Indie Bites

<p>Andy Cloke is the founder of <a href="https://datafetcher.com/">Data Fetcher</a>, a platform for running API requests in Airtable, which is currently doing around $3k MRR. Andy has started many projects in the past, his most recent one, Influence Grid, was sold for $55k back in mid-2020, having only started it 7 months before. In this episode we talk about his framework for finding trending ideas, building a product and being successful with marketing as a developer. We also talk about the process of selling your product and how to make that go smoothly.</p><p><strong>What we covered</strong></p><ul><li>Andy's background</li><li>Kabooshi</li><li>Why Andy started Influence Grid</li><li>How to leverage <a href="https://explodingtopics.com/">Exploding Topics</a> to find trending ideas</li><li>Getting validation for your idea</li><li>Using cold outreach to grow a platform<ul><li>Rocket Reach</li></ul></li><li>Doing SEO from the start</li><li>How he grew Influence Grid to $3k MRR</li><li>Why decide to sell Influence Grid?</li><li>Should you go through a platform for an acquisition?</li><li>How to best prepare for a small acquisition</li><li>What Andy bought himself after selling for $55k</li><li>What he did after the acquisition</li><li>The process of finding a new idea<ul><li><a href="https://www.softwareideas.io/blog">Software Ideas</a> by Kevin Conti</li><li><a href="https://tylertringas.com/micro-saas-ebook/">Micro SaaS</a> by Tyler Tringas</li></ul></li><li>Why Andy started Data Fetcher</li><li>How Data Fetcher has grown to $3k MRR</li><li>Andy's framework for finding a successful idea</li><li>How to push through when things aren't going so well</li></ul><p><strong>Recommendations</strong></p><ul><li>Book: <a href="https://uk.bookshop.org/a/5782/9781625274496"><strong>Blue Ocean Strategy</strong></a></li><li>Podcast: <a href="https://www.startuptolast.com/"><strong>Startup to Last</strong></a></li><li>Indie Hacker: <a href="https://twitter.com/yongfook"><strong>Jon Yongfook</strong></a></li></ul><p><strong>Follow Andy</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/clokehead">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://datafetcher.com/">Data Fetcher</a></li></ul><p><strong>Follow Me</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://twitter.com/jmckinven">Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://twitter.com/indiebitespod">Indie Bites Twitter</a></li><li><a href="https://mckinven.co/">Personal Website</a></li><li><a href="https://whistablecraftco.com/">Buy A Wallet</a></li></ul><p><strong>Sponsor - </strong><a href="https://www.upvoty.com/"><strong>Upvoty</strong></a><strong></strong></p><p>Do you want to build the best product possible? Then listening to user feedback is one of the best ways to do so. Because by listening to the problems of your users, you can build a real problem-solver that they'll love.</p><p><a href="https://www.upvoty.com/"><strong>Upvoty</strong></a> is a user feedback tool that gives your user's a voice and makes it really easy at the same time for you to prioritize what to build next. By installing Upvoty's feedback boards, you'll have all of your user feedback in one central place and it will really help you connect with your customers and understand their needs. On top of that, you can close the feedback loop by setting up your Changelog and Product Roadmap. Your users will be actively involved in building new features and will love you for that.</p><p>Try Upvoty 14-days for free and with the code <strong>'INDIEBITES'</strong> you'll get a 10% discount on any of their plans.</p><p><a href="https://www.upvoty.com/">Sign up here.</a></p>