in July 2023
mtlynch.io
Why does a extraneous build step make my Zig app 10x faster?
For the past few months, I’ve been curious about two technologies: the Zig programming language and...
9 months ago
For the past few months, I’ve been curious about two technologies: the Zig programming language and Ethereum cryptocurrency. To learn more about both, I’ve been using Zig to write a bytecode interpreter for the Ethereum Virtual Machine.
Zig is a great language for performance...
mtlynch.io
Automatically Deploying ClipBucket with Ansible
Overview ClipBucket is an open source video hosting platform, similar in functionality to YouTube or...
over a year ago
Overview ClipBucket is an open source video hosting platform, similar in functionality to YouTube or Vimeo. In this guide, we’ll walk through how to deploy ClipBucket to a server using the configuration management tool, Ansible.
tl; dr - Just Install ClipBucket I don’t care about...
mtlynch.io
Reset Month
No update this month I’m skipping my normal retrospective this month, as I sold TinyPilot and am...
6 months ago
No update this month I’m skipping my normal retrospective this month, as I sold TinyPilot and am taking some time to figure out my next project.
Retrospectives will hopefully resume in a month or two!
Val Sopi
A Successful Product Hunt Launch
<p>blogstatic's <a href="https://www.producthunt.com/products/blogstatic#blogstatic"...
5 months ago
<p>blogstatic's <a href="https://www.producthunt.com/products/blogstatic#blogstatic" target="_blank">first PH launch</a> (documented <a href="https://valsopi.com/launching-on-product-hunt">here</a>) was in December of 2022, three months after the <a...
High Signal
The best no-code newsletters for founders to read
Want to find the best no-code newsletters for learning about what you can build without coding? You...
a year ago
Want to find the best no-code newsletters for learning about what you can build without coding? You came to the right place!
High Signal
The ultimate guide to bootstrapping a business
Bootstrapping a business has come back into fashion lately, especially as investment from venture...
11 months ago
Bootstrapping a business has come back into fashion lately, especially as investment from venture capitalists is drying up and people want to increase their income due to the cost of living crisis. This article will teach you everything you need to know about bootstrapping a...
Build In Public...
What if you could edit like Spielberg? 🎥
Meet Eddie AI—your new editing partner ready to bring cinematic flair to every cut!
2 months ago
Meet Eddie AI—your new editing partner ready to bring cinematic flair to every cut!
Grow With Less
4 Simple Strategies I Use to Never Run out of Article Ideas
Want to know a secret?
I never run out of article ideas.
In fact, my main struggle is usually...
over a year ago
Want to know a secret?
I never run out of article ideas.
In fact, my main struggle is usually choosing between a myriad of topics I would love to write about.
You may think it’s because I’m very creative but the simple truth is that I simply use 4 simple strategies that guarantee...
mtlynch.io
Using Zig to Unit Test a C Application
Zig is a new, independently developed low-level programming language. It’s a modern reimagining of C...
a year ago
Zig is a new, independently developed low-level programming language. It’s a modern reimagining of C that attempts to retain C’s performance while embracing improvements from the last 30 years of tooling and language design.
Zig makes calling into C code easier than any other...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 43
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
10 months ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $80-100k/month in revenue and employs six other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this one...
High Signal
Making $12k from podcasts - James McKinven interview
James McKinven is an entrepreneur who has succeeded in making money from podcasts - no easy feat. He...
a year ago
James McKinven is an entrepreneur who has succeeded in making money from podcasts - no easy feat. He earns money by editing podcasts for companies
Build In Public...
Build In Public - Community Edition (Sep 2021)
Hey everyone 👋 Let’s open this edition with a powerful quote: On that note, get ready for...
over a year ago
Hey everyone 👋 Let’s open this edition with a powerful quote: On that note, get ready for September’s round-up highlighting key launches and wins from founders, makers, and creators in the #buildinpublic community. Without further ado, let’s get rolling.
Val Sopi
The Word that guides my year
<p>Sort of without fail and unplanned, every year in December, I usually think of a word that I want...
over a year ago
<p>Sort of without fail and unplanned, every year in December, I usually think of a word that I want to live by the upcoming year.</p>
<p>Depending on what kind of year I have had, the Word for the upcoming one should represent the practical step ahead for...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Build a KVM Over IP for Under $100
TinyPilot is my inexpensive, open-source device for controlling computers remotely. It works even...
over a year ago
TinyPilot is my inexpensive, open-source device for controlling computers remotely. It works even before the operating system boots, so I use TinyPilot to install new OSes and debug boot failures on my bare metal homelab servers.
This post details my experience creating TinyPilot...
Dominik Sobe's...
The reason I got hooked on being an Indiehacker
a year ago
Scott DeLong
Weeks 44-47: The end is near
As this challenge comes to an end, it feels good to be at a point where I'm about as immune as...
a year ago
As this challenge comes to an end, it feels good to be at a point where I'm about as immune as possible to looming threats
The post Weeks 44-47: The end is near appeared first on Scott DeLong.
mtlynch.io
Guidelines for Freelance Developers Working with Me
I’ve been hiring software developers and other freelancers for the past seven years. Even though I...
over a year ago
I’ve been hiring software developers and other freelancers for the past seven years. Even though I write most code myself, hiring other developers is a tremendous force multiplier that frees up time for other parts of my business.
Freelancers work well if you manage the...
Max Rozen
The Definitive Guide to Commonly Used Words in React
Do some words in React have you scratching your head? Ref? Stateless component? Let's learn some...
over a year ago
Do some words in React have you scratching your head? Ref? Stateless component? Let's learn some words!
High Signal
Starting a successful business at 50 - Devan shares his tips
Ever thought if 50 is too old to start your own business? Devan is proof it's not. He was 50 when he...
a year ago
Ever thought if 50 is too old to start your own business? Devan is proof it's not. He was 50 when he created his startup and at 56 years old, he has made a million-dollar business!
Can you tell us about HR Partner and your achievements?
HR Partner
Build In Public...
How I Built This In Public: Peter Mick
Lessons from building and growing Copylime to 6 figures all in public
a year ago
Lessons from building and growing Copylime to 6 figures all in public
I Have No Idea What...
6 pricing A/B tests I’ve run (and which ones worked)
How pricing experiments helped me reach $6,000 MRR
a year ago
How pricing experiments helped me reach $6,000 MRR
Val Sopi
Giving blogstatic a real chance
<p>I have never really given blogstatic a real chance to succeed.</p>
<p><b>Up to now, I've said a...
over a year ago
<p>I have never really given blogstatic a real chance to succeed.</p>
<p><b>Up to now, I've said a version of any of the following.</b></p>
<ul><li>"It's a side project..."</li><li>"I did it in ~30 hours..."</li><li>"It's growing slowly without much marketing..."</li></ul>
<p>And...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 40
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
a year ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $80-100k/month in revenue and employs six other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this one...
Grow With Less
A Day in the Life of a Full-Time Blogger
Search “blogger working” in Google Image and you will see thousands of smiling bloggers working on...
over a year ago
Search “blogger working” in Google Image and you will see thousands of smiling bloggers working on their laptop while drinking coffee in a trendy coffee shop.
And while these things can definitely be part of a blogger’s day, they are only the visible part of the iceberg.
Blogging...
mtlynch.io
Is It Keto: Month 13
Highlights I sold my first pre-order for KVM Pi. Finding new ways to monetize Is It Keto is proving...
over a year ago
Highlights I sold my first pre-order for KVM Pi. Finding new ways to monetize Is It Keto is proving more difficult than I expected. I sold an Enterprise plan for Zestful. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I did against those...
mtlynch.io
GUIs are Antisocial
Last week, I was listening to the CoRecursive podcast interview with PowerShell’s lead architect,...
5 months ago
Last week, I was listening to the CoRecursive podcast interview with PowerShell’s lead architect, Jeffrey Snover.
