$322 → $2K MRR in 60 days by building in public
Two months ago, I received an offer to buy my SaaS (name: Black Magic) at $40,000, all cash.
Black Magic was about $322 MRR at the time. That was > 10x ARR – a very good deal.
For various reasons, I declined the offer.
Now, 60 days later, Black Magic is at $2,164 MRR.
Today, I want to share with you how I did it.
I can't guarantee that you can do the same with your SaaS, but I hope this can give you some ideas, or simply inspire you to keep going.
A quick background
Previously, Black Magic's main feature was helping people "decorate" their profile pic and banner in a special way. For example, my profile pic shows a progress bar that update itself automatically:
There were customers, but mostly for fun. I was not solving any major pain points. It was more like a device to help me grow my Twitter account.
As you can see in the MRR chart above, the product was stuck at ~$330 MRR for a very long time.
The idea phase
I have always wanted to make Black Magic become a "real/helpful" product, but I didn't know how.
I have a lot of ideas on many stuff I want to improve on Twitter here and there, but I couldn't find the right way to combine them all together deliver them (a SaaS?/website?/app?/bot?).
The most 2 important ideas I want to add to Black Magic:
- View past interactions from a person with me: have they liked/replied to my tweets before? How long did they follow me? Etc.
- View a tweet performance over time: how my tweet impression change in its entire lifetime? How did a like/retweet from someone with 100K followers affect my tweet's reach? (Yes, I'm a data nerd, and I want to see a lot of data).
And then, many smaller stuff like: add notes to a profile, set reminder to a tweet, tweet categories, some analytics, etc.
I have a very long wishlist of things I want to improve on Twitter. I just didn't know in what form should I deliver them.
I pivoted the product
One day I saw Twemex.app for the first time, it gave me the idea of adding a sidebar to the Twitter Web (shoutout to the author @geoffreylitt).
I immediately know how to deliver all of my ideas: it will be a browser extension. It just makes sense!
I didn't want to build a new Twitter web client, I just want to improve the existing one.
Everything must happen inside the sidebar, I didn't want to touch any of the existing UI components from Twitter, so that my extension won't be affected when Twitter change their code.
Later, I can move the whole extension to a separate website or app, if I really have to.
Over the next week, I drafted an MVP for the extension, then use it for myself for a while.
I really like it!
I built in public
The MVP only had 1 or 2 features, I released it as a beta version, then invited some of my Twitter friends to try it. They liked it a lot!
I shared some small demos on Twitter, people get excited. It helped gain some traction for Black Magic as a whole. Some people started asking to pay early.
I started an invite-only beta program, where people can try the extension free of charge, and invite their friends to try it.
Then, I ask people for their feedback, make improvements, and add more features.
For a few weeks straight, I added new features almost every day. My entire day was like:
- Morning: add a feature
- Afternoon: release the feature, tweet about it, then invite new beta users
- Night: talk with beta users, collect feedback/suggestions, fix bugs
- Repeat the next day.
Almost every tweet I made about Black Magic went popular. Every feature I publish became a marketing tweet.
If you are curious, here is a long thread of all those tweets. Each one get ~50-100 likes on average, some good ones get to ~300 likes or even 688 likes.
I asked people to drop a "👋" to my tweet to get an invite code, it helped me to keep track of who to send the invite codes, and also helped with the reach as well.
During that time, everyday, I DM'ed ~20 people, gained ~100 new followers, and marketing the product at the same time.
I offered the product for free (while in beta)
As mentioned, I let people use the product for free while it's in beta. There are some pros and cons to it:
Pros:
- Gained a lot of free users
- Collected a lot of feedback/suggestions
- Many of them converted to paid customers later
- Many of them leave a review on the extension store
- I got to watch the system reacts to a slowly increasing traffic and usages, which is very helpful to identify and fix problems early.
- I have a perfect excuse if there is an embarrassing bug or the whole product just goes offline (didn't happen, luckily).
Cons:
- Sometimes, I had to spend too much time talking with customers. I want to talk to customers, but also want to focus and build.
- To serve the huge amount of free users, I had to upgrade my server 3 times, migrated it to AWS, and burnd my free credits like crazy.
As for the beta testers:
- They can use the product for free
- They can provide early feedback, involved in the idea/planning phase, and help shape the product roadmap in a way that benefit them the most!
I think this is a win-win for everyone!
I ended up with about 920 beta testers. The whole testing phase lasts ~60 days.
To thank them, I offered an early-bird discount, ~33% OFF lifetime subscription discount.
For those who didn't buy, I added an additional 24 days of using the product for free, all premium features unlocked.
My unfair advantages
It's unfair not to talk about my unfair advantages.
When I started the beta, I had ~14K followers or so. It definitely helped the momentum and the reach of my tweets. That's my first advantage.
My 2nd advantage: over the past 6 months, I gained a lot of free users for Black Magic, thanks to the fun-free stuff I made with Black Magic (profile progress bar, real-time banner, etc.).
