Founder stories
$10K MRRin 2 years
3 milestones
Side Project Financial Planner: 2+ Years to $10K MRR
Founder
Kyle Nolan
Solo Founder•Technical•USA
Commitment
Side ProjectExperience
First-timeProduct
Financial planning software for personal finance.
Type
SaaSIndustry
FinanceModel
SubscriptionMarketing Strategy
How Kyle acquired customers
Primary Channel
Communities
Tech Stack
Tools used to build ProjectionLab
Vue.jsChart.jsFirebasePaddle
The Full Story
Kyle built ProjectionLab because he wanted a better plan for his own financial future. There were 0 paid users when he posted to Hacker News.
Hacker News Magic
He closed the tab expecting it to go nowhere, came back an hour later to find his inbox blowing up. The post made the front page.
Side Project Grind
Built as a side project for over 2 years while working full-time, spending ~40 hours per week.
- 9 months to $1K MRR
- 4 months to $2K MRR
- 2 years to $10K MRR
- Side project hours: ~40/week
Key Takeaways
1
Build for yourself - scratch your own itch
2
Hacker News can be a game-changer for developer tools
3
Side projects require sacrifice but reduce financial risk
4
Growth accelerates after reaching initial milestones
Originally published onIndie Hackers
Inspired by Kyle's journey? Generate a business idea in the Finance space using AI and real founder data.
Milestone Journey
Kyle achieved 3 milestones on the path to $10K MRR
First Customer
2 months
May 2021
38% faster
vs avg 3 months+10 months to next milestone
$1K MRR
$1,000
1 year
March 2022
Avg: 11 months
+1 year to next milestone
$10K MRR
$10,000
2 years
March 2023
Avg: 1 year
2 years
Total journey time
3
Milestones achieved
Kyle's Path to $10K MRRPremium
The journey, decisions, and context behind this milestone
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