One moment in that interview has been stuck in my head the whole week is when Snover argues that graphical user interfaces (GUIs) are inherently “antisocial”:
I...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 23
Highlights The TinyPilot website redesign is finally done. I’ve learned to make Debian packages, and...
over a year ago
Highlights The TinyPilot website redesign is finally done. I’ve learned to make Debian packages, and it’s surprisingly simple. I’ve given up on Vue and frontend frameworks in general. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I did...
High Signal
How Allison monetizes her programmatic SEO knowledge
Allison Seboldt is the founder of PageFactory, a service which helps websites grow their content and...
a year ago
Allison Seboldt is the founder of PageFactory, a service which helps websites grow their content and reach with programmatic SEO.
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 29
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
over a year ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $60-80k/month in revenue and employs six other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this one...
Scott DeLong
Weeks 48-52: My Final Update
It's been fun (kinda). Here's where it ended up and where I'm going next.
The post Weeks 48-52: My...
a year ago
It's been fun (kinda). Here's where it ended up and where I'm going next.
The post Weeks 48-52: My Final Update appeared first on Scott DeLong.
mtlynch.io
How I Collected a Debt from an Unscrupulous Merchant
A few years ago, I learned a handy technique for resolving disputes with uncooperative businesses....
over a year ago
A few years ago, I learned a handy technique for resolving disputes with uncooperative businesses. It’s simple to understand and easy to implement. You don’t need lawyers or a prominent social media presence. All it requires is for you to behave like an organized professional....
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 38
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
a year ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $60-80k/month in revenue and employs seven other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this...
High Signal
Is Ruby on Rails dead in 2024? No!
Ruby on Rails, or 'Rails' for short, is a framework for making websites with the programming...
10 months ago
Ruby on Rails, or 'Rails' for short, is a framework for making websites with the programming language Ruby. The idea behind it is to simplify how programmers create websites and it caused a storm amongst developers when it was released in August 2004 by software engineer David...
mtlynch.io
Resurrecting a Dead Library: Part Two - Stabilization
In this post, I demonstrate how to retrofit automated tests onto an untested legacy library.
This is...
over a year ago
In this post, I demonstrate how to retrofit automated tests onto an untested legacy library.
This is part two of a three-part series about how I resurrected ingredient-phrase-tagger, a library that uses machine learning to parse cooking ingredients (e.g., “2 cups milk”) into...
Tony Dinh's...
Early bird license of my new product
TypingMind.com is launching tomorrow on Product Hunt!
a year ago
TypingMind.com is launching tomorrow on Product Hunt!
mtlynch.io
Stripe is Silently Recording Your Movements On its Customers' Websites
Among startups and tech companies, Stripe seems to be the near-universal favorite for payment...
over a year ago
Among startups and tech companies, Stripe seems to be the near-universal favorite for payment processing. When I needed paid subscription functionality for my new web app, Stripe felt like the natural choice. After integration, however, I discovered that Stripe’s official...
Dominik Sobe's...
What a roller coaster ride
over a year ago
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 6
Highlights TinyPilot had another record-breaking month, with $15k in revenue. I sold $1.1k in...
over a year ago
Highlights TinyPilot had another record-breaking month, with $15k in revenue. I sold $1.1k in pre-orders for my first ever video course. My attempt to slow down sales ended up doing the opposite. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish....
mtlynch.io
Building My First Homelab Server Rack
Seven years ago, I built my first home server. It made my software development work faster and more...
8 months ago
Seven years ago, I built my first home server. It made my software development work faster and more enjoyable, so I’ve gotten more into the home server scene. I built a custom storage server, another development server, and a dedicated firewall.
At some point, my wife gently...
Grow With Less
The 8 Best Free Blogging, SEO and Marketing Courses
Blogging is hard and the COVID-19 epidemic is not making things easier.
Luckily, several businesses...
over a year ago
Blogging is hard and the COVID-19 epidemic is not making things easier.
Luckily, several businesses have started offering their blogging, SEO or marketing courses for free to help bloggers and small business owners who are struggling because of the pandemic.
This page lists the...
mtlynch.io
End-to-End Testing Web Apps: The Painless Way
Okay, I know you’re skeptical. Other guides have promised you painless web app tests only to reveal...
over a year ago
Okay, I know you’re skeptical. Other guides have promised you painless web app tests only to reveal that their solution requires some hyper-specific tech stack or a paid third-party service. I won’t do that to you.
This guide provides a straightforward and flexible template for...
mtlynch.io
Paternity Leave: Month 3
Highlights I’m finding it easier to balance my time as a new father. I moped about two of my blog...
a month ago
Highlights I’m finding it easier to balance my time as a new father. I moped about two of my blog posts doing poorly, and then they did well. I experimented with a stacked diff workflow for software development and liked it except for git’s weaknesses. Goal grades At the start of...
Grow With Less
64 Weak Words and Flabby Expressions That Clog up Your Writing
Weak words are everywhere.
Like ants invading your home in summer, they slip through the cracks and...
over a year ago
Weak words are everywhere.
Like ants invading your home in summer, they slip through the cracks and slowly distract your reader.
They turn fascinating ideas into never-ending articles people can’t wait to run away from.
Worse, they undermine you and make you sound...
Val Sopi
The downsides of building in public
<p>I first started "building in public" back in 2017.</p>
<p>Not sure if the term existed back...
a year ago
<p>I first started "building in public" back in 2017.</p>
<p>Not sure if the term existed back then, but I started talking about my newest product at the time (Claritask), which I ended up <a href="https://bootstrapping-saas.transistor.fm/episodes/claritask-sold"...
Tony Dinh's...
TypingMind is live
It's my first product launch of the year!
a year ago
It's my first product launch of the year!
Max Rozen
Understanding useState's initial value
If you're used to class components and setState, the useState Hook might be confusing at first....
over a year ago
If you're used to class components and setState, the useState Hook might be confusing at first. Let's learn more about it in this article.
Dominik Sobe's...
HelpKit reached $1000 MRR!
over a year ago
Max Rozen
Strangers from the internet paid for my MacBook Air: on my 4th year of indiehacking
In which I finally make money from strangers off the internet.
over a year ago
In which I finally make money from strangers off the internet.
Grow With Less
The 27 tools I use to grow my online business
People often ask me what tools I use to build and grow French Together so I thought I would put...
over a year ago
People often ask me what tools I use to build and grow French Together so I thought I would put together a list of my favorites.
These are not necessarily the best and trendiest tools, some may even be considered old-fasshioned. But they are the tools that help me build and grow...
I Have No Idea What...
A Summary of My Learnings On How To Find Startup Ideas
I’ve been searching for new startup ideas and problem areas to tackle. It’s quite difficult to do,...
over a year ago
I’ve been searching for new startup ideas and problem areas to tackle. It’s quite difficult to do, especially when you begin adding constraints to the criteria such as “Am I excited about this problem space?”. The internet is filled with helpful ways to come up with startup ideas...
Grow With Less
How to Use Haro to Build Backlinks from the World's Best Websites
You know you need backlinks
You may even have tried broken link building, the skyscraper technique,...
over a year ago
You know you need backlinks
You may even have tried broken link building, the skyscraper technique, and other link building tactics but they made you feel desperate.You don’t want to send hundreds of emails, you just want to build backlinks.
You are in the right place.
I love...
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 21
I was young, and needed to ship...
3 months ago
I was young, and needed to ship...
I Have No Idea What...
Getting to 19,000 monthly clicks: Everything I've learned about SEO as a beginner
It’s been a while since my last post! Since then, I’ve been focusing on growing Remote Rocketship....
a year ago
It’s been a while since my last post! Since then, I’ve been focusing on growing Remote Rocketship. I’m super excited to announce that it’s reached $2,000 MRR! 🥳 You may recall from the last post that I mentioned that the only sustainable channel to grow the website is SEO and...
mtlynch.io
Takeaways from Cory Zue's May 2023 Livecoding Session
My friend Cory Zue has been publishing his live coding sessions, so I decided to watch one and...
a year ago
My friend Cory Zue has been publishing his live coding sessions, so I decided to watch one and record my notes.