To be exact, I had ~7,000 registered free accounts at the time. I think this is also a good strategy to get free users first, then offer paid product later.
I think many of them converted. I didn't have time to set up the conversion tracking so I can't know for sure.
For context, 8 months ago, I had ~200 Twitter followers, and 0 customers. If you want to learn how I managed to build these unfair advantages for myself, I'll write about it later in my personal newsletter.
Finally, my 3rd unfair advantage: I have been writing code for 13 years, 7 of those years, I freelanced, worked for startups, outsourcing companies, enterprises professionally.
Frontend, backend, devops, Android, iOS, desktop apps, games,... I have done it all, either at work, or on my past side projects.
To me, coding is the easy part. That's why I was able to ship features so fast.
Not everyone has these advantages like me, that's why I call them "unfair". I think unfair advantages is a crucial part of getting success! You should also find (or build) your own unfair advantages today!
But I'm not done yet...
Today, I launch on Product Hunt
Yes, it's happening. Right now. The beta ends today Dec 16th, 2021.
If you have a minute, I really appreciate if you can drop by and show your love! ❤️
In conclusion, here are some numbers from the beta:
- 📆 60 days of beta testing
- 🧪 920 invite-only beta users
- 👥 1,660 active users
- 🤝 248 paid users
- 💵 $2,164 MRR
I'm hoping this launch will push the MRR a bit higher, but I set no expectation (it's a recipe for disappointment and stress 😂)
To be continued
I enjoy sharing my story here on Indie Hackers!
If you like this post, please join me on Product Hunt, I am very grateful to have your support! 🙏🙏🙏
Here is the link.
https://www.producthunt.com/posts/magic-sidebar-by-blackmagic-so
Thank you for reading! Until next time! 👊
Great story congrats!
HAve you published the beta on the chrome extension marketplace?
Loved reading your story again, Tony, even though I've seen it live over the last 8 months. Love your work, cheers!
Wow, thank you so much for the support!
It is really eye-opening approach on how to build a product with an audience! Much aporeciated for this! :)
Great Insights, I am curious about how you managed customer talks and building simultaneously. Keep going!
First, acquire free users, then offer a paid product. This approach is indeed smart; making money becomes easier once you have an established user base.
That's the kind of post I miss reading here, thank you so much for putting this together.
I also found that a genuine way to lead me to your product hunt, so you got my upvote! Good luck!
Thank you, Gui! I really appreciate the help! 😊
Amazing progress ! Your approach of building in public and leveraging direct audience feedback to grow Black Magic’s MRR is truly inspiring. Great work!
This what mastering small moments mean which can lead to bigger results.
Wow! This story is really amazing! I'm really surprised he did it by himself 2 years ago.
Black Magic is still getting better and better! It's an awesome story.
Also, his strategy for developing it is really lean-way!
Great job, not many people are able to do this. Welldone!
What an amazing article and Black Magic is awesome! Just upvoted it.
Hey @tonydinh can you create a tool that allows me to schedule twitter threads
Congrats, you did bloody right from the start to the end.
Can’t wait to read more from you!
dude this app and idea is awesome
Thanks!
Oh man, I love reading your writing! They're always packed of insights and relatable somehow and even it is clear that one of the post's motivations is to get more exposure for the launch, it doesn't feel salesy at all! Keep up the awesome work 🔥
Thank you, man!
First time I write this long, it's ~1,500 words! I'm proud of this piece (beside the grammar issues) 😄
Very nice! Love the indepth detail you shared!
Thanks, Mike! Hope it helps.
Congratulations on the #1, Tony. Just upvoted/supported it.
Thank you so much!
Most welcome.
i think it is not scalable because when you get good number of users x shoukd add it in their app by themself so it is better to take exit as quick as possible
The methdology of iterating product is really inspiring. Thanks for sharing!
Solid story. Also like how you were able to pivot.
Thanks for sharing.
good content ...
Loved it. Thanks for sharing. Gives me a perspective on how to proceed with my app. We are two co-founders (CEO and CPO) who are looking for a techical person (app developer) to join us. If you or anyone reading this is interested, please reach out to me.
Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks for sharing. This is a cool idea. I wasn't aware that extensions could become actual businesses, I might as well start thinking similar ideas or start creating extensions. It would be nice to know how you grew your audience in X (Tweeter)
Thank you so much for sharing your story. Got so much motivated for doing something. I have been thinking of doing something with browser extension.
Thanks for sharing -- building in public seems to be the way to go. What would you recommend for someone who only has 1 Twitter follower haha
What pushed you over the edge to build in public?
That's amazing! Congrats!
I'm always amazed by people finding ways to monetize things like plugins or extensions to already existing applications.
I think most of us are always looking to build an entirely new application all-together, the thought of providing extra value to existing applications is easily dismissable, because we try to rationalize that big apps already have it all, and there's no way you can make it better, or get people to pay for an addon.
You are living proof that it can be done. Congratz!
Glad that you also shared what moved you here-(unfair advantages). Those are sacrifices that you did along the way.
Good luck on your successful journey!
