Aaron is the co-founder of realnice, a simple personal website builder. realnice competes with my product, Postcard, which is also a personal website builder. So, I thought it would be fun to sit down with a competitor and talk shop.
Show notes + links: contraption.co/essays/talking-shop-aaron-cohn-realnice/
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Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:32 The First Guest: Aaron Cohn
01:10 The Competitive History
01:59 The Shift to Craft Software
03:27 The Challenges of Building a Personal Website
03:29 The Journey to Indie Software
03:50 The Birth of Personal Website Builders
04:41 The Struggles with Marketplaces
05:22 The Evolution of Website Builders
06:41 The Importance of Simplicity in Software
11:03 About Postcard, Philip's product
12:09 The Power of Personal Email Updates
14:14 About realnice, Aaron's product
23:03 The Power of No-Code Tools
27:22 The Power of Bubble: A Developer's Superpower
27:34 The Indie Maker's Journey: From Scarcity to Abundance
27:46 The Pieter Levels Approach: Launching Multiple Apps
27:50 Craft Software: The Art of High Conviction Development
28:10 The Rise of Craft Businesses: A Case Study of Glass.photo
29:09 The Indie Hacker's Dilemma: Money vs. Passion
29:44 The Artistic Element in Software Development
30:21 The Power of Distinctiveness in Craft Software
32:38 The Challenges of Building Personal Website Builders
36:09 The Future of Personal Website Builders: New Features and Ideas
37:15 The Importance of Design in Product Development
38:47 The Real Competition: Battling the Status Quo
39:19 The Power of Collaboration in Business
39:33 Conclusion: The Contraption Company Podcast