My background vs. Cory’s I’ve read a lot of Cory’s blog. We’re both Python developers, but he specializes in Django, whereas I’ve always worked with thinner frameworks...
Max Rozen
Understanding your webpack config
webpack is a complicated beast. The more you get to know it though, the better it can serve you.
over a year ago
webpack is a complicated beast. The more you get to know it though, the better it can serve you.
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 18
Highlights I’ve launched a new TinyPilot product and debuted a new logo. TinyPilot’s revenue...
over a year ago
Highlights I’ve launched a new TinyPilot product and debuted a new logo. TinyPilot’s revenue finished the year strong at $55k for December. I’ve learned to manage design projects more aggressively. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish....
Tony Dinh's...
May 2023: I sold my 2 years old business for only $128K
Everything about the Black Magic's acquisition + May 2023 updates
a year ago
Everything about the Black Magic's acquisition + May 2023 updates
Max Prilutskiy
How we're using email on a custom domain for $0/mo
Google has announced yet another price increase for Google Workspace. Here's what we've done to...
9 months ago
Google has announced yet another price increase for Google Workspace. Here's what we've done to avoid paying anything at all.
Build In Public...
How I Built This In Public: Olly
Lessons from building Senja.io to $4,000 MRR in Public
a year ago
Lessons from building Senja.io to $4,000 MRR in Public
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 7
Highlights TinyPilot achieved astonishing growth in revenue, jumping from $15k in December to $42k...
over a year ago
Highlights TinyPilot achieved astonishing growth in revenue, jumping from $15k in December to $42k in January. Most of TinyPilot’s sales came from a single positive YouTube review. TinyPilot is experiencing growing pains as I scramble to meet demand. Goal Grades At the start of...
mtlynch.io
A Simple Example of Calling a C Library from Zig
Zig is a new, independently developed low-level programming language. It’s a modern reimagining of C...
a year ago
Zig is a new, independently developed low-level programming language. It’s a modern reimagining of C that attempts to retain all of C’s performance benefits while also taking advantage of improvements in tooling and language design from the last 30 years.
Because Zig is designed...
I Have No Idea What...
The Path to a Better Slack
Building a unified experience with Slack instead of trying to replace it all at once
over a year ago
Building a unified experience with Slack instead of trying to replace it all at once
Grow With Less
My SEO traffic collapsed so I built a SaaS (Early 2022 retrospective)
Sometime last year, I decided to turn the French Together course (a self-study French course for...
over a year ago
Sometime last year, I decided to turn the French Together course (a self-study French course for English speakers) into a language learning app.
This was done in 3 steps:
Learning how to code Building the French Together app Launching Here is how I went about each step and what I...
mtlynch.io
Hiring: Freelance Blog Illustrator
I’m a blogger, and I often commission custom illustrations for my blog posts like this one:
An...
7 months ago
I’m a blogger, and I often commission custom illustrations for my blog posts like this one:
An example of an illustration I commissioned for the blog, part of my year-in-review series
The blog’s previous illustrator was the awesome Loraine Yow, who worked with me for six years....
mtlynch.io
Hiring Content Writers: Part Two - Creating a Detailed Job Description
Overview: Hiring Content Writers Part One: Finding Writers Part Two - Creating a Detailed Job...
over a year ago
Overview: Hiring Content Writers Part One: Finding Writers Part Two - Creating a Detailed Job Description (this section) Part Three: Screening Candidates Part Four - Working with Writers Part Five - Terminating Writers A clear, concise job description shows candidates that you’re...
mtlynch.io
Fixing Memory Exhaustion Bugs in My Golang Web App
Earlier this year, I created an open-source app called PicoShare. It’s a simple Golang web app for...
over a year ago
Earlier this year, I created an open-source app called PicoShare. It’s a simple Golang web app for sharing files. I use it to send files that are too large to be email attachments, but I don’t want the recipient to deal with Dropbox or Google Drive.
A few months ago, I started...
Max Rozen
@forge/api: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading ‘fetch’)
How to fix a cannot read properties of undefined error in Forge
over a year ago
How to fix a cannot read properties of undefined error in Forge
Build In Public...
How I Built This In Public: Marko Saric
Lessons from building Plausible Analytics to $1.2m ARR in public
a year ago
Lessons from building Plausible Analytics to $1.2m ARR in public
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 11
Highlights Despite $30k in monthly revenue, TinyPilot barely covers costs. I’m exploring options to...
over a year ago
Highlights Despite $30k in monthly revenue, TinyPilot barely covers costs. I’m exploring options to get big companies to pay more for TinyPilot. I need to come to terms with the fact that managing people is a real job. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d...
Tony Dinh's...
Oct 2021 Updates: Vietnam, DevUtils 1.12, and Magic Sidebar ✨
👋 Hello everyone, it’s Tony again. Lots of things happened in October 2021. I released DevUtils...
over a year ago
👋 Hello everyone, it’s Tony again. Lots of things happened in October 2021. I released DevUtils 1.12, worked on a new exciting feature for Black Magic, moved back to Vietnam, and other small updates. Just want to say this quickly: Thank you all so much for following my journey!...
mtlynch.io
Zestful: Month 5
Prior to February 2019, I published all my retrospectives on Indie Hackers:
Zestful Month 5:...
over a year ago
Prior to February 2019, I published all my retrospectives on Indie Hackers:
Zestful Month 5: Launched, but Still No Customers
mtlynch.io
Why I Quit Google to Work for Myself
For the past four years, I’ve worked as a software developer at Google. On February 1st, I quit. It...
over a year ago
For the past four years, I’ve worked as a software developer at Google. On February 1st, I quit. It was because they refused to buy me a Christmas present.
Well, I guess it’s a little more complicated than that.
The first two years Two years in, I loved Google.
When the annual...
Grow With Less
The Overwhelmed Business Owner's Guide to SEO
What do you do when you spent hours writing awesome articles only to realize your mom and your best...
over a year ago
What do you do when you spent hours writing awesome articles only to realize your mom and your best friend Dave are the only people reading them?
That’s the question I asked myself 7 years ago after writing dozens of articles for my new blog French Together.
I followed 10,000...
Tony Dinh's...
My new product on Product Hunt today
Not the usual monthly update, just a small update about Xnapper - my latest product
over a year ago
Not the usual monthly update, just a small update about Xnapper - my latest product
Build In Public...
Still on the fence on learning no-code? What's stopping you?
It’s not an understatement when I say no-code practically changed my life and my career. In 2018, I...
over a year ago
It’s not an understatement when I say no-code practically changed my life and my career. In 2018, I was a different KP. Stuck at a corporate job where I felt like I was a tiny cog in a huge wheel, surrounded by uninspiring peers who I didn’t resonate with, bringing home a...
Dominik Sobe's...
Next Milestone: HelpKit hit $2000 MRR
over a year ago
I Have No Idea What...
Starting Over
Abandoning the idea of building a Slack Alternative
over a year ago
Abandoning the idea of building a Slack Alternative
mtlynch.io
How to Grow Quickly and Never Turn a Profit
Early last year, I launched a nutrition site called Is It Keto. From November 2018 until March 2019,...
over a year ago
Early last year, I launched a nutrition site called Is It Keto. From November 2018 until March 2019, the site was my full-time focus. Every month, visitors increased by 50% to 150%, an exhilarating growth rate that far outpaced any of my previous projects.
There was only one...
Scott DeLong
Weeks 22-25: It’s A Growth Hacker’s Paradise
Growing and monetizing the email list is what these weeks were all about. Plus, things I would do...
a year ago
Growing and monetizing the email list is what these weeks were all about. Plus, things I would do differently.
The post Weeks 22-25: It’s A Growth Hacker’s Paradise appeared first on Scott DeLong.
