I made these 23 websites (and earned $562,943)

I was fired from my software engineer job in November 2021.
So I decided to pursue my dream of starting my own business (SaaS, AI tool, habit tracker). No boss, no meetings, no deadlines.
I've been coding daily for 900 days. Here are the 23 websites I made and how much revenue it generated.
🔗 All my startups - www.marclou.com
⚡️ Ship your startup in days, not weeks - shipfa.st/
💡 Newsletter for solopreneurs (14K readers) - marclou.beehiiv.com/
📸 Instagram - / marclouvion
💼 LinkedIn - / marclouvion
🐦 Twitter - / marc_louvion
00:00 - Intro
00:24 - 1. Mood2Movie
01:19 - 2. Habits Garden
04:15 - 3. BooksCalculator
05:45 - 4. 50 Hacks
07:29 - 5. BuddyCrush
08:34 - 6. Decision Game
09:14 - 7. Gamify List
10:37 - 8. Visualize Habit
12:22 - 9. HeroFit
13:53 - 10. NavalAI
14:50 - 11. Naval 25
15:15 - 12. Fake It Till You Make It
15:52 - 13. IndiePage
18:08 - 14. MakeLanding
20:55 - 15. WorkbookPDF
22:21 - 16. ShipFast
24:10 - 17. ByeDispute
26:01 - 18. LaunchViral
27:34 - 19. LogoFast
29:22 - 20. ZenVoice
30:33 - 21. PoopUp
31:40 - 22. VirallyBot
33:49 - 23. GameWidget
35:22 - Outro

[@marc-lou]

I read your comments about marketing, I'll make videos about it ASAP. Until then, this is how I get my 1st customers: marclou.beehiiv.com/p/how-to-get-your-1st-customer-for-a-micro-saas Appreciate all the support btw ❤

[@iamemiliaiwu]

Hi! Are you using a screen recorder that follows and zooms or is it just editing? If you're using a screen recorder, what's the name?🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

[@buildthemvp]

This guy builds a product, then builds another product to market the first product, then builds another product to market the marketing product 🤯This is some next level dedication and discipline. I think AI will be scared of him. 😹 Truly inspiring journey sir!🙌

[@sumayyahadetunmbi4347]

yeah, he is truly inspiring

[@lynuslyneburg]

*Then he makes a video to market the product that markets the product - Love this inception style of marketing.

[@denvernow7294]

On the surface this sounds unquestionably smart. In detail though, this is a silo model. If one domino falls then the whole system fails. This doesn't indicate that a silo model is inferior. It simply means that there are more points of possible failure. I advise to not replicate this model without considering your risk tolerance and ability to recover should one part fail.

[@iNemoden]

it’s not the end my man ;) he also creates KZbin video to drive even more clients to all of the products. Ultimate checkmate!

[@neerajkhanduri2860]

3. Books Calculator You can actually monetise it. The books recommendation given by website below calculator can be replaced with affiliate links to buy those books . Gr8 work btw

[@1080pixel]

Same goes for the mood-movie page

[@gavinwiener]

A golden nugget for me is how the apps are loosely related to each other, so he uses some of them to drive traffic to the other ones

[@FlorinPop]

Marc conquered Product Hunt last year and this year wants to conquer KZbin! The goat! 🔥

[@marc-lou]

I learned coding with your videos - the circle is completed

[@carolopara6069]

​@@marc-louvraiment,felicitation Marc. Je prend des ciurs actuellement pour devenir Engineur Logiciel. J'apprend Python pour le moment..

[@limited06]

Bravo, you pump out projects so fast, that have real quality. Look forward to seeing what you make next.

[@BruhIH]

I can confidently say that you have a habit of making habit apps 🤣 Great stuff though Marc, love your videos.

[@henrijs1733]

shipfast is another great example of "don't sell gold in a gold rush, sell shovels". nice case study, Marc. well done! :)

[@tinashemurimba9017]

Wow, this is top top top! I'm so glad to have found this video, can't wait to keep following you on this journey.

[@tonnoz]

Awesome Marc! Personally I would love to see some more technical stuff like for example: how to build those amazing js ui builders or logo builders with canvas etc..

[@codewithguillaume]

These videos are the best! Best format!

[@GDScriptDude]

This is what we need, real actionable project examples. No scam stuff.

[@rukka_]

Your story is really inspiring, but I missed showing how many followers you had on Twitter at the time of the project launch and what your costs were in creating each application and the "daily" costs you incur for maintaining your profitable projects, thank you for sharing

[@VazgenManukyan]

Great video, thank you for sharing it. The projects look professional and it is hard to believe that all of tham have been made by a single developer.

