Profitable Founder
Twice a week, host Florian Darroman interviews indie hackers and tech founders to uncover their strategies for building profitable businesses. The podcast provides actionable insights and playbooks that listeners can apply to their own entrepreneurial journeys. Episodes are also available on YouTube, and listeners can join a newsletter for additional resources.
Episodes
I make $1M/year selling access to APIs I don't own
👉 Try Distribb for Free: distribb.ioMiki previously built a VC-backed company with hundreds of employees, then quit to start over bootstrapped. He launched Zernio, a social media API that lets SaaS companies plug into Meta, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube without dealing with the bureaucracy themselves. In 10 months, he scaled it to $1M ARR using Google Ads from day one, even when his acquisition cost
I Make $5M/Year Giving My SaaS Away for Free
👋 Apply to join Profitable Founder Community: tally.so/r/dWZ5JzMarie and Philip (her co-founder and life partner) launched Tally, a free form builder, from their living room during COVID lockdowns. Five years later, they hit $5M ARR with just 10 people and zero funding. In this episode, Mari shares how giving their product away for free became their biggest growth engine, why she said no to their
I made $46K in 35 days with OpenClaw 🦞
🔷 Try Distribb for Free: https://distribb.io?utm_source=yt-nevo
Nevo David built Postiz, an open-source social media scheduler, and grew it from $0 to $66K MRR.
It took him 3 years to go from 0 to $20K MRR.
The last $46K took 35 days. Thanks to one viral article and the OpenClaw wave.
In this episode, he breaks down every growth hack he used, how he made his SaaS agentic-first, and why this
I built a $1M Startup in 117 days (I had 16 followers)
🔷 Try Distribb for Free: https://distribb.io?utm_source=yt-yasser
Yasser Elsaid built ChatBase from 0 to $1M ARR in 117 days with just 16 followers on X. No funding, no sales team, no connections.
In this episode, he shares the mindset that got him there, how he stayed locked in during the chaos of early growth, why he didn't sell at $1M, and what he believes separates founders who burn out
How I got 1,000 paying users for my SaaS with only 2 videos (copy me)
Get 50% off your first month on Velio using the code « florian »: https://velio.co/?ref=florian59
In this video, Marcus shares the best SaaS marketing strategy to get your first 1000 customers without ads.
Marcus Jones grew one of the biggest YouTube education channels to nearly 500K subscribers and launched his SaaS, Velio, to 1000 paying users in just 60 days with only 2 YouTube videos.
In th
I Built a SaaS From 0 to $83K MRR in 7 Months
🔷 Download Loic's Playbook: https://floriandarroman.com/loic-berthelot
Loic spent 5 years building SaaS products nobody used. Then he cracked the code: partner with a creator, focus on the problem, and scale with a playbook he can repeat.
His first real SaaS (Minea) went from $0 to $750K MRR. 100% bootstrapped. No VC. Just a small team and a YouTube creator as co-founder.
7 months ago he l
How I Make Money with OpenClaw (+Free Skill)
🔷 Get the Free Larry Skill: https://floriandarroman.com/larry/
Oliver built Larry, an OpenClaw agent that automates his entire marketing funnel from a recycled gaming PC.
TikTok slideshows, conversion tracking through RevenueCat, app onboarding optimization.
In this episode Oliver gives the full Larry funnel, how he actually made money, security mistakes to avoid, the Claude Max vs API debate
39 OpenClaw Use Cases to Automate Your Business (and Life)
🦞 Get started with OpenClaw (Free Guide): https://floriandarroman.com/openclaw-starter-kit/
Kitze was one of the first OpenClaw users, and also the biggest tinkerer you'll find on the internet.
Combine both, and you get the perfect cocktail for 39 real OpenClaw use cases: from hiring a snow shoveling contractor by venting to his agent, to building a custom Android launcher, a safe email in
$10M/Year Founder Shares His Exact Playbook (He Did It Twice)
🔷 Download Andrew's $10M Playbook: https://floriandarroman.com/andrew-gazdecki/
Andrew Gazdecki built Bizness Apps from nothing to a $10M exit with 75 employees across 6 countries.
