I shipped my app in 12 hours and now it makes $15K/month

Lewis

• Is a solo part-time indie hacker from India.
• Works full time with his family business in the offline world.
• Started experimenting with no-code tools in 2015.
• Returned to building on the internet in 2021 and discovered Bubble.
• Built about 15 to 20 tools before Audio Pen.
• Said most of those earlier tools failed.
• Built the MVP for Audio Pen in about 12 hours.

Audio Pen

• Is a B2C SaaS voice-to-text AI tool.
• Turns fuzzy thoughts into clear text quickly.
• Listens to users, transcribes what they say, and rewrites the transcription in a chosen writing style.
• Works across languages.
• Works on mobile and desktop.
• Helps users capture ideas, meeting notes, and writing when they have writer’s block.
• Uses a simple interface with a large record button and notes.
• Lets Prime users record for about 15 minutes.
• Lets users choose writing styles, languages, rewriting levels, verbatim transcripts, or more concise outputs.
• Gives free users a taste of the product with shorter recording limits.
• Gives premium users longer recordings, writing styles, integrations, and more features.

Metrics and Pricing

• Makes about $15,000 per month.
• Has about 200,000 users.
• Has over 5,000 paying customers.
• Offers a free version and a paid version.
• Sells the paid version for $99 per year or $159 for two years.
• Uses non-recurring subscriptions that users can choose to renew at the end of the term.

Launch Story

• Started an online hackathon called Halfday Build in the Twitter build-in-public space.
• Joined builders who tried to go from idea to MVP and revenue within 12 hours.
• Wanted to test whether he could start at noon and make at least $1 by midnight.
• Built four or five tiny tools in one week and hosted them on his personal website.
• Shared each tool on Twitter while building.
• Saw Audio Pen get more attention than expected.
• DM’d early interested users to understand their use cases.
• Designed around those use cases in Figma.
• Used Pinterest for visual inspiration before the 12-hour build.
• Launched a waitlist about 10 hours into the hackathon.
• Got early beta users to sign up.
• Received Stripe notifications from beta testers before the 12 hours ended, even though he had only asked them to test.

Why It Worked

• Hit a need that Lewis did not initially know people had.
• Benefited from his credibility on Twitter after building in public for months or years.
• Built hype before the product existed.
• Had support from the Halfday Build community.
• Focused on doing one thing very well.
• Avoided expanding too far into adjacent markets.
• Stayed consistent with the simple core product.

Build-Fast Playbook

• Build many small things for fun.
• Test ideas that can be shut down without hurting users.
• Design before building.
  • Decide what the product should look like.
  • Understand why it should look that way.
  • Share designs publicly when possible.
• Build in public.
  • Tell people what you are building.
  • Show what it will look like.
  • Watch what people like and dislike.
  • Start a simple email list if there is resonance.
• Launch the simplest useful version.
  • Make sure it does the expected job well.
  • Raise the price as the product improves.
• Behave like an indie hacker.
  • Avoid pretending to be a big company.
  • Let users connect with the human story behind the product.

Tech Stack and Costs

• Uses Bubble for the web app at about $130 per month.
• Uses Xano for backend and logic at about $260 per month.
• Uses Draftbit for the native app at about $300 per year.
• Uses Loops for email at about $800 per month.
• Uses Plausible Analytics at about $19 per month.
• Treats API usage as the biggest variable cost.

Lessons and Advice

• Build many things because each product teaches something.
• Expect most projects to fail.
• Double down when one project starts resonating.
• Let the world forget the failures once something clicks.