Max Rozen
Why early stage startups are the worst for junior developers
Startups can be the best or worst thing for your career as a junior developer. Let's discuss why.
over a year ago
Startups can be the best or worst thing for your career as a junior developer. Let's discuss why.
Grow With Less
The Best Headline A/B Testing Tools (And Why You May Not Want to Use Them)
What if you could bring 28% more visitors to your blog and get 75% more shares just by rewriting...
over a year ago
What if you could bring 28% more visitors to your blog and get 75% more shares just by rewriting your blog post titles?
That’s exactly what content marketing agency Priceonomics did.
And today, I would like to show you how you can do it too by reviewing the main AB testing...
Max Rozen
Apollo vs Relay Modern: An unbiased look at which GraphQL client to use
If you're building an app using GraphQL, picking a client to use can be hard. Apollo? Relay? Urql?...
over a year ago
If you're building an app using GraphQL, picking a client to use can be hard. Apollo? Relay? Urql? Let's look into some options.
mtlynch.io
My Fifth Year as a Bootstrapped Founder
Five years ago, I quit my job as a developer at Google to create my own bootstrapped software...
a year ago
Five years ago, I quit my job as a developer at Google to create my own bootstrapped software company.
For the first few years, all of my businesses flopped. None of them earned more than a few hundred dollars per month in revenue, and they all had negative profits.
Halfway...
Max Rozen
How to implement a Higher-order component in React with TypeScript
You probably know how to implement a HoC, but do you know how to write types for one?
over a year ago
You probably know how to implement a HoC, but do you know how to write types for one?
mtlynch.io
Rough Experiments with Llamafile and LLaVA 1.5
I read Simon Willison’s post about using Llamafile to experiment with open-source chatbots / LLMs....
a year ago
I read Simon Willison’s post about using Llamafile to experiment with open-source chatbots / LLMs. He made it sound so easy, so I decided to try it out.
One of my longtime hobby projects is WanderJest, a site for finding live comedy. One of the challenges of that site is that the...
👋 Hello, I'm...
The dead horse framework: How to evaluate the potential of a startup.
a year ago
mtlynch.io
My Second Year as a Solo Developer
Two years ago, I quit my developer job at Google to build my own software business. A year later, I...
over a year ago
Two years ago, I quit my developer job at Google to build my own software business. A year later, I posted an update about my finances, happiness, and lessons learned. Today marks the end of my second year, so it’s time for another update.
How I made and spent money Metric 2018...
mtlynch.io
Hiring Content Writers: Part Five - Terminating Writers
Overview: Hiring Content Writers Part One: Finding Writers Part Two - Creating a Detailed Job...
over a year ago
Overview: Hiring Content Writers Part One: Finding Writers Part Two - Creating a Detailed Job Description Part Three: Screening Candidates Part Four - Working with Writers Part Five - Terminating Writers (this section) If you’ve followed this guide, you’ve hired writers on a...
mtlynch.io
Should I Invest in iBonds?
In a recent Hacker News thread about preparing financially for a possible recession, a commenter...
over a year ago
In a recent Hacker News thread about preparing financially for a possible recession, a commenter suggested investing in iBonds.
iBonds are one of those investments I’ve seen in passing every time I read a personal finance book, but I’ve never paid much attention to them.
When I...
Build In Public...
Build In Public - Community Edition (Nov 2021)
Hey everyone 👋 Here’s a powerful quote to kick us off into the Thanksgiving week: “Gratitude...
over a year ago
Hey everyone 👋 Here’s a powerful quote to kick us off into the Thanksgiving week: “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.” - Melody Beattie I’m grateful for many things this year including my son’s birth
mtlynch.io
Experimenting with Lllama 3 via Ollama
I saw that Meta released the Llama 3 AI model, and people seem excited about it, so I decided to...
8 months ago
I saw that Meta released the Llama 3 AI model, and people seem excited about it, so I decided to give it a try.
I don’t have much experience running open-source AI models, and I didn’t see a lot of documentation about how to run them. I tinkered with it for a few hours and got...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 2
Highlights I paused TinyPilot sales to address a design problem. I’m manufacturing a custom USB...
over a year ago
Highlights I paused TinyPilot sales to address a design problem. I’m manufacturing a custom USB power connector for TinyPilot. Revenue across all my projects was among my strongest ever, at $3.6k total. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to...
mtlynch.io
Installing Jellyfin on TrueNAS Core
I always run into issues installing Jellyfin on TrueNAS core. I fix them, and then I forget a few...
a year ago
I always run into issues installing Jellyfin on TrueNAS core. I fix them, and then I forget a few months later, so these are just my notes to myself of how to install Jellyfin on TrueNAS core.
Instructions Install based on these...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 31
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
a year ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $60-80k/month in revenue and employs six other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this one...
Val Sopi
What it's like to make and launch a product, for me.
<p>I've been making Saas products since 2013. My very first product was a project management tool...
over a year ago
<p>I've been making Saas products since 2013. My very first product was a project management tool that included invoicing, time-tracking, and a plethora of other functions.</p>
<p>The idea was to be better than others at cheaper prices. Whatever "better" and "cheaper"...
Max Rozen
What it means to not test implementation details in React
Most guides to testing React these days preach: 'Test functionality, not implementation details'....
over a year ago
Most guides to testing React these days preach: 'Test functionality, not implementation details'. This article explains what that means, and how to do it.
Val Sopi
Things I love about blogstatic
<p>blogstatic had another above $1K month.</p>
<p>$1,208.38 to be exact.</p>
<p>This was the third...
a year ago
<p>blogstatic had another above $1K month.</p>
<p>$1,208.38 to be exact.</p>
<p>This was the third +$1K month overall, since <a href="https://valsopi.com/blogstatic-chance">rebranding</a> back in 2022.</p>
<figure><img...
Scott DeLong
How To Build A Profitable Newsletter In 2024
Using the same strategies I've used to build millions of subscribers across multiple newsletters,...
11 months ago
Using the same strategies I've used to build millions of subscribers across multiple newsletters, you can do it too.
The post How To Build A Profitable Newsletter In 2024 appeared first on Scott DeLong.
Max Rozen
Starting a Cloudflare Worker from scratch
We don't need no fancy tooling!
a year ago
We don't need no fancy tooling!
Max Rozen
Why you should use functional components + Hooks over class components in React
If you find yourself asking whether to use functional components with Hooks over class components,...
over a year ago
If you find yourself asking whether to use functional components with Hooks over class components, you'll find a lot of outdated information out there. Let's settle this once and for all in this article.
Max Rozen
2023: Focusing on a single product pays off
The first year where I managed to keep my focus entirely on a single project.
a year ago
The first year where I managed to keep my focus entirely on a single project.
Max Rozen
Introducing PerfBeacon - Continuously Measure Site Speed via API or Schedule
PerfBeacon was a wrapper around Google Lighthouse that lets you continuously measure your site's...
over a year ago
PerfBeacon was a wrapper around Google Lighthouse that lets you continuously measure your site's performance via API, or a schedule
Scott DeLong
AI-Integrated Search: The Latest Way Big Tech Is Stealing From And Crushing Small Businesses
It's Big Tech's latest way to steal the hard work of publishers, and there's nothing you can do...
a year ago
It's Big Tech's latest way to steal the hard work of publishers, and there's nothing you can do about it except adapt.
The post AI-Integrated Search: The Latest Way Big Tech Is Stealing From And Crushing Small Businesses appeared first on Scott DeLong.
Grow With Less
Is Your Article's Date Destroying Your Rankings?
Having a recent date associated with your article could be the difference between a page 1 ranking...
over a year ago
Having a recent date associated with your article could be the difference between a page 1 ranking and a page 5 ranking.
This means that you should not only keep your content up-to-date but also make sure that Google knows it’s up-to-date.
This article will show you how to find...
I Have No Idea What...