Then he founded Acquire.com, which has now facilitated over $1B in closed deals.
In this episode, he breaks down exactly what a $10M startup looks like, why distribution beats product every time, and what he w
I Built an AI Agents Army with OpenClaw to Run my $28k/mo Startup
👋 Get the FREE OpenClaw Starter Guide → https://floriandarroman.com/openclaw-starter-kit/
Bhanu built and sold Feather for $250K, grew SiteGPT to $18K MRR, and now uses an army of AI agents running 24/7 on OpenClaw to hit $1M ARR.
In this episode, he breaks down:
→ How to set up a main agent and let it create specialist sub-agents
→ The dashboard he built just by talking to Telegram
→ How AI ag
How we built a SaaS to $8M a year (at 24yo)
🔹 Are we friends on Instagram? https://www.instagram.com/florian.darroman/
My guest today is Nick Lawton. He grew SideShift to $8M ARR with his 2 co-founders.
In this episode, you'll discover:
- How Nick and his co-founders built an $8M ARR startup
- How to use UGC for promote your product
- His complete playbook to build a $1M startup in 2026
Find Nick on X: https://x.com/nicholasnlawton
Distribution Cheatcode: 1 Podcast → 150 Posts → Customers on Autopilot
🔹 Download the Playbook: https://floriandarroman.com/how-to-dominate-your-niche/
Cody Schneider built 20+ profitable businesses by making himself impossible to ignore in his niche.
In this episode, he reveals the exact 3 steps playbook that turns strangers into buyer-ready customers. (without cold outreach, paid ads, or begging for sales calls).
If you're tired of chasing customers, this
How I Built a SaaS to $200K/Month (My Exact Playbook)
Try Outrank: https://outrank.so/?via=floriandarroman
Eugene Zolotarenko failed for 3 years before building Outrank to $200K/month with Tibo. He shares the exact framework for creating products people actually pay for, why most founders focus on the wrong problems, and what changed when he stopped trying to do it alone.
Find Eugene on X: https://x.com/eugZolotarenko
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:05
I Built and Sold 4 Apps for $500K (My Exact Playbook)
🔹 Download The Mobile Apps Flipping Playbook: https://floriandarroman.com/lotts
Lotanna Ezeike built and sold 4 mobile apps for over $500K in the last 18 months.
In this episode, he breaks down his complete build-to-flip playbook: how to find ideas buyers want, validate with zero budget, build lean, scale with UGC, and exit fast.
If you're thinking about mobile apps or want to understand
I Built a SaaS from 0 to $60K MRR in 53 Days (Here's My 7-Step Playbook)
Download the 7-Steps Launch playbook: https://floriandarroman.com/rob-hoffman
Rob Hoffman runs 3 profitable startups making $400K/month.
In this episode, he breaks down his exact 7-step playbook for launching a profitable bootstrapped SaaS. The same system he used to grow Kleo from 0 to 60K MRR in just 53 days.
Find Rob on X: https://x.com/RobHoffman_
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:36 - Who is Rob
I Built 2 SaaS Apps to $50K MRR: Here's My 90-Day Playbook
🔹 Get your weekly founder's playbook: https://floriandarroman.com/newsletter
This is Romàn Czerny.
He cloned a Shopify app, grew it to $500K ARR and sold it for 7 figures 2 years later. Then he did it again.
But this time with a new strategy.
He decided to sell first before building anything. And it worked. he made $7,000 before writing a single line of code.
Then grew GojiBerry, from $0
The $100M Playbook Used by Lovable, Gamma & n8n (Influencer Flywheel)
🔹 Get Jeddi's Playbook: https://floriandarroman.com/jeddi
Jeddi Mees helped 600+ startups scale with influencer marketing. In this episode, he breaks down the exact B2B influencer playbook used by Lovable, Gamma, and n8n to hit $100M+.
