🚀 MakerList #10: Competing with well-funded startups
Hard to believe this is already the 10th issue of MakerList! Check out this week’s articles:
1. How Indie Entrepreneurs Can Compete With Well-Funded Startups
I know the feeling. You catch your first glimpse of the Medium article, PR release, or email notification that tells you a well-funded startup has launched and is now a direct competitor to your indie startup. Their branding is on point, their product looks polished, they have millions in the bank, and they’re featured on Product Hunt. F**k.
2. Good businesses have margin
Good businesses have margin.
Profit margin? Yes.
But also margin for your time, your emotional and physical health, your relationships, your sanity, and your integrity. You're a human, and humans need breathing room.
3. I Started Gumroad as a Weekend Project and Now It’s Making $350k/Mo
Gumroad started out as a weekend project. I was looking for a way to sell an icon for a buck, and couldn't find anything great online. So I built Gumroad. Fast-forward over seven years and we're doing about $350,000 in revenue monthly, helping creators earn over $5,000,000 a month.
4. Redesigning Laravel.io
Laravel.io is a forum and community portal for developers who use the Laravel PHP framework.
They recently launched a brand new version of the site, but being a volunteer-driven open source project, finding the resources to put together a really polished design can be tough.
We asked and got the go ahead to try our hands at a bit of a facelift, so let’s see what we can do to take the UI up a notch!
5. The Power User Curve: The best way to understand your most engaged users
Power users drive some of the most successful companies — people who love their product, are highly engaged, and contribute a ton of value to the network. In ecommerce marketplaces it’s power sellers, in ridesharing platforms it’s power riders, and in social networks it’s influencers.
Hope you enjoyed this issue. You can find me at @richard_chu. If you’re not subscribed yet, you can do so here.
Happy indie making ✌