I Have No Idea What I’m Doing: Introduction
In this blog “I have no idea what I’m doing” I’ll be chronicling the progress and discoveries I make...
over a year ago
In this blog “I have no idea what I’m doing” I’ll be chronicling the progress and discoveries I make as I build a startup for the first time. The name of this blog comes from a talk in 2015 by former Facebook engineer Graham Lee. In his talk, he admits that although at the time...
mtlynch.io
Shoe Dog by Phil Knight
I bought this book hoping for lessons to apply to my business, manufacturing and selling physical...
over a year ago
I bought this book hoping for lessons to apply to my business, manufacturing and selling physical products. I didn’t find many business insights, but it was still an engaging and funny story.
mtlynch.io
Is It Keto - Month 8
Highlights Is It Keto continued its streak of growth, with a 72% jump in revenue to an all-time high...
over a year ago
Highlights Is It Keto continued its streak of growth, with a 72% jump in revenue to an all-time high of $389 for August. Given that Is It Keto is doing better than any of my other projects, I decided to stop ignoring it. I finally got a high-ranking domain to link to Is It Keto,...
Val Sopi
Launching on Product Hunt
<p>
<b>Diary entries, aka Table of contents</b>
</p>
<ul>
<li><a...
over a year ago
<p>
<b>Diary entries, aka Table of contents</b>
</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="#wednesday7">Wednesday, Dec 7</a></li>
<li><a href="#thursday8">Thursday, Dec 8</a></li>
<li><a href="#thursday8">Friday, Dec 9</a></li>
<li><a href="#monday12">Monday, Dec 12</a></li>
...
Grow With Less
How to Write a SEO Title Google and Your Visitors Love
Writing a SEO title (also called page title or Google title) is considered difficult because you are...
over a year ago
Writing a SEO title (also called page title or Google title) is considered difficult because you are writing for 3 main audiences.
Visitors coming from search engines.
Search engines.
Visitors from social media.
And writing a SEO title that ranks high on Google and gets shared on...
mtlynch.io
The Making of Prince of Persia by Jordan Mechner
This book follows the author of the hit 90s computer game Prince of Persia through the game’s...
over a year ago
This book follows the author of the hit 90s computer game Prince of Persia through the game’s development, release, and several years after. The book consists of diary entries that author Jordan Mechner wrote during that time, with margin notes and accompanying photos and...
mtlynch.io
Paternity Leave: Month 4
Highlights I found ways to procrastinate writing my book. I had fun fuzz testing open-source...
2 weeks ago
Highlights I found ways to procrastinate writing my book. I had fun fuzz testing open-source projects. I picked out components for a new high-end desktop computer for software development. Goal grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I...
Max Rozen
On replacing my MacBook Air M1 with a Thinkpad T480
In which you probably wonder, but ...why?
a year ago
In which you probably wonder, but ...why?
Max Rozen
Protecting your React routes
React apps send their code directly to users, so you might be a little confused about how React...
over a year ago
React apps send their code directly to users, so you might be a little confused about how React 'guards' routes from unauthorised viewing. This article explains how.
Tony Dinh's...
Making $22K in 7 days: the story
and other updates from me in Mar 2023
a year ago
and other updates from me in Mar 2023
Max Rozen
Preventing infinite re-renders when using useEffect and useState
React's useEffect hook is an incredibly useful tool for fetching data, but if you're not careful,...
over a year ago
React's useEffect hook is an incredibly useful tool for fetching data, but if you're not careful, can cause infinite re-renders.
High Signal
Selling Unicorn Platform for $800k
I was thrilled to see recently Alex Isora make $800k by selling Unicorn Platform, a website builder,...
a year ago
I was thrilled to see recently Alex Isora make $800k by selling Unicorn Platform, a website builder, as I previously interviewed him about learning to code without a CS degree. Alex has stayed on at Mars, the company which has acquired him and unlike a lot of founders, will stay
Build In Public...
Build In Public - Announcements Edition 🚀
Hey everyone, It’s been a while since I sent a new edition of this newsletter. There’s a good reason...
over a year ago
Hey everyone, It’s been a while since I sent a new edition of this newsletter. There’s a good reason behind my delay. Let me share what I’m up to via a string of fun announcements today. Let’s get to it. BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: I launched something fun for the larger founder ecosystem...
Grow With Less
Statistics That Prove Blogging Is Not Dead Yet
Is blogging dead?
That’s a question thousands of people ask every day.
I was curious to know the...
over a year ago
Is blogging dead?
That’s a question thousands of people ask every day.
I was curious to know the answer so I looked for statistics
Let’s settle the debate once and for all!
Is blogging dead? Let’s look at trends! According to Google Trends, “blogging” peaked between 2004 and...
mtlynch.io
Start Small, Stay Small by Rob Walling
I wish that I had found this book nine years ago. It taught me a great deal about choosing the right...
over a year ago
I wish that I had found this book nine years ago. It taught me a great deal about choosing the right product to build and the advantages of targeting small niches. The author makes compelling points about the importance of marketing and small founders’ common pitfall of treating...
mtlynch.io
How I Tricked Myself into Shipping Too Late
Many software founders fail for a simple reason: they ship too late. They spend years developing a...
over a year ago
Many software founders fail for a simple reason: they ship too late. They spend years developing a product in a vacuum only to see it crumble the first time a real customer touches it.
The Indie Hackers podcast features many such stories. The show’s stated mission is to help...
Tony Dinh's...
Nov 2022 updates: learning new skills
Indie updates, B2B vs B2C, Black Friday, surfing, skimboarding, hardware.
over a year ago
Indie updates, B2B vs B2C, Black Friday, surfing, skimboarding, hardware.
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 19
Refactoring the business entity, thoughts on marketing and building
9 months ago
Refactoring the business entity, thoughts on marketing and building
mtlynch.io
How to Do Code Reviews Like a Human (Part One)
Lately, I’ve been reading articles about best practices for code reviews. I notice that these...
over a year ago
Lately, I’ve been reading articles about best practices for code reviews. I notice that these articles focus on finding bugs to the exclusion of almost every other component of a review. Communicating issues you discover in a constructive and professional way? Irrelevant! Just...
mtlynch.io
Massachusetts Residents Can Sue Online Merchants for Spam
Last week, I saw an interesting article on the /r/legaladvice subreddit. An e-commerce business...
2 months ago
Last week, I saw an interesting article on the /r/legaladvice subreddit. An e-commerce business owner was complaining that a customer was suing because the merchant had been sending the customer promotional emails for years that the customer never agreed to. The author deleted...
mtlynch.io
A Simple Pre-Rendered Web App Using Vue + Nuxt
In this post, I’ll show you how to pre-render pages using Vue and Nuxt. This method combines the...
over a year ago
In this post, I’ll show you how to pre-render pages using Vue and Nuxt. This method combines the convenient development experience of Vue without forfeiting critical features like social sharing or search engine optimization.
This tutorial assumes no experience with Vue or Nuxt....
mtlynch.io
Recovery Month
Highlights Is It Keto’s revenue doubled to $82.44 with zero effort on my part. My task journaling...
over a year ago
Highlights Is It Keto’s revenue doubled to $82.44 with zero effort on my part. My task journaling app is almost ready for publication. I’ve begun setting up meetings with potential customers about my next project ideas. Goal Grades At the start of the month, I gave up on Is It...
Max Rozen
Methods for styling your React app
It can be pretty confusing to pick how to style your React app. This guide attempts to simplify your...
over a year ago
It can be pretty confusing to pick how to style your React app. This guide attempts to simplify your choice.
Grow With Less
Minimalist Seo: How to Save Time and Ditch the Overwhelm
What do you do when you spent hours writing awesome articles only to realize your mom and your best...
over a year ago
What do you do when you spent hours writing awesome articles only to realize your mom and your best friend Dave are the only people reading them?
That’s the question I asked myself 7 years ago after writing dozens of articles for my new blog French Together.
I followed 10,000...
Tony Dinh's...