You'll learn:
- How to find & qualify the right influencers for B2B
- The cold outreach process (25-30% reply rates)
- The UGC farm strategy ($400/m
I Quit My Job, Flew to Brazil, and Built a $14k/Month SaaS
🔹 Try SuperX for FREE: https://superx.so/?via=florian
Six months ago, Rob Hallam quit his job, flew to Brazil with no plan, and went all-in on building SuperX.
He's now at $14K/month by posting daily on X, sharing his exact process, and staying brutally consistent. In this video, Rob breaks down his 90-day growth framework and how anyone can build a profitable SaaS by leveraging X the righ
I built a B2B SaaS solo to $24K/month
🔹 Get Free Backlinks on Linkuma: https://www.linkuma.com/en/?fpr=jttfw🔸 Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/florian.darroman/Dmytro quit his comfortable $100K+ engineering job to build ScreenshotOne. A B2B SaaS that now makes $24,800/month. But he's still asking himself if he's just lazy for not chasing more.In this conversation, we dig into:How he grew from $0 to $24
I Copy/Pasted a Mobile App and Now Make $13k/Month
🔸 Get your Post Bridge 7-day free trial → https://post-bridge.com?atp=florian🔸 Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/florian.darroman/David Attias went from trading quant to calling out fake revenue screenshots on X. Six months later, he's running three apps doing $13K/month by copying successful onboarders and going all-in on influencer marketing. His strategy? "Weapon
I exited a $1.5M/year startup at 22yo. Now I'm back to a 9 to 5.
🔸 Get your Free Build in Public Playbook : https://floriandarroman.com/free-guide🔸 Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/florian.darroman/From $1.5M/year Startup exit to 9-5. At 22, Alex Heiden sold his SaaS company Closify and had zero plan for what's next. Then he accidentally went viral with his first video hitting 2 million views and 20,000 followers overnight.In this
How I Used Instagram to Make $26K in 30 Days
🔸 Get your Free Build in Public Playbook : https://floriandarroman.com/free-guide🔸 Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/florian.darroman/Ever wondered what posting daily videos for a year would do?Well this guy did it for 420 days straight.Thanks to that, Yoni Smolyar grew to 176,000 followers on Instagram and launched an app that made $26K in its first month.In this episode, yo
I sold my startup for $8M. Then built 5 more making $400k+/month.
🔹 Get Free Backlinks on Linkuma: https://www.linkuma.com/en/?fpr=jttfw🔸 Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/florian.darroman/Tibo Maker failed for 4 years trying to impress his family at dinner parties. Behind the scenes? Zero revenue. No clients. No traction. Then he made one shift that changed everything. Two years later, he exited two startups for $8M. Now he's running
Why I Left My $350K Job at 27 (to do this)
🔸 Get your Free Build in Public Playbook : https://floriandarroman.com/free-guide🔸 Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/florian.darroman/ Join me as I chat with Jim Tang to break down how he cracked the Instagram algorithm to grow 140,000 followers in 100 days. We dive deep into his daily posting strategy, the content formats that went viral, and the exact tactics he used to b
Hacker Residency: Building the Bridge Between Silicon Valley and Bootstrapping
🔹 Get access to my in-depth insights from the best founders: https://floriandarroman.com/newsletter
Travis Fischer sold 2 companies (one VC-backed, one bootstrapped) and learned the hard way that raising venture capital isn't for everyone.
Now he's building the Hacker Residency: A YC-style program for indie hackers.
In this episode, he shares how to get 6 months of work done in 6 w
Roy Lee Gave Me Interview Coder (Here is Why)
🔹 Never miss a Founder insight: https://floriandarroman.com/newsletter
Abdulla Ababakre risked concentration camps just to learn how to code on YouTube in China.
He's Uyghur. That meant using a VPN could get him, his parents, and three generations of his family sent to camps.
But he did it anyway. And at 19, he landed a job at TikTok earning a 100-month salary.
Then he walked away from it
These 13 income streams made me $374,000 last month
🔹 Get Jacky's Playbook: https://floriandarroman.com/jacky-chou
Jacky Chou went from $450/month to $374,000/month across 13 income streams.
