Making $30k/mo but strategically operating at a loss

While 39-year-old Berkay Yavuz grows Adsby, he's extending his runway by providing related services to white-glove clients.

The combined revenue is an impressive $30k/mo, but he's spending more than that on growth and product development.

Good thing he received nearly $1M in funding. Let's take a peek at his finances.

First dollar and first acquisition

Berkay made his first dollar online from a fintech startup. He says it was completely exhilarating and it gave him the confidence to keep building, despite substantial challenges.

It was the first rent payment platform in Turkey, making it a groundbreaking service at the time. But it was also heavily regulated, and it needed significant capital to succeed.

It wasn't long before a big company made an offer to acquire his product for $50k plus a C-level salary, but he refused. The terms were that he would have to continue working on the product as an employee, and he wasn't into that. He wanted to continue his startup journey. And he didn't like their vision or values.

He has no regrets, but, ultimately, did decide to exit the business. And not for as much as he would have liked.

Building software and a service

He soon took another job, squirreling money away to create runway for his new product, Adsby. And as soon as he was able to pay himself a salary, he went full time on it. He believes in dedicating his full energy and focus to the success of one thing — and it's working for him.

While I value prudence, I also believe in the power of bold moves.

Adsby is a SaaS platform designed to help small and medium-sized businesses manage their advertising campaigns more effectively. The platform integrates with AI and ad networks, provides analytics, and offers AI-driven recommendations to optimize ad spend.

It's subscription-based, offering various tiers. And to support Adsby's growth, they also run a service business in the same domain that supports bigger clients with SEO and paid marketing services.

In addition to supporting the SaaS with revenue, this service business brings in feedback. And Berkay hopes to eventually transition the clients fully to the tool.

Adsby's revenue

Currently, Adsby is making about $30k/mo, between both the product and the services. Most of the revenue comes the latter

• Service revenue: $29k/mo

• Product revenue: $1k MRR

• Funding: Close to $1M, plus personal savings from previous ventures and jobs

• Founder pay: $2.7k/mo

• Business bank account: $40k — enough buffer to maintain operations for several months in case of unexpected circumstances

• Personal bank account: Three years of runway

VC funding and bootstrapping

Adsby has taken nearly $1M total from three VCs and two angel investors, selling about 23% of their shares in exchange for the cash. Doing that math, that means Adsby is valued at about $4.3M.

They currently have about $120k available to them, and another $180k will be released upon hitting certain KPIs.

My mindset is shifting more towards bootstrapping. I'm looking for freedom and experimentation. So for my next venture, I plan to take a different path.

On one hand, Berkay likes bootstrapping because it allows for greater control and forces efficiency. On the other hand, the VC route does what he was looking for most — it accelerates growth and provides valuable resources and connections.

That's why he took funding. But he won't do it again. There are other ways to grow, after all.

When used strategically, debt can be a powerful tool to leverage growth and investment opportunities.

He isn't interested in personal debt, as it's "distracting and stressful". But once he achieves product-market fit, he might consider using business loans to scale further.

Low-risk investments are gold

All entrepreneurs are risk takers, at least to some degree. And Berkay is no exception. But when it comes to his personal investments, he likes secure, low-risk investments.

This is my equilibrium. High risk on my own venture; low risk on my personal investments. The return from my venture is potentially much higher. And low-risk investments allow me to keep my attention where it counts.

He says high-risk investments require constant tracking and time, and he prefers to spend his time on his "biggest asset and investment" — Adsby.

So he plays it "safe", investing in gold.

No matter the tensions in the world, gold has always been valuable, so he sees it as a reliable store of wealth. And he says gold acts as a hedge against inflation and economic uncertainties too.

Aside from gold, Berkay's savings account is sort of an investment right now. Turkish banks are offering crazy interest rates of 40-50% annually on accounts to offset inflation, so he's trying to take advantage of these rates as much as he can.

He currently has between $100k and $120k invested, combined.

Adsby's expenses

While Adsby has solid revenue, they aren't quite breaking even. Berkay says it's a strategic decision — a decision that many funded companies make — because they want to focus on growth and product development.

Here are Adsby's monthly expenses:

• Salaries: $32,000

• Marketing: $1,000 (content creation and minimal paid advertising)

• Project management tools: $300

• SEO and analytics tools: $200

• Development and collaboration tools: $200

• Finance software and payment systems: $300

• Miscellaneous software subscriptions: $200

• Office/Utilities: $400-$800

• Miscellaneous: $800-$1,200

Investing heavily in a team

Those salaries really stand out, but Berkay thinks they're justified. He believes in the power of a strong team. He likes to surround himself with talented, passionate people with the same vision and drive as him. And that doesn't come cheap.

We believe that having a dedicated and committed team is crucial to the long-term success of our business. Cofounders bring a shared vision and drive, while employees provide stability and a strong foundation. We also work with talented freelancers for specific short-term projects that require specialized skills.

Personal expenses

Here are his monthly personal expenses:

• Rent: $2,000-$2,500 (variable according to where he lays his head each night)

• Utilities: $500

• Groceries: $500

• Transportation: $500

• Miscellaneous: $250

Investing in tools

Berkay is big on budgeting, saying that this it's crucial in order to ensure personal and business finances are managed effectively.

He uses a combination of apps to do it: Wise and ING Bank for personal finance tracking. Parasut, Notion, and Google Sheets for managing business expenses and revenue.

Obviously, he likes tools. And as we've seen, he spends a fair amount of money on them. He sees this as an investment, saying that it saves him money in the long run.

Here are the tool that he thinks offer the highest ROI:

• Google Analytics and Search Console for tracking and analyzing web traffic.

• Ahrefs and SEMrush for SEO and competitive analysis.

• SendGrid for transactional emails and Mixpanel for funnel management.

• Notion for project management and team collaboration.

Leveraging dual residency

It isn't just tools that he spends on — he's also no stranger to travel splurges.

He says it might seem like a luxury expense, but traveling exposes him to new ideas, cultures, and networks, which often translate into valuable insights and opportunities for his business.

For example, he recently received a startup visa from the Netherlands, which has opened up incredible opportunities for him in the EU — he says Amsterdam is his gateway to Europe and it has a vibrant startup ecosystem. So he splits his time between his home in Istanbul and friends' houses in Amsterdam. The latter being because finding housing in Amsterdam is proving difficult.

Moving abroad shook up my comfort zone and opened up new opportunities. This move has allowed me to network with other entrepreneurs, access a broader market, and stay at the forefront of innovation in my industry.

Focus on value

Berkay sees money as a tool for creating value, improving lives, and having a positive impact. And as an indie hacker, he says that's where your focus should be.

Focus on creating value. If your product or service genuinely solves a problem or fulfills a need, financial success will follow. Always keep the end user in mind and continuously iterate based on feedback.

Aside from that, he says you just have to stay patient, stay persistent, and stay curious. Never stop learning.

You can follow Berkay on LinkedIn. And check out Adsby.

Please note that the above are opinions. This is meant for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be financial advice.

And if you'd like to be featured as a guest in a future interview for this series, let me know in the comments!