$322 → $2K MRR in 60 days by building in public
Hello everyone, this is Tony! 👋 Today is a special day. I want to share with you all this post I...
over a year ago
Hello everyone, this is Tony! 👋 Today is a special day. I want to share with you all this post I originally posted on Indie Hackers, but I think you all will also be interested! It’s a long post about my journey growing Black Magic to $2K MRR in the last 2 months.
mtlynch.io
A Beginner's Guide to Mining Siacoin
This guide is out of date.
This post describes mining Sia with a desktop graphics card (GPU), but...
over a year ago
This guide is out of date.
This post describes mining Sia with a desktop graphics card (GPU), but custom mining hardware is now available for Sia. The custom hardware has made Sia GPU mining non-viable. This guide will still work, but you may never reach payout, even with a...
High Signal
Making $20k from a job board directory
Rod is a founder who has successfully monetized a directory showing websites for finding a job. He...
a year ago
Rod is a founder who has successfully monetized a directory showing websites for finding a job. He has made $20k from his Job Board Search site.
Max Rozen
Frustrated by Formik? Here's a simpler way to do forms in React
Do you find yourself struggling for hours to solve problems with Formik? I've started using a...
over a year ago
Do you find yourself struggling for hours to solve problems with Formik? I've started using a different library that's much simpler.
👋 Hello, I'm...
Work-n-travel: A practical guide for staying productive while exploring the world.
...
a year ago
Dominik Sobe's...
Just crossed 10 paying customers
over a year ago
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 4
On ripping out product analytics, updating the pricing page, and adding multi-region monitoring
a year ago
On ripping out product analytics, updating the pricing page, and adding multi-region monitoring
Build In Public...
🚨 Announcement Alert 🚨 I'm dropping a mega Twitter resource on BUILD IN PUBLIC
Hey everyone, Some of you know my story but if I have to summarize the last 3 years in 10 bullets of...
over a year ago
Hey everyone, Some of you know my story but if I have to summarize the last 3 years in 10 bullets of inflection points, here’s how it would look like: Jan 2018, I was a nobody in startups, stuck in a dead-end corporate job due to visa challenges Oct 2018, read a book called...
👋 Hello, I'm...
Why I’m leaving the Shopify Apps business
a year ago
Grow With Less
A Bittersweet First Blog Income Report
The internet is full of success stories and my 6-figures language-learning blog French Together...
over a year ago
The internet is full of success stories and my 6-figures language-learning blog French Together could be considered one of them
But things don’t always go as planned and every business experiences ups and downs.
April was definitely in the down category for me and that’s great...
Val Sopi
Where is blogstatic now?
<p>blogstatic is growing slowly at around 20% month-to-month.</p>
<p>Currently, it's hovering at...
a year ago
<p>blogstatic is growing slowly at around 20% month-to-month.</p>
<p>Currently, it's hovering at ~$700/month in revenue.</p>
<p>Since pricing is currently "yearly" only, each month starts from zero.</p>
<p>It will be interesting come October 2023 when the first yearly upgrades...
Val Sopi
What a year!
<p>One of the things I'm most proud of in 2022 was that I stuck to some personal habits like going...
a year ago
<p>One of the things I'm most proud of in 2022 was that I stuck to some personal habits like going to the gym, eating well, and meditating.</p>
<p>I believe these habits helped me get more in tune with myself and get the confidence necessary to take bold steps, like taking out a...
mtlynch.io
My Feedback about Hello Base
The cryptocurrency language barrier There’s an unforunate language barrier among technologists right...
2 weeks ago
The cryptocurrency language barrier There’s an unforunate language barrier among technologists right now.
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are excited about the ecosystem and what’s going on in crypto-world right now. They’re trying to bring new people in, but they’re often so...
mtlynch.io
Testing Ansible Web App Roles with Selenium
Overview Ansible is an excellent tool for deploying web apps. Ansible allows us to define web apps...
over a year ago
Overview Ansible is an excellent tool for deploying web apps. Ansible allows us to define web apps in terms of the different “roles” that compose our web app (e.g. web server, database server, application server). As our roles and the interactions between them become more...
Tony Dinh's...
My solopreneur story: zero to $45K/mo in 2 years
Today is exactly 2 years since I quit my job and become a full-time indie hacker.
a year ago
Today is exactly 2 years since I quit my job and become a full-time indie hacker.
Val Sopi
One year since "setting sail"
<p><i>For context, read <a href="https://valsopi.com/setting-sail">this article</a>...
a year ago
<p><i>For context, read <a href="https://valsopi.com/setting-sail">this article</a> first.</i></p><p><i>TLDR: A year ago, I took out a loan and went all–in pursuing my financial freedom. The words below are an update a year on the day.</i></p><hr><h2>Poetically...
mtlynch.io
Using Nix to Fuzz Test a PDF Parser (Part One)
Fuzz testing is a technique for automatically uncovering bugs in software. The problem is that it’s...
2 months ago
Fuzz testing is a technique for automatically uncovering bugs in software. The problem is that it’s a pain to set up. Read any fuzz testing tutorial, and the first task is an hour of building tools from source and chasing down dependencies upon dependencies.
I recently found that...
Max Rozen
How to write semantic HTML
Writing semantic HTML markup is one of the first steps to writing accessible websites. Let's learn...
over a year ago
Writing semantic HTML markup is one of the first steps to writing accessible websites. Let's learn how to get started!
mtlynch.io
Paternity Leave: Month 1
Highlights My wife and I became parents. I realized that caring for a newborn takes more time than I...
3 months ago
Highlights My wife and I became parents. I realized that caring for a newborn takes more time than I expected. I’m unsure what to do with my partially-finished Hacker News course. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I did...
mtlynch.io
Running NixOS on Proxmox
One of the stumbling blocks I ran into when trying out NixOS was that I couldn’t run it under...
a year ago
One of the stumbling blocks I ran into when trying out NixOS was that I couldn’t run it under Proxmox, my preferred virtual machine server.
Through some trial and error, I figured out how to install NixOS as a Proxmox container.
Download the NixOS container image First, download...
High Signal
$30k a month from a bootstrapped B2C company
Thankbox is a successful B2C bootstrapped website created by Valentin Hinov which is now doing...
6 months ago
Thankbox is a successful B2C bootstrapped website created by Valentin Hinov which is now doing $30-35k a month.
mtlynch.io
Aardvark'd: The Fog Creek Documentary, 18 Years Later
In 2005, Joel Spolsky’s software company, Fog Creek, filmed a documentary about their summer...
a year ago
In 2005, Joel Spolsky’s software company, Fog Creek, filmed a documentary about their summer internship program. The film is called Aardvark’d: 12 Weeks with Geeks, and it follows four college interns as they design, implement, and launch a completely new software product.
That’s...
mtlynch.io
What Got Done - Month 1
Highlights I launched my task journaling app, but it hasn’t attracted many users. Interviewing...
over a year ago
Highlights I launched my task journaling app, but it hasn’t attracted many users. Interviewing potential customers gave me a good idea for my next project. I earned $107 from Is It Keto and $123 from Zestful without working on either. Goal Grades Publish a minimum viable product...
mtlynch.io
Create Your Own Low-Cost Cloud Storage App with Sia and Nextcloud
In today’s post, I’m going to show you how to set up your own cloud storage web app, similar to...
over a year ago
In today’s post, I’m going to show you how to set up your own cloud storage web app, similar to Dropbox or Google Drive, but with substantially lower costs. This solution provides cloud storage at ~$0.60 per TB/month. By comparison, the same storage would cost $8.25 per month on...
Max Rozen
2019: Further reflections on trying to start an internet business
A review of what I said I would do in 2019, and what I actually did.
over a year ago
A review of what I said I would do in 2019, and what I actually did.