It took him 11 years of getting clapped by Google updates, losing 15 websites to manual penalties, and surviving revenue crashes from $500K to $100K/month.
But he never gave up. And now he's built a diversified empire that prints money even when SE
$10M/Year Founder Explains How He Would Build a $1M SaaS in 2026
🔹 Never miss insights from the best founders: https://floriandarroman.com/newsletter
David Park went from his parents' bedroom to $10M ARR.
It took him 46 months to go from 0 to $1M ARR with his first startup Jenni AI. And 6 months to go from 0 to $1M with his latest SaaS he built from scratch.
In this video, David breaks down his exact playbook for building a $1M SaaS in 2026. Including h
How to Market a Viral App (500K Downloads Playbook)
🔹 Never miss insights from the best founders: https://floriandarroman.com/newsletter
Want to get unlimited app download through organic UGC?
Meet Julia Pintar, Co-founder of Playkit. She helps apps like Substack and Flo generate 70M+ views and thousands of downloads. Posting 8,000+ pieces of content every month with 150+ creators.
In this video, you'll learn:
- How to go from 0 followers
How I Built a $140K/month SaaS in 18 Months
🔹 Never miss insights from the best founders: https://floriandarroman.com/newsletter
Nadav Boaz and Robby Frank went from $0 to $140K MRR in just 18 months with VoiceDrop AI. A B2B SaaS that revolutionize cold outreach with voicemail.
Try VoiceDrop AI: https://www.voicedrop.ai/?ref=florian
In this interview, Nadav breaks down:
- Why he refuses low-ticket customers
- His exact hiring process (2
How I Built a $20K/Month SaaS (after failing 32 times)
🔹 Every week I share what I learn from the best founders: https://floriandarroman.com/newsletter/
You never fail until you stop trying.
There's no better story than Thomas to prove this. He failed 32 times before making money online. Built 32 products until one finally worked.
Ironically, his winner is s platform to help others launch startups.
Today he's doing $20K/month with it an
I got 200K followers twice (here is how I would do it again)
🔹 More stories like this in my weekly newsletter: https://floriandarroman.com/newsletter
My guest today went from 0 to 200,000 followers on Twitter. Then did it again on YouTube with 170K subscribers. All while making multiple 5 figures a month.
You can get lucky once. But doing it twice, on two completely different platforms? That's not luck.
In this conversation, Florin Pop breaks down:
I made 7 figures in 18 months. Then my body forced me to stop.
🔹 More stories like this in my weekly newsletter: https://floriandarroman.com/newsletter
Ole made 7 figures in 18 months as "the AI guy."
0 to 100K followers in 65 days. Courses selling out. Speaking at conferences. Everything was working.
Then his body shut him down. Literally.
His arms hurt so badly he couldn't use his hands. His nervous system was screaming: "Stop"
Th
The 3-Step Aesthetic Personal Brand Blueprint (From Creative Director)
How to build an Aesthetic Personal Brand w/ Gosha Dolgun
Today I invited Gosha, Creative director and Founder of The Thirty 7 agency.
He spent the past year analyzing the most successful aesthetic personal brands and building his own YouTube channel to 15,000 subscribers.
He shares with us his 3-Step Blueprint to build an aesthetic personal brand that actually stands out:
1 - Why your brand st
How I Gained 325K Followers in 90 Days (While Staying Authentic)
🔸 Get your Free 30-day video challenge: https://floriandarroman.com/free-guide
🔸 Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/florian.darroman/
From 0 to 325K followers in just 3 months:
At 23, @keeganshivers went from posting boring real estate videos to 325K followers in 90 days by buying a $267K riverside property and documenting the complete renovation journey.
In this episode,
I Got 370K Followers in One Year (My Build in Public Playbook)
🔸 Get your Free Build in Public Playbook : https://floriandarroman.com/free-guide
🔸 Connect with me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/florian.darroman/
From 0 to 370K followers in under a year:
At 22, Rajan Chida went from selling sneakers in his college dorm to building a luxury cabin that's projected to make $180K/year while documenting the journey on Instagram.
In this episode, y
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