Denis Avguštin

Most valuable feedback? Return customers.

One client started with my simple "generic" solution almost a year ago - now they're back for their third custom solution,
significantly larger than where we began.

That's how you know you're doing something right.

While we're starting the first full workweek,

~2% of 2024 is already behind us.

I love seeing how client relationships grow organically.

One of my clients started with a basic product they upgraded into a custom implementation.

Months later, they're back for an even larger project.

There's no better marketing than consistently delivering great results.

Remember when software decay (aka bit rot) took years?

2015: "My app is stable, adding features is easy!"
2020: "Just need to update a few dependencies"
2024: "Complete rewrite every time..."

When did we normalize rebuilding our apps every 6 months?

That's probably smart for the business.

That's a major problem, yes.
Many investors focus on the person too much.
Past achievements are no indicator of future successes.

To increase predictability of cashflow and workload,
I implemented retainer agreements with some of my clients.

- upfront payments
- "reserved" dev blocks
+ clear scope boundaries

The closest I could get to a "productized software development" service.

Got a better idea?

Micro SaaS evolution:

2010s: One problem solved = 95% profit margin
(near-zero running costs)
2024: AI-powered solutions = unpredictable margins
(expensive API calls eat your revenue)

"AI will help us build faster and cheaper..."

Until you see the bills:
- ChatGPT for $200/m,
- Devin for $500/m

Turns out "AI will replace you" really means
your salary is being redirected to AI companies.

The most profitable businesses operate inside the three E's:

- Entertainment (45-50%)
- Emotions (30-35%)
- Education (15-20%)

The most successful ones hit multiple "E categories".

There are lower profits in non-essential products/services outside these categories.

Choose your market wisely.

Cutting corners isn't the problem.
The problem is people preaching that corners don't matter.

They sell 'minimum viable' as 'maximum wisdom.'
Then they act surprised when their house of cards collapses.

And that's exactly why nobody trusts indie developers anymore

I respect people making money through business.
What bothers me is when it harms others.

For example, calling app development 'easy' creates at least two problems:
- new developers won't take the time to learn properly
- clients expect fast, cheap work

This is a totally different story.

Niche products can take a "general idea" and mould it according to the niche needs.
This works almost always (if the TAM is big enough, if marketing works, it the app works...)

"I'm building an alternative for..."

Then the next sentence shows that he doesn't understand what the industry leader even does...

This is happening all the time.

You really think "the next stripe" is a weekend project? the next x, the next anything...

You got brainwashed.

monday already

You're keeping track of days?

Black Friday deals weren't "successful"
- too much inventory left
- sales slowed down/sales predictions were off
= people are getting more careful with what they buy/need.

I'm seeing a lot of "at a record low for cyber monday" articles.

You know what that means, right?

I never got to the point where neovim would be useful to me.
The amount of configuration required before it becomes ideal is just too high.

Like you said, ready-to-use IDE with custom keybindings works just fine

So if I started a project months ago,
worked on several other things in the meantime and plan to finish it next year,

I can say I have been working on it for months?

"Asking for a friend"

Exactly.

It doesn't have to be me.

The notion "I want to help you, regardless of who does it" makes the difference and boosts trust.

Whenever a potential client complains about the price, I don't start selling harder.

I do the opposite – I give them a plan for how they can do it themselves.

3 out of 4 times, they return to become customers.

They usually end up being my most satisfied clients.

It's funny how some sales calls take 10 minutes or less and go like this:

"Nice to meet you. Can we sign a long-term agreement, we just wanted to meet you in person before signing."

and some take considerably more time and go like:

"How can we make sure we're getting our money's worth?"

bsky was created at twitter and later incorporated into a separate entity

Reminds me of Flutter

I don't have time to actively manage another social network.

Who's building a wrapper to get everything in one app?

not only on here. mastodon had this

tbh, it feels a lot like mastodon here