The journey from $0-1M
I talk to Courtland from IndieHackers about the journey of growing Ghost from nothing, to millions of dollars in revenue, and the lessons learned along the way.
About 3 years ago I appeared on episode 7 of the (then, very new) IndieHackers Podcast with Courtland Allen, to talk about how Ghost started and the journey from $0 to about $700k in annual revenue. It was one of my favourite podcasts ever, mostly because Courtland is an amazing interviewer.
A few weeks back in San Francisco I had the pleasure of seeing Courtland in person, so we could record a followup podcast about everything that's happened on the journey between $700k and $1.8M ARR.
I've always been frustrated that there's lots of information out there about how to start a company and get to the first few thousand dollars of revenue, and there's lots of information about how to grow a large company larger, but there's not very many stories of the part in between.
In this conversation we cover a really wide range of topics that crop up on exactly that journey, both practical and philosophical.
When I was starting out, before Ghost existed, I couldn't fathom the notion of making a million dollars a year. It seemed like such a far off pipe-dream and something that I could only dream of one day achieving.
The reality, of course, is a lot less romantic than the dream. When you're trying to make your first $10 you compare yourself to your less talented friend who already made $200, and when you reach $1M you find yourself confronted by peers who are at $20M. You always compare up, not down, so the feeling really doesn't change much. Just the perspective.
Talking to someone else about the journey is always a good opportunity to look back and take stock of everything that's happened so far.
Beyond that, we had a great chat about the future of journalism, publishing, the indie-maker scene, the growth of subscription commerce and where I think the industry might be going next.
There's more to this story
Sign in to view the members Q&A with John for this post, and get access to the full library of 49 members-only posts, with new updates every week!