Val Sopi
Get Lucky
<iframe src="https://share.transistor.fm/e/eb7cbb63" width="100%" height="180" frameborder="0"...
over a year ago
<iframe src="https://share.transistor.fm/e/eb7cbb63" width="100%" height="180" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" seamless="true" style="width:100%; height:180px;"></iframe>
<p>In the past year or so, I’ve been thinking about Luck a lot — in terms of how a chain of random events can...
mtlynch.io
KetoHub Update: Month 3
In early October, I launched a new website, KetoHub, a recipe aggregator for keto meals. Each month,...
over a year ago
In early October, I launched a new website, KetoHub, a recipe aggregator for keto meals. Each month, I’ve evaluated the site’s progress to decide how it’s doing and what areas need improvement.
I’m doing my evaluation of December publicly. Here’s what was good, bad, and learnable...
mtlynch.io
WanderJest: Month 1
Highlights Three businesses agreed to form affiliate partnerships with WanderJest. Two of my blog...
over a year ago
Highlights Three businesses agreed to form affiliate partnerships with WanderJest. Two of my blog posts reached the front page of Hacker News. Is It Keto earned its all-time-highest monthly revenue, doubling its previous record. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare...
mtlynch.io
Reset Month
No update this month I’m skipping my normal retrospective this month, as I sold TinyPilot and am...
5 months ago
No update this month I’m skipping my normal retrospective this month, as I sold TinyPilot and am taking some time to figure out my next project.
Retrospectives will resume in July.
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 8
Building a new feature in a couple of weeks.
a year ago
Building a new feature in a couple of weeks.
mtlynch.io
How I Stole Your Siacoin
A seedy reddit post The night was June 9th, 2017. It was a typical Friday night for me. I was...
over a year ago
A seedy reddit post The night was June 9th, 2017. It was a typical Friday night for me. I was watching Netflix and checking reddit partying with cool kids.
Suddenly, I saw this post on the “New” tab of the /r/siacoin subreddit:
If you’re not familiar with Siacoin, it’s a...
mtlynch.io
Projects
TinyPilot (2020 - present) TinyPilot is a small, inexpensive device that gives you remote access to...
over a year ago
TinyPilot (2020 - present) TinyPilot is a small, inexpensive device that gives you remote access to servers before they even boot.
Refactoring English (2021) Refactoring English: Effective Writing for Software Developers is my upcoming book that teaches developers practical tips...
mtlynch.io
Editing and Sharing Home Videos with MediaGoblin
Goal This tutorial shows you how to edit digitized video captures into smaller clips that you can...
over a year ago
Goal This tutorial shows you how to edit digitized video captures into smaller clips that you can publish on your own password-protected MediaGoblin server. You’ll use a free Heroku dyno, so your only ongoing cost for running this private media server is the cost of storage on...
Tony Dinh's...
Oct 2023: side project, interview on Indie Hackers
Going viral, my thoughts, and updates from me in October 2023.
a year ago
Going viral, my thoughts, and updates from me in October 2023.
Tony Dinh's...
Just two things
Hello everyone! Tony here 👋 This is not a typical monthly update, I just want to quickly let you...
over a year ago
Hello everyone! Tony here 👋 This is not a typical monthly update, I just want to quickly let you know about 2 important things I’m working on that are time-sensitive! 1. DevUtils Black Friday Deal: 30% OFF Once a year, I run a promotion for DevUtils on Black Friday and Cyber...
mtlynch.io
The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
Before reading The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, I thought of it as the canonical cliché...
over a year ago
Before reading The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, I thought of it as the canonical cliché self-help book. But as the saying goes, clichés become clichés because they’re true. The book’s insightfulness surprised me, and I found many of its ideas useful in my everyday...
Val Sopi
What is leadership?
<p>With so much going on in the world and information traveling faster than ever before in the human...
over a year ago
<p>With so much going on in the world and information traveling faster than ever before in the human existence, it's easy to lose track of the basics.</p>
<p>Feeling overwhelmed is a result of our values, thoughts, being challenged.</p>
<p>The first response is naturally to...
mtlynch.io
Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped Business
Jason Cohen’s 2013 Microconf talk, Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped Business with Jason Cohen, is...
a year ago
Jason Cohen’s 2013 Microconf talk, Designing the Ideal Bootstrapped Business with Jason Cohen, is one of the most valuable resources I’ve found for bootstrapped founders. I watched it for the first time in 2020, and I’ve revisited it repeatedly since then.
If you’re new to the...
Tony Dinh's...
Jan 2022 updates: 4K MRR, new release, new features, new learnings
Hello everyone, this is Tony! 👋 In January 2022, I released a new DevUtils version, added a lot of...
over a year ago
Hello everyone, this is Tony! 👋 In January 2022, I released a new DevUtils version, added a lot of features for Black Magic, reached $4K MRR, and learned a ton! Here comes the monthly update! Hope you like it! 🧩 New DevUtils release: 1.13 The latest release of DevUtils comes...
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 6
A new monitoring service for OnlineOrNot, and new learnings for my pricing page.
a year ago
A new monitoring service for OnlineOrNot, and new learnings for my pricing page.
Max Rozen
Deploying Node and React Shopify apps on Vercel
Shopify's tutorial is awesome for getting started, but doesn't let you deploy onto Vercel. In this...
over a year ago
Shopify's tutorial is awesome for getting started, but doesn't let you deploy onto Vercel. In this article, I'll show you how.
Dominik Sobe's...
Travel hard, work harder or: on being a digital nomad
a year ago
mtlynch.io
About
Michael Lynch is a developer and blogger. He graduated from Columbia University in 2007 with a BS in...
over a year ago
Michael Lynch is a developer and blogger. He graduated from Columbia University in 2007 with a BS in Computer Science. He has worked as a software engineer at Microsoft and Google and as a security engineer at NCC Group.
Michael is available for weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and...
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 17
On learning screencasting, cleaning up tech debt, and focus
a year ago
On learning screencasting, cleaning up tech debt, and focus
Max Rozen
Fixing Race Conditions in React with useEffect
If you're using useEffect to fetch data, chances are you've either run into a race condition, or...
over a year ago
If you're using useEffect to fetch data, chances are you've either run into a race condition, or have one without realising it. Let's learn how to fix them in this article.
mtlynch.io
The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick
A quick, practical guide to interviewing customers during the early stages of a new product idea.
I...
over a year ago
A quick, practical guide to interviewing customers during the early stages of a new product idea.
I expected basic advice about how you shouldn’t ask customers leading questions, but Fitzpatrick goes much more in-depth. The book made me recognize weaknesses in my approach to...
Build In Public...
What's your north star while building in public? 🔭⭐️
Hey folks, Recently, I gave a workshop on “BUILDING IN PUBLIC” at On Deck and shared insights,...
over a year ago
Hey folks, Recently, I gave a workshop on “BUILDING IN PUBLIC” at On Deck and shared insights, lessons, war stories and essentially opened up all my playbooks on the topic. The talk seemed to have resonated deeply with many fellows and I was grateful and delighted. Some of them...
mtlynch.io
Notes from PyGotham 2019
Overview This past weekend, PyGotham invited me to speak at their annual conference in Manhattan. In...
over a year ago
Overview This past weekend, PyGotham invited me to speak at their annual conference in Manhattan. In an effort to maximize the benefit I get from the event, I’ve prepared notes that capture what I learned by attending. I’m sharing them in hopes that it might be interesting or...
Build In Public...
Your New Brainstorming Buddy 🧠💡
Meet Scrintal, a new canvas that's like a playground for your mind.
2 months ago
Meet Scrintal, a new canvas that's like a playground for your mind.
Grow With Less
7 Lessons Every Blogger About to Quit Should Know
As someone who has been blogging for 10 years, I find most articles designed to encourage people to...
over a year ago
As someone who has been blogging for 10 years, I find most articles designed to encourage people to start blogging infuriating.
They paint blogging as this wonderful activity that will free you from your 9 to 5 job and solve all your problems.
They show you pictures of happy...