I remember hearing your story on a recent podcast episode! Super, super helpful to see the post in person like this. I just recently quit my job to start my own business, and your interview was definitely a big inspiration as well. Thanks for sharing this!!
Even though it is an old post, thanks. It really went into a lot of details, loved that!
Gotta build distribution first, that's the biggest unfair advantage in this age!
What a brillian post! And product too! Kudos.
Great breakdown and super clutch play turning down the opportunity to sell for 20k.
I'm curious what encouraged you make the decision not to sell?
I love when people explain their unfair advantages instead of humble-bragging like "if i can do it so everyone can."
Really good job. We use Black Magic and paid premium when it was only a fun project. I love where the product evolved itself. A real success story.
Excellent work Tony !
Five months on, you're probably looking at this thinking "only 2k!".
Hello Tony,
Great post! Good luck on your way to $10k MRR.
I'm also building an open-source project that's https://www.codingspace.codes/, a website where we provide a variety of web development challenges that will help developers improve their web development skills and become better at web development.
I also wrote a blog on "How I Built A Web Development Challenges Website With $0 (And You Can Too!)", you can read it here: https://thefierycoder.hashnode.dev/how-i-built-a-web-development-challenges-website-with-dollar0-and-you-can-too
Just curious, how much do you think the 40K offer motivated you to see how much you can push the MRR? Congratulations on the growth. Since you wrote this in December, how much is MRR now?
Thank you Tony. Your story is very motivating to me. Besides, I didn't know there was such a thing as "Product Hunt". Thanks for sharing!
Great post. I follow you on Twitter pretty religiously and use Black Magic myself. Thanks for the great product and write up!
Such an inspirational story and I love how how transparent you were with sharing all of your unfair advantages 🙏 I know I'm a bit late to the party on this post but I hope that you've seen even more success over the past few months!
Thank you, Seth!
Congratulations! It is a very detailed and informative article, I learned a lot. Thanks for sharing ✌️
Cool reading the story, and thanks for specifying those initial advantages. I'm curious what the ratio/split was for converting free users to paying customers - or how difficult it was to do so?
well post
THank you so much for sharing all the details and the inspiration. But why did you refuse to sell the product for $40k? I think as a coder with many ideas myself that's a nice chunk of cash and I can then put my time and energy into developing my next idea.
Curious to hear your thoughts. Thanks again.
You've been inspiration and I've seen your journey from very early days... I am reading this post second time. This post is full of guidance and information for any early stage entrepreneur
I remember discovering the product on Twitter and it was great! Keep doing the great work and you will receive a great offer with a life changing amount! :)
Fantastic Tony!
From an Idea to a product, what a wonderful journey it has been.
awesome journey, great tips for SaaS growth
wow blown away with the product !!! nice one !!!
just wondering how it defers from twitter analytics ? haven‘t tried it but it should mostly have the same metrics ? i might be completely wrong here.
nevertheless looks awesome!!!
Wonderful story & congrats for being the product of the day!
That's awesome, thanks for the write up. Looking forward to seeing those numbers go up!
This is awesome man. Congrats on the PH lunch, and good luck!
Your product looks great, I love the design–how neat and clean it is.
Also, great story! I especially liked this: "I think unfair advantages is a crucial part of getting success! You should also find (or build) your own unfair advantages today!" 🔖
Congratulations Tony, well deserved! Upvoted on PH!
Thanks!
Congrats! It's a really cool product!
thank you!
Congratulations, On been able to focus on the end user and iterate and pivot on finding a product/ market fit that boosted your MRR to ramen profitability.
Thanks!
Really impressive! Great example of pivoting into something that solves a problem most didnt even know they had, but once they realize of the possibilities will always wonder how they have lived their live without it! Love it!
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this tony! congrats for #1 product on ph and good luck
thank you!
I'm just out of words when I got to the end of the article. I wish I could read more.
Such an exciting one of course.
I'm just so happy with how you put everything together here.
You've got my upvote Tony 😇.
Wish you best of Luck 😇🔥
Thank you, Ayim! So glad to have your support! 😊
Congrats my friend. It's looking great! Very curious if you are planning on doing anything with Twitter spaces? PS: The mobile app looks nice too. I think the way you are going about interacting with the regular twitter app is smart. I'm guessing you can also "connect" any other twitter app using the same method. (aka just share the link) Smart.!
Thank you for the kind words, Nick!
Yes, any Twitter app will work well with Black Magic just by sharing a tweet/profile link! I'm really proud of this "workflow" to use the iOS app. 😊
Gonna bring the same thing to Android soon!
Awesome! I am curious about how you are making the mobile apps. Are they native apps? or Are you using a web flameworking tool like electron or React native or something?
They are native apps with heavy use of WebView
This is crazy man you killed it Tony. Congrats for #1 on product hunt.
Well, it's not end of day yet, but thanks!! 😊
Wow. I enjoyed every line of this article. Gave me so many ideas. Keep crushing
Glad it helped!!
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Thank you, Simon!