[@Ihsnetad]

TLDR: Most income is from tools that help make apps. It is the old story of "During a gold rush, sell shovels"

[@SeyferX]

Yep, this is what he is doing here.

[@braydenfulken2495]

Keep posting this type of videos. It's your own unique niche in this space and it will get a lot of people out of the tutorial hell and into building actual real word projects. That's why I personally subscribed. PS: Big fan

[@marc-lou]

Thanks Brayden. Been victim of tutorial hell and over-explainer teacher, this is coming straight from my heart :D

[@iNT3NS3CLUTCH]

This was such an enjoyable video to watch as a person who's barely starting their web development journey. Keep up the great work you are an inspiration to us all.

[@darkwoodmovies]

Dude you're so inspirational. I love working on side projects but they never go anywhere, I hope I can one day figure out how to make stuff people would actually pay for :)

[@SaaSLTDDeals]

Wow, what an incredible journey you've been on! Your dedication to building and growing these products is truly inspiring. Keep up the amazing work!

[@stmasanti]

This is amazing, you’ve done what I’ve always wanted to do

[@elevatedfrequencies3646]

Damn bro just found your page , never subscribed so fast, thanks for the transparency! This is some valuable information right here.

[@marc-lou]

Welcome!

[@tom.wallis]

I'd love to see how you actually style your websites. All of your websites design look amazing.

[@wilson_333]

He uses daisy ui with some custom themes

[@matthieu875]

@@wilson_333 yes tailwindUI is a great option to but not free

[@marc-lou]

- daisyUI as a component library - Refactoring UI book to learn - get inspired by top sites (i.e. Product Hunt) - ship, ship, ship

[@victoraunon6417]

I was looking for this exact comment. The UI couldn't be more clear and attractive

[@PrafulDhabekar]

@@marc-lou What framework do you use? React or Angular or Vue?

[@mohandamokraneabdiche1051]

A friend of mine has just sent me this video. As a Software Engineer myself, I find your work really interesting and inspiring. I have one very important, life-determining question for you: Who does (or how do you deal with) the UI/UX design for your apps? The attention to those little details in the design is just awesome. As someone who likes to work solo, that's the challenge I always face, and it often makes me dislike my apps later on.

[@ezy2258]

I would love to know that too, that's same problem i have all the time, i've created some apps and when im too long designing i start lose some creativity or motivation, but if i start code before the design is done, most of the time my code can be bit more messy because im prototyping while coding. I would love to hear your thoughts

[@nenene4250]

The same concern, he would have an ekip in the backend :))

[@mehmoodkhan7819]

I think you may hire some UX/UI designer from Fiver or Upwork to handle this area. They wont cost you much, and the results are great. You need to just focus on the Coding part.

[@idosuranta4028]

He stated in the video that he designs it himself

[@marc-lou]

I do everything myself, it's mostly constraints. Will write about it soon in my newsletter

[@Garkolym]

Hello Marc, I've watched many of your videos and found them incredibly educational, especially on business-related topics. Like many of your viewers, I am considering moving to Bali. I think a great video idea would be to delve into the practicalities of relocating there, with a particular focus on health insurance, as well as the tax implications and cost of living. This information would be invaluable for potential expatriates.

[@camstuart]

Great stuff! You are really motivating me to build something! I have to say though, I think a lot of your success come from how great your apps look, Fantastic graphics!!

[@cr4zyfish087]

Hi marc, could you also talk about the legal side of the solo entrepreneurial journey? Have you had any troubles about this? And what do you do to avoid potential problems?

[@theSlavenIvanov]

Hi Marc, great video! I really like the one time pricing model that you have adopted. I would like to try the same pricing model in my projects. How would you handle potential litigation if/when in the future your one-time payment SaaS closes down?

[@PatrickHoodDaniel]

Excellent work!!

[@TheNamesJT]

Would be cool if you made a full tutorial on how you make your websites like what stack, what tools like database solutions do you use planetscale, and vercel? are you using react, or next for frontend work. I would really watch a full tutorial with how to monetize the website and more.

[@livelyfairr]

Great video! Very inspirational! I was curious why in general for the smaller websites you dont use ads as a way to generate revenue? I know ads can be annoying but if it’s limited to a couple ad slots it’s not too annoying - curious your POV on this!

