How I Built It: $12K/Month Micro SaaS

Dmytro Krasun

• Quit his full-time job as a backend developer two years ago to pursue indie hacking and solopreneurship
• Childhood dream of building his own products drove him to leave even a high-paying job
• Now runs Screenshot One as a solopreneur, making around $12,000/month in recurring revenue
• Has 280 paying customers on a subscription model (starting at $17/month with add-ons)
• Spends mornings reading for at least an hour, works through the day, and prioritizes mental health and family time
• Believes having a clear mind is one of the most leveraged things for making good business decisions

Products and Offerings

• Screenshot One: An API product that helps companies automate screenshots, from small businesses to large ones
• Previously built an email validation API but abandoned it because it felt boring and lacked passion
• Focuses exclusively on API-based products, leveraging his backend development expertise

Metrics and Financials

• $12,000/month in recurring revenue with 280 customers
• Profit margins range from 40% to 60%
• Monthly server costs are $3,000–$4,000, with total expenses around $4,500/month
• Renders approximately 2 million screenshots per month
• Churn rate has dropped from around 11% to close to 7%, with a goal of getting below 5%

Strategy and Growth

• Validated the niche by confirming competitors existed and people were already paying for similar tools
• Ultimate product validation: Getting at least 10 paying customers from outside his personal network
• Launched the first version in 5 months but now aims to launch in one month or less with minimal features
• Shares early builds with close friends for basic testing before public launch on Twitter
• Primary marketing channels: Twitter, Google SEO, Zapier/Make integrations, Product Hunt, and YouTube
• YouTube tutorials drive organic traffic through Google video search results for technical keywords
• Reduced churn by personally emailing canceling customers with yes/no questions to understand real reasons
• Adjusted marketing copy to clarify the product is developer-focused (not no-code), which reduced mismatched signups
• Raised prices over time and reduced the free plan to attract more committed, higher-value customers

Tech Stack and Infrastructure

• TypeScript with Puppeteer for managing headless browsers and screenshot rendering
• Go (Golang) for rate limiting and API key management
• Cloudflare for storing and serving screenshots via API
• Google Search Console for tracking keywords, CTR, and search positions
• Google Keyword Planner for estimating search volume when creating content
• PostHog Analytics for building funnels and attributing paying customers to marketing channels
• Crisp Chat for live customer support, with immediate response as a priority

Lessons and Advice

• Having competitors is a good sign—it proves people are paying and demand exists
• Don’t aim for a unique idea; aim for a niche with enough paying users to hit your revenue goal
• Build fast and launch small—don’t wait for perfection; iterate based on real user feedback
• Talk to customers both during support and after cancellation to build a mental model of why they stay or leave
• Don’t outsource your decisions to anyone, including advice from successful founders—own your choices
• Advice is highly contextual; factors like financial runway, upbringing, and risk tolerance vary greatly
• Persistence is the most important trait—keep trying different approaches until you reach that first dollar
• For solo founders, being kind and building genuine relationships is enough—you don’t need to be aggressive to succeed