Max Rozen
Using Tailwind CSS with React and CSS-in-JS
If you're already using a CSS-in-JS library, trying out Tailwind CSS with your existing app might be...
over a year ago
If you're already using a CSS-in-JS library, trying out Tailwind CSS with your existing app might be much easier than you think.
mtlynch.io
Noah Bragg's First Stoke Fire Livestream
I’ve been interested in Ethereum the past year, especially the Base ecosystem. The problem is that...
3 months ago
I’ve been interested in Ethereum the past year, especially the Base ecosystem. The problem is that after hours of reading about Base, I still don’t get what Base is.
Every few months, I check back in on the Base website’s developer section to see if there’s a path to building on...
Val Sopi
Summer 2023 finances
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/valsopi/status/1680156076036030464" target="_blank">Monthly tweet...
a year ago
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/valsopi/status/1680156076036030464" target="_blank">Monthly tweet update</a></p><p>Looking back at the tough June, I thought I should clear up a few things as the much better July is almost over.</p><ul><li><b>🫣 Bummer:</b> June tanked with...
mtlynch.io
Hiring Content Writers: Part One - Finding Writers
Overview: Hiring Content Writers Part One: Finding Writers (this section) Part Two - Creating a...
over a year ago
Overview: Hiring Content Writers Part One: Finding Writers (this section) Part Two - Creating a Detailed Job Description Part Three: Screening Candidates Part Four - Working with Writers Part Five - Terminating Writers There are thousands of working freelance writers in the...
Tony Dinh's...
July 2022: Aftermath of a viral tweet
I gained 1,500 new users, but how many will convert? And other updates in July 2022...
over a year ago
I gained 1,500 new users, but how many will convert? And other updates in July 2022...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 16
Highlights I announced a new product and then discovered it was a mistake. I simplified the...
over a year ago
Highlights I announced a new product and then discovered it was a mistake. I simplified the TinyPilot website to focus on a single device. I tried taking my first real vacation from TinyPilot with mixed results. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to...
mtlynch.io
Takeaways from Charles Marohn's "Escaping the Housing Trap"
Last week, I stumbled upon a reddit post announcing that the author, Charles Marohn, was giving a...
a month ago
Last week, I stumbled upon a reddit post announcing that the author, Charles Marohn, was giving a free talk near my town the next morning. Marohn is the author of Strong Towns, one of my favorite books of the last few years. So, my wife and I attended the talk and enjoyed it.
The...
mtlynch.io
Badass: Making Users Awesome by Kathy Sierra
Overall, this was an interesting read, but I found it hard to apply the lessons to my product. The...
over a year ago
Overall, this was an interesting read, but I found it hard to apply the lessons to my product. The book contains compelling case studies and ideas from the field of meta-learning, but most of the ideas were either too theoretical or too specific to large companies.
mtlynch.io
My Fourth Year as a Bootstrapped Founder
Four years ago, I quit my job as a developer at Google to create my own self-funded software...
over a year ago
Four years ago, I quit my job as a developer at Google to create my own self-funded software company.
For the first few years, all of my businesses flopped. They all operated at a loss, and none of them earned more than a few hundred dollars per month in revenue.
Halfway through...
Tony Dinh's...
Get SOC 2 certified as an indie hacker
All the details about the process and the cost of getting SOC 2
4 months ago
All the details about the process and the cost of getting SOC 2
Max Rozen
OnlineOrNot Diaries 1
On marketing, and shipping a CLI
a year ago
On marketing, and shipping a CLI
Grow With Less
10 Proven Meta Descriptions Templates Top Blogs Use to Get More Clicks
I face the same problem every time I need to write a meta description.
I have no idea where to...
over a year ago
I face the same problem every time I need to write a meta description.
I have no idea where to start.
Should I first mention the problem the article is solving? Should I use a call-to-action? Is it bad to repeat what I already wrote in the headline?
To find out, I analyzed...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 45
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
8 months ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $80-110k/month in revenue and employs six other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this one...
mtlynch.io
Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
The book contains many interesting examples of common biases and logical fallacies, but it’s buried...
over a year ago
The book contains many interesting examples of common biases and logical fallacies, but it’s buried in a lot of bluster and fluff about how smart the author is. While it was likely groundbreaking when it was published in 2004, its ideas have since permeated into the mainstream....
mtlynch.io
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Like all Gladwell books, Outliers does an excellent job of building an engaging narrative out of...
over a year ago
Like all Gladwell books, Outliers does an excellent job of building an engaging narrative out of topics that the average person might otherwise find inaccessible. His exploration into the causes of airline crashes was especially fascinating.
While it provides a nice collection of...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 9
Highlights I plan to open TinyPilot’s first real office next month. TinyPilot’s revenues continue to...
over a year ago
Highlights I plan to open TinyPilot’s first real office next month. TinyPilot’s revenues continue to plummet, but I’m learning to accept it. I’m inching ever closer to the freedom to take short vacations. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to...
Build In Public...
How I Built This In Public: Joshua Xu
Lessons from building HeyGen from 0 to $1m ARR in 7 months
a year ago
Lessons from building HeyGen from 0 to $1m ARR in 7 months
mtlynch.io
Automated Prosper Investing with ProsperBot
Overview I started investing in peer to peer lending in 2014 through a site called Prosper. I...
over a year ago
Overview I started investing in peer to peer lending in 2014 through a site called Prosper. I thought peer to peer lending was a neat idea and could potentially earn lucrative returns.
When I began, I chose each of my loan investments manually, but over time, I have automated...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 42
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
11 months ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $80-100k/month in revenue and employs six other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this one...
Val Sopi
The Waiting Room
<p>Growing up I was always told to work hard, wait my turn, and good things will...
7 months ago
<p>Growing up I was always told to work hard, wait my turn, and good things will happen.</p><p>However, I've been the most successful when I didn't wait.</p><p>The "waiting room" is the worst place to be in. </p><p>You're at the mercy of someone else letting you...
mtlynch.io
GreenPiThumb: A Raspberry Pi Gardening Bot
Introduction This is the story of GreenPiThumb: a gardening bot that automatically waters...
over a year ago
Introduction This is the story of GreenPiThumb: a gardening bot that automatically waters houseplants, but also sometimes kills them.
The story begins about a year ago, when I was struck by a sudden desire to own a houseplant. A plant would look nice, supply me with much needed...
Val Sopi
Work less
<p>A friend recently boasted how they're working 15 hour days. To which I replied with a concerning...
over a year ago
<p>A friend recently boasted how they're working 15 hour days. To which I replied with a concerning "Why?" and was met with a distant look.</p>
<p>My friend thought I'd metaphorically pat him on the back.</p>
<p>I didn't. No surprise there.</p>
<p>Supposedly the industry he's in...
mtlynch.io
An Unexpected Reset Month
Highlights My loved ones and I are safe and healthy. WanderJest is on hiatus due to the nationwide...
over a year ago
Highlights My loved ones and I are safe and healthy. WanderJest is on hiatus due to the nationwide shutdown. I’m working on a product to help investors rebalance their portfolios. COVID-19 and me Obviously, the most relevant thing to happen in the last month has been the global...
mtlynch.io
TinyPilot: Month 37
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent...
a year ago
New here?
Hi, I’m Michael. I’m a software developer and the founder of TinyPilot, an independent computer hardware company. I started the company in 2020, and it now earns $60-80k/month in revenue and employs seven other people.
Every month, I publish a retrospective like this...
I Have No Idea What...
Rejected from YCombinator
and how I’m using their feedback to change my approach
over a year ago
and how I’m using their feedback to change my approach
Dominik Sobe's...
What I learned bootstrapping 8+ software products
3 weeks ago
mtlynch.io
Is It Keto - Month 9
Highlights After six months of consistent gains of ~30% in revenue and traffic, Is It Keto’s growth...
over a year ago
Highlights After six months of consistent gains of ~30% in revenue and traffic, Is It Keto’s growth finally flattened out. I’m preparing to sell premium meal plans on Is It Keto. I’m ready to make bigger bets on my businesses. Goal Grades At the start of each month, I declare...
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