[@amiiko232]

Please make a video on how you come up with design for your websites like they seem very cool and I wanna know how you do it or get them from

[@jasperdiscovers]

You're a genius. Subscribed! Very inspiring.

[@xSilentRecon]

this is really inspiring. well done

[@hasnainali-iy8ue]

nice video man, inspirational

[@ISLOMTVUZ]

after watching this man's works, I'm really motivated .

[@kheealam]

Hey Marc, great stuff. Can you make more end-to-end building startup videos? I am super excited and want to do something of my own

[@marc-lou]

Do these live help? www.youtube.com/@marc-lou/streams

[@kheealam]

@@marc-lou Absolutely, it shows the thinking process.

[@NehemiahJesse]

Watching this video from Africa,you are a real inspiration for me as a high school graduate starting out in programming

[@sotirisfalieris197]

This is the EPITOMY of transparency :) Next step, open source some of your very old SaaS apps? Just an idea :P

[@kelvinpraises]

Thanks so insightful!

[@aga1nstall0dds]

Thanks man for the inspiration.... I was lacking ideas:)

[@vitalikda]

Such a find! Inspired 🙌

[@mrvfino]

Genuine and transparent as always :)

[@strangesteven2939]

Great video and give me inspiration. I am concerned that what language you have used for building these website. It works smoothly and amazing animation!

[@martinkrajco6328]

Hey Marc, thank you for sharing! Are you getting some traffic also from desktops or is majority from mobile?

[@21rogerwaters]

Great video, thank you. I miss the (in video) captions though 😢

[@aquadevida-oh7ys]

Hi Marc, can you make a video on what steps you take to launch the app. So, let's say ou build it with react and node or whatever tech stack, but then what do you use for hosting the site? Thanks, this is really inspriing

[@AxelRock]

Quick question : when you sell your products on Acquired, do you always have a dedicated company setup, or do you « only » sell the website (domain, DB, stripe…)? And do you always build with that in mind now? (Easy separation for easy resell)

[@wiktorkokosik8747]

A video about how you do you approach marketing would be great!

[@SeikoMena]

pretty slick design, loved the UX

[@licokr]

It inspires me a lot. It includes all the things needed to sell a product. Not only marketing, ideas, consistency, ui, ux, development. Absoultely amazing content. It had me thinking a lot. As a software developer, I'm not sure I can make only one sevice well showed in the video with a full responsibility. But it makes me wanna try this. I became a developer to make things I want but as working as one role, I've focused on small details, stacks, and stuff like that too much. I will try to build what I want. Thanks for the video. Awesome

[@R_Y_Z_E_N]

How much did it cost to maintain all these apps like server , database and all .and what stack do you use

[@bocan401]

Bravo mec pour ton parcours, cette vidéo est très intéressante. Continue !

[@tonybp]

Wow, I really admire your talent and dedication. I wish I knew how to program like you.

[@EduardoSanchez-un2hh]

You inspired me to go solo dev, thank you.

[@bazz3021]

Hey, good start! Just few questions, do you promote your website somehow on the begining? Did you buy clicks?

[@senteria]

you are crazy man! love it. how do you sell your businesses ?

[@EcomCarl]

Incredible journey from job loss to entrepreneurial success! Your story highlights the resilience and creativity needed to turn setbacks into opportunities, showcasing that the right mindset can transform challenges into substantial achievements. 👏

[@runforfun8416]

Marc , I built a product and want to launch soon . But i don't have good idea about hosting . Could you please create one video about how you deploy them on production with domain name and database things to store payment details record.

[@serhiimakarov]

Marc, you inspired me to create my own app! Thank you for your inspiring videos! I also quit my 9 to 5 job and want to become a solo entrepreneur because it's what once inspired me to become a developer.

[@lasabrisophie]

You so smart dude, congrats ✨

[@melghost18]

Amazing job🎉

[@krispekla]

Can you make a video about company llc stuff you need to have setup for both stripe and taxes. I think this could be really valuable.

[@RezkyParma]

hi Marc thank you for very inspiring stories, my question is how to considering the tech stack for each of these website, what approach you take, do you keep simple so you can market it quickly or you considering performance over anything else

[@nekotajni394]

Congrats for this fantastic achievement. My biggest question is , where do you get ideas for these products?

[@barbaraferreiraaguiar1046]

That’s amazing! What tech stack did you use to build them? I was thinking about building web apps but somehow I was thinking no one would pay for it unless it was like a native app on their phone!

[@delamar6199]

I'm quite impressed by your creativity and entrepreneurship! Hope the company which fired you deeply regret it 🙂

[@qhameem]

Question: for the iOS and Android apps for Habit Tracker, did you go native or did you do some cross-platform?

[@rookie9114]

Awesome content Marc! I have never developed mobile app before so im curious what tech stack do you use to develop mobile app? Any recommendations?

[@carpye2774]

I really need to know when you started programming to see if I still have a chance to achieve something in my life.

[@MrWildaffair98]

Inspiring! Could you share how your websites are being built?

[@joshuabiyinzika2834]

Dude, you're an inspiration..❤❤❤

[@idontknow4160]

Hey! love your video and you got me inspired to make my own website, Quick question: Where do you code your website? Like do you use a website to make your websites?

[@adeyemiodusina3826]

Wonderful!... My jaw is dropping right now.

[@SaaS_Theory]

When the ecommerce for the merchandise? We need it!

[@pushpendrapratapsingh9745]

very inspiring. could you please tell how much did it cost for getting a db, server, etc for any one of the website?

[@RohanPoudel]

Talent and dedication 🚀

[@Anup_x]

How do I get started with the tech field. Basically, im from a non IT background. Is there any specific road map you suggest?

[@prasannavenkatesh8674]

Hi, i have a doubt. Wont the pages that dont generate money anymore, still require an early pay for the domain amd the other tools that it uses. So like, shouldnt we close them because they dont make money now.

[@chitrangadpatil4201]

Nice video. Most of the websites you've created received a large amount of traffic in the first month, which then decreased. Could you share how you promoted these websites initially?

[@jjdjdkdjfj174]

What courses do you recommend for learning web development?

[@inponderland]

Awesome video. You're a machine!

[@Xiaoxooooo]

I always wanted to make my own websites but I just can't whenever I think about starting something, I get sleepy. I'm working 2 full time web developer job, do you think it's still possible for me to do just like you? Thanks for the video, I really love it!

[@JosephM1M5A4]

You are very skilled and young Marc.

[@MrTomski]

I've seen you dsharing your stuff on Twitter and I have a question about the habit tracker. You sold it but the website is still entirely with your branding and you even have an account. Did the buyer just get interested in the apps?

[@tonystarkmowa]

can we create these kind of web apps on webflow and framer? or do I need to learn the coding part?

[@TypedefDev]

Really inspiring! As a full stack dev, I also try to generate side income by creating saas websites. However, one blocker for me is the need to consistently market them. I suppose, in the end, it boils down to discipline. While I love seeing people use what I've created, I don't enjoy marketing as much as I enjoy building the product.

[@paulkoch8045]

Hey Marc, could you clarify your approach to managing trademarks and setting up businesses for your side projects? Do you have a single company that encompasses all the brands, or is there a different strategy you use?

[@marc-lou]

1 company that owns every Stripe account No trademark for now

[@qhkmdev]

I'm jealous of your design sense. It's pretty good TBH

[@gauravvan]

Ever heard about daisy-ui?

[@AI-Wire]

Nice job! What is your tech stack for developing your apps?

[@HyperUpscale]

A GREAT EXAMPLE!!! THANK YOU, MARC

[@luigicervesi9901]

Marc, I love your product. Only a question, why in books calculator you doesn't insert amazon affiliation for books? Hug from Italy

[@gioelecavallo1462]

What framework do you use? I love this kind of video

[@redfordkobayashi6936]

Interesting, how do you generally find startup ideas?

[@miruiwang8818]

i am more interested about what program language you use for frontend and backend? i don't think wordpress can do it.

[@BenjaminHaeberli]

Please show us how do you design your websites and landing pages 🙏 It could be very useful for other indie hackers watching you here 👌

[@chamika1975]

Thanks a lot for your video. This is inspirational. Your design look very nice. I also had to leave my job and started learning web development. Started working as a freelancer recently. Still have not got any client yet though. BTW, what is the course you followed in Udemy? would like to learn more.

[@xenntan9628]

This is so inspiring! :) I'm wondering how much is your hosting charges every month to be able to host so many sites handling so many visitors? What are you using to host?

[@blink11101]

what stack do you use for mobile? I'm guessing you use react native?

[@ConorBailey]

Cools apps Marc. Can I ask do you use any front end / component libraries to make the dev process faster? Like shadcn for example. Your apps look great!

[@marc-lou]

daisyui.com/ all the time!

[@heyjapheth8852]

Amazing guy , what would you recommend, have a SaaS idea but I don’t know how to find developers