Pieter Levels - Indie Hacking is Dead. Now what?

[@starterstory]

5 years ago, Pieter inspired me to get started. He showed me it's possible that I could build a business from my laptop, and that business changed my life. This video will inspire thousands more

[@sweetlittlelies7317]

What business btw?

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Pieter inspired me, too. My own SaaS business exists because I saw him succeed. That allowed me to try, and it worked out pretty well.

[@Alwalou]

His talk today is not inspiring, it's disappointing

[@TheDamonChen]

We all inspired by Pieter 🙋‍♂

[@fintech1378]

@@Alwalou which talk of his is good? recommend

[@marc-lou]

Pieter's tweets were my psychiatrist during depression. He inspired me and tons of other makers to wake up and grind. Thanks Pieter ❤ And thanks Arvid for making this.

[@mikewhit]

what's funny about Pieter is that almost no enterprise would hire him with the way he writes code lol.. but he gave me a great tip which is to screw CICD and develop directly on prod lol.. these are tricks he could consult for enterprises but based on my chats w him he could not contribute directly but man it's such a head trip once you walk away from enterprise code that does nothing.. and respect because the guy publishes all his stats and embodies the ethos of the individual contributor or individual anything being able to float a boat :)

[@sebastianescalante9855]

Starting this year, because of Pieter I decided to launch a business myself instead of waiting for cofounders like I did before. So grateful for his lessons. Thanks for the podcast Arvid, keep going!

[@Aash31]

I am also starting this year, would love to connect with you to talk about the same Sebastian

[@DennisPing]

This 1 hour candid conversion is a gold mine. None of that corporate evangelism talk.

[@TravelingTice]

Thanks so much for the conversation! As a new "indie hacker" entering the scene, I felt quite daunted with the amount of "new" stuff we need to focus on like AI and TikTok. It can feel overwhelming and sometimes even like you "missed the wave". But hearing that things like SEO are still tried and true makes me feel reassured that working on "traditional" website-based applications without AI still can have a future I guess 😅 Will check out more episodes!

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

All you need is open ears and a willingness to learn. Stuff changes so fast, and you'll never know it all, so sticking with what you know and slowly sprinkling the new is perfectly fine!

[@HanifCarroll]

Since you’ve been in the scene for a little bit now, do you have any advice for someone just entering?

[@TravelingTice]

@@HanifCarroll I'd say the same as stated above! Especially in the beginning don't overwhelm yourself trying to understand and learn everything. Just pick 1 technology or path and try to learn a lot about it. Only when you feel proficient enough you can slowly start peeking into other stuff

[@chrisgrigg82]

Thanks Pieter and Arvid, this was so insightful and inspirational!

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

I appreciate i! Pieter is such a joy to talk to.

[@KirillZubovsky]

Did you know Facebook was running PHP on their back end for the better part of first 10 years? First, PHP was what Zuck knew, and second, it was really easy to find PHP developers at a reasonable price. They only replaced the old code after achieving a massive, massive scale and the code just couldn't handle the performance anymore. Something to keep in mind when people question your tech stack.

[@preciousnwaoha3123]

Wow😮, I didn't know this. I'm sadly not one of the 26m devs in the world and the 10m people that watched the social network. Really awesome video man, very insightful.

[@El_Diablo_12]

10:30 Pieter’s challenges with Python, Pip, Numpy 11:45 reaching personal limitations and needing to grow 15:20 SEO work 19:28 focus on getting customers to pay you, rather than your code elegance 23:30 do things by hand first, make money, then automate 28:00 using Subreddits to find good ideas 31:30 e/acc 34:00, 36:00 technologists being biased since we control the machines 39:40 Nomadlist generating 50-60k per month for most of a decade

[@NikSydneyNolte]

He is THE best we have 👨🏼‍💻 Very glad that you had the chance to talk to him on camera 💪🏼🎥🎬🔥

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Me too, it was quite a joy to hear him think out loud!

[@HazelLim-vr2uz]

“Indie hacking is dead” What an opening to get me to sit up and listen! 😅

[@filipgajtanovski9166]

he just used the idea of controversy, discussed at 01:00:00

[@gabrielfono844]

Pietel inspire me to learn how to code and currently working as software engineer. I am currently building my first startup

[@all69anna]

Really good interview!! Thank you! Shared with my coder son, and I will rewatch for myself.

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Thank you!

[@RodolphoArrudanogoogle]

Pieter is a big source of inspiration for me. Thanks for the interview.

[@rafidhoda]

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I've bookmarked this and I'll be revisiting it many times in the future! I'll also be sharing it with people :) Thank you so much for this gem, Arvid and Pieter!

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Thank you so much!

[@iliasjaddi]

Thank you Arvid for this great interview, I see kindness in your eyes every time you interview people so I’m very happy it’s you who is doing these interviews. I really like Pieter Levels, despite him having me blocked on twitter lol, I still think he is someone worth to learn a lot from and I love how his advice boils down to just have ideas, build them enough so you can validate, and then once the light is green, go all in. It might be interesting to bring Marc Lou to the podcast, I’d love to hear about his story 😙

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Aww, thanks! And yeah, he sure is opinionated and quick to block :D I'll talk to Marc, he's on my guest wishlost :D

[@Ke_Mis]

I just found out about this podcast, and it is awesome! :) As a solo-entrepreneur your podcast strikes the perfect balance between specific tech stuff and the business side of it! Good job man, keep on going!

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

I really appreciate that!

[@Xe054]

Wow, I'm so grateful this content exists in the world. I learned so much and feel inspired. Can't wait to watch your other videos. Thank you.

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

So glad!

[@joeslack]

LEVELS THE CHAMP !!!! 🔥🐐

[@filipgajtanovski9166]

Arvid Kahl, I love your podcast and I follow you on Spotify as well. I really enjoy the value you create and it's really inspiring! Bringing Pieter Levels as a guest is a huge win! Best of luck!!!

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

I really appreciate this!

[@remusomega]

Pieter Levels success/failure ratio inspired me not to follow his attitudes against marketing and relying on organic growth. I'm so glad learned how to do real marketing.

[@sudhamjayanthi]

Oh wow, pieter on a podcast!!?

[@MyLatinLife]

Pieters first interview in months!

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Yeah, I was very happy that he agreed!

[@indieBen]

Oh Arvid ! Did not know you Were on YT now 🔥 need to listen to this pod episode ❤

[@FlorinPop]

Amazing episode! A crazy guy. In a good way (most of the times 😂)

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Thanks, Florin :D

[@LL-vs9gv]

Thanks for this very interesting and insightful interview. It feels so different but good to know levelsio as a real human being, rather than a twitter account.

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

It makes such a difference, right? :D

[@mruhaily]

Thank you Arvid , very good interview

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@Unf__k]

"Strong opinions, weakly held", cheers for that one.

[@TheEtrepreneur]

Levels is legendary, I've met him at some coworking inauguration in Chiang Mai in 2018, there was a drunk guy very funny, then I recognize him, from that moment I knew I made it. haha p.s. I don't get along with people from July, but boy they are resourceful.

[@alexmacgregor]

Pieter is a legend!

[@nathanrobinson9455]

Pieter is very knowledgable about AI. It's clear that through the process of building companies that utilize AI, he's also become an expert on the business and fundamental strategy and constraints for AI in and of itself. Pieter, you should start an AI making company, not just a company using AI.

[@conformist]

amazing podcast episode. for real. i subbed. i'm at the beginning of my indie (not hacker) now, after doing a failed startup. also working on AI products atm lmao. i hope i will look back a year from now and have made money to pay rent lol

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

I appreciate this a lot!

[@NOCODE-VIETNAM]

Which software do you use to record the interview?

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

That's riverside.fm - link is in the description

[@WilsonSilva90]

I was wondering how the hell were you replying to the live stream comments whilst paying attention to the conversation. Then I wondered how were you able to add that ending clip to the end of the stream. This was pre-recorded. Smart!

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Yes, this was a live premiere of an edited conversation. "Live" is a malleable concept :D

[@thehari75]

Guys is no code and low code the future? Will regular people for example ux designers or marketers be able to create fully functional products without hiring softwaree engineers? Will ai make this possible?

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

I think we're getting ever closer to this. The more the interface changes and "understands" requirements better, the less practical skill we'll need at building.

[@justinholbein9776]

Great episode

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Thank you!

[@underdogg3972]

Oh man I'm subscribing great channel

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Thank you so much!

[@watcher1326]

I can't put my finger on exactly why, but I found this content energizing. Though I don't think only dumb people take a year to find an idea that works...or at least I hope not. :)

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Haha, there is something very enjoyable about Pieter's directness :D It does inspire me, too!

[@rohitdas490]

Hi Arvid, please add the ratethispodcast link in the description ☺

[@matten_zero]

Thank you! @20:08. Ive been wondering why people say i need to learn other languages to build apps. Pytton is all I need

[@atabac]

have you tried doing Desktop UI apps with assembly or C?

[@Chetelev]

10 months later and now Pieter is talking to Lex about how cool is to do indie hacking

[@ksprdk]

Good stuff, both of you!

[@kno2843]

really great video! I always thought that I need to know everything and I do too think that AI is incredibly difficult for me 😅 Thanks for the inspiring discussion ❤

[@andersnss9073]

will watch

[@Kingromstar]

He's absolutely right, it is mainstream now

[@supermanbrz]

We dont even have enough devs out there and you're saying it's mainstream, really

[@SamHartmannCom]

Premiere notification activated🔔

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

I appreciate it :D

[@burger-guy-99]

This is incredibly inspiring. Ship ship ship

[@ilichpadilla2448]

Amazing video Arvid! Following this channel right away and turning on notifications 🔔 Pieter is an inspiration for the community of indie hackers and, particularly on my case, I started some SaaS projects motivated by his growth.

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Yeah, he sure is an inspiration :D Thanks for the kind words!

[@MatijaGrcic]

49:00 Pieter wonders, 'Where am I?' His subconscious answers, 'In Croatia.' I love that.

[@mitchellcohen]

great episode!

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Thank you!

[@AndyCreed0x]

Great interview!

[@rohitdas490]

Pieter said stressful 5x time while talking about AI startups and twitter thinks wrapper startups are easy/get rich quick scheme.

[@fcordobaot]

Great conversation 🎉

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Than you kindly!

[@AbDullAHMoHAAmeD]

Thank u both

[@MartinKleine]

Arvid, really cool interview. Noticed that you been looking 24/7 into the webcam, which makes me ask are you are ROBOT?

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Nah, I just have a teleprompter! 😂 Pieter’s video was right where I’m looking.

[@maxfrischdev]

At about 44:00, I was waiting for them to say "Oh well, adn actually we kill photographer's jobs with that.." 😅😂😂😂

[@aninhaclaralui]

I’m so excited 🤩

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

🥰

[@mehulsharmamat]

waiting :D

[@jesusic1320]

What is the stuff he wasn’t able to manage? He talks about it in 11:01. Python, pyphone, pip manager? Did not understand him.

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Probably the very complex backend stuff that has to do with machine learning and such.

[@luvsuneja]

I kinda get that stuff as an ML Engineer. I really want to try some indie hacking.

[@demonotizedinstantly]

Can't wait for this shit ❤❤❤

[@JohnnyUtah269]

It would be easier to watch if the video of the guest was fullscreen when they are speaking

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

I'll consider that for future videos!

[@JohnnyUtah269]

@@TheBootstrappedFounder 🙌🏻

[@JohnnyUtah269]

@@TheBootstrappedFounder and I don't mean it to be disrespectful it's just when Pieter is talking sometimes your movements distract my little adhd brain

[@udaym4204]

best way to host model aws or replicate or any other

[@Speaks4itself]

replicate

[@AITwo_co]

Replicate

[@udaym4204]

i think he use aws because aws is must cheap compared to replicate

[@Skydam33hoezee]

Really disappointed to hear that there's no future in making AI wrappers.

[@LildAnakin]

🔥

[@psychopathfw]

7:10 cap?

[@MsSharayu]

This interview is a gem.

[@dondolla2135]

You need time stamps on your vids.

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Thanks for pointing this out, I have updated the description.

[@Robin-qf9is]

🔥🔥🔥

[@George-Francis]

is his last name really levels

[@mtwata]

I love Pieter's ideass but his passion for Elon Musk is so weird 😂 great conversation though. Interviewer did a very good job

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Thank you!

[@yarikbratashchuk3386]

How old is this guy?

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Early 30s I guess? :D

[@rahuliox]

poor marks on the interviewer for not getting indie hacking defined before launching into a big tirade about how it fits in if you don't know what it is you're completely lost

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Noted! For anyone wondering, indie hacking is the act of building independent software businesses, usually bootstrapped without outside funding, run by a solopreneurial developer.

[@Parad0x0n]

Tweets clickbait and then complains that people use it as clickbait :D

[@denizcansanlav]

🔥🔥🔥 :D

[@jeremymeyer5990]

Nope just beginning. HyperModern development is next.

[@cyrusm9044]

Why is the host staring and smiling at me ALL THE TIME! It's creeping me out 😮

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Thanks! I am looking at Pieter in my teleprompter because I have a conversation with him - you know, the video you're watching :P

[@cyrusm9044]

I ended up putting a sticky note over your part of the screen as it distracted me from the (really interesting) discussion. Maybe I am the only one who gets creeped by the stare...

[@JohnnyUtah269]

@@cyrusm9044 it distracted me as well. At least on iPad with the KZbin app you can pinch and zoom to one part of the video

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

🤣 @@cyrusm9044 - I'll take this into account in the future. It's funny: on Twitter, someone told me the exact opposite. For them, seeing both people was making them feel more included in the conversation. But hey, maybe I should offer branded sticky notes for this purpose :D

[@cyrusm9044]

@@TheBootstrappedFounder seeing both people is good. My personal preference would be if you could offset the camera so you don't look into it while you are looking at Pieter. Like on a Zoom call or a talkshow in TV - nobody looks in the camera Looking at Pieter, I know he is talking with you. Looking at you, I see that you are focusing on me and talking to me (while that's not true). Ps: I appreciate you even read this. It's your show, do as you wish. It can be that I am an outlier and should not be listened to.

[@hannanzubair9633]

Was this justa clickbait title?

[@Adamskyization]

I think you got too big/famous, and actually hurting your pocket. Like all the tech people have their eyes on you, which I'm not sure it's something I would like to have. I want customers eyes, and less competition eyes.

[@alainportant6412]

1:10:10 the leftist crowd

[@DueGreg]

I am a lil dog a cute one hey

[@recklessvelociraptor2579]

Wtf is indie hacking

[@johndoe_1984]

This guy is so arrogant and full of himself. He honestly got very lucky.

[@luvsuneja]

You don’t get lucky without working hard and taking risks.

[@HanifCarroll]

He’s built like 80 products. How are you defining luck?

[@jaymason7097]

Yeah let’s try communism again. Good idea guys.

[@TheBootstrappedFounder]

Ha, probably not. Pieter and I come from countries with strong social safety nets, which color our views a little. But we're also both founders strongly rooted in the capitalist system. Personally, I'd like for entrepreneurs (who are doing society a massive service by innovating and experimenting "on the edge") to be recognized and supported more. How do you feel about that?

[@bearwolffish]

lol at the five year life span.

[@nonefvnfvnjnjnjevjenjvonej3384]

i feel like Pieter Levels is a cheap hack.. dont be like him..

[@murlin616]

U jelly?

[@nonefvnfvnjnjnjevjenjvonej3384]

@@murlin616 jelly? i would never ever want to be like him.

[@murlin616]

@@nonefvnfvnjnjnjevjenjvonej3384 u must be mad he's doing better than u

[@rantg]

Funny that he doesn't know there are communities of people making fun of him and think he is a scam. He basically collect a lot of sentences he doesn't understand from successful Silicon Valley guys, and copy paste them to look smart. Bottom line this is literally a guy who build html pages with the idea of digital nomadism, got famous from it, then based every other useless thing he made on the first success. Indeed an unbelievable story of overrated human. It is not surprising because other humans tend to appreciate anyone who makes money, and it doesn't matter how, they will tell you - well he is successful and that is an axiom, you should love him. Now he is selling t-shirts for 50 Euros .. because everyone makes AI so he need to be special and different again, and the herd will follow. Anyway it is just a matter of time for him.

[@cory311]

🤡