–  Kyle Gawley

How to build a profitable software business without venture capital. Fused with anecdotes and war stories from a founder who pivoted from the VC world.

1. Introduction

   • Who is this book for?
   • How to read this book
   • About the author
   • Acknowledgements

2. Challenging The VC Narrative

   • Is venture capital right for you?
   • All aboard the VC Gravy Train
   • Farewell £1,000,000
   • Stop Trying to Grow Fast (Initially)
   • Pivoting from VC to indie.. wait, what?
   • Maximise Your Runway with Geoarbitrage
   • *Not all VCs are evil

3. What Do You Want?

   • Do you need a business coach or a therapist?
   • The alchemy of success
   • Designing your future
   • The dark side of living the dream
   • $5m revenue didn't make me happy, it almost killed me

4. The Secret Formula for Profitable SaaS Ideas

   • The disease of ideas
   • What's your problem?
   • Where to find profitable problems
   • Vitamins vs painkillers
   • Selling to businesses vs selling to consumers
   • Stop thinking big
   • Sizing the market
   • What if someone steals my idea?
   • Case study: Baremetrics

5. The Smoke Test

• Probing the market before building a product
• Building a simple landing page test
• Metrics that matter

X. Business Models: The Good, The Bad and the Profitable

• Software as a Service (SaaS)
• One-off payments
• Commission
• Dare you freemium?
• Choosing the right business model as an indie hacker
• My past business model mistakes

X. Dealing with Competition

• Should you worry about competition?
• Finding your secret power
• Pick a fight or partner up?

X. Overcome The Fear of Failure & Let Go of Limiting Beliefs

• Your ego is a neurotic lizard monkey
• Practicing self-awareness
• I'm afraid to quit my job, I'll be homeless
• I can't afford to start a business
• I have no business experience
• I'm not smart enough
• What if I fail?

X. Build a Product at Warp Speed

• What is an MVP? Why you should build that first
• Saying lean vs getting your first customers
• Choosing a tech-stack
• To code or not to code?
• I can build that myself in 2 hours. But should you?
• Don't re-invent the wheel
• Shipped is better than finished is better than perfect

X. Cheap Design Destroys Your Bottom Line

• The case for quality product design
• The aesthetic-usability effect
• The importance of onboarding
• Can a badly designed checkout cost you $12 million?
• Customer service is UX design
• Testing isn't just for big companies

X. Motivation Will Get You Nowhere

• The motivation paradox
• Do one minute of work per day
• Beware the fake guru
• The real secret to success will put you to sleep

X. You're Not Charging Enough

• I increased my prices 100% and made $100k
• Underpricing will destroy your business
• The mechanics of charging high prices

X. The Startup Success Delusion That Put Me In Hospital

• I almost died
• Becoming a digital nomad
• Prestige is not success is not happiness
• Finding happiness as an indie hacker

X. How To Build an Emotional Bomb Shelter

• Riding the startup rollercoaster
• You're the sum of the 5 people you spend the most time with
• Build a healthy mind and body first

X. Alternative Startup Funding

• Angel investment
• Indie capital
• Grants
